Harvest-time for veggie-burger and fries

Dear Gardener-Teacher,

Well you are back at school, teacher. And we, the plants have definitely missed you. We have been well looked after by the community, even harvested when the beans came up early - and they were frozen for your class. My sister red fife has been cut and is still drying in Neighbour Smith’s garage. She is anxiously waiting the flour mill, but it is her destiny, so she will have to come to terms with it.

We really want to see the kids again, and show off our growth. I think they will be impressed by how productive we were. We know that they put a huge amount of effort into us, provided the right nutrients, got us off to a great start, and now that our roots are hitting the manure way down in the lasagna, we are eternally grateful. Well at least until we are consumed. But really harvesting us is like a rebirth. When we are harvested, our leaves or stems will eventually turn back to earth and we will feed another class of students.

That being said, how have you set up your compost? Did you know that compost, like plants needs to be watered? That same bacteria that we love in our soil, needs to be in huge quantities in compost. This means that lots of water and sunlight on the black plastic, or wooden box is important. It also means that lots of air flow is great. Have your students poke holes in the compost every so often. And if they are courageous, ask them to grab a handful of red wiggler worms and toss them in too.

Until next season, your friends
Veggie Burger + Fries plants