Incorporating the EarthBox in a classroom setting

[John]

Hello!
Welcome to the Educational EarthBox!  My name is John and I work for EarthBox and I am thrilled that we are able to provide this Forum strand to you. 
As a Master Gardener and new instructor in an area after-school program, I found some difficulty in getting the EarthBox program started.  Although every classroom environment is different,  I am going to provide easy step-by-step information that was helpful to me in starting a successful school program.
Seeing a sparkle in the eye of a student when they see their plants grow while going through the EarthBox lessons is truly a rewarding experience!  My interest is now my passion!
I look forword to hearing from all who are interested in putting the EarthBox in the classroom! 

[John]

Donald, I couldn't agree with you more!
Sadly, no such program was available when I was growing up.

[molly]

Donald,

The California School Garden Network is a group that would love to have you on board. Your knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious. They are working with kids and teachers in California to provide them with an understanding of the land and agriculture and nutrition etc.  They also are fans of the Educational EarthBox.  Go to www.csgn.org to learn more about them. 

In addition, the state of California funded California Instructional School Gardens 2006/2007.  Each county received grant money to implement the gardens.  If you like, I can put you in touch with a school in your area to see if they want your support, or you can visit the California Department of Education website to check out the list of grantees who were funded.  Just google the California Department of Education.  You are sure to find a school or two near to you.

[Donald1800]

Thanx Molly, I'll look into it tomorrow.  I hesitate into getting involved more than I already am - I can handle the EB forums along with everything else I am currently commited to, but a hands-on with travel commitment may not be in my best interest now.  I'll have to look into it further and give it some thought.  At 70 with health problems AND a garden of my own to finish and run, I may already be at my limit.

Donald1800

[Bekka]

Hi all. I am new to gardening and Earthboxes. I am a 7th grade Science teacher in Bradenton Florida and I have been interested in planting a butterfly garden at my school. I wrote a grant and just found out that I received $500 to use towards starting my garden. I plan on purchasing Earthbox kits and using them to start our milkweed plants so we can begin to attract butterflies. I am starting off small, and I am really open to any ideas, suggestions that anyone would like to pass on. I have also thought about incorporating rain barrels for my garden, so if anyone has info on them I would appreciate any tips on them as well.
Thanks
Bekka

[John]

Hello Bekka and welcome,

Taking time to plan your EarthBox garden is the key to success!
Location and availability of water must be considered. 
I agree that starting a small garden and building and learning from that will ensure a successful garden for many, many years.
In the past, I have introduced students to the EarthBox garden and various lessons from the Youth Garden Guide and Elementary curriculum.  The students learned about soil, water, light, nutrition.  To tell you the truth, I had just as much fun as they did especially playing the Memory Game which is included in a lesson.
Please keep us posted with updates as well as pictures.  Creating a photo album of your EarthBox garden from the start is something I would recommend.  Pictures are worth a thousand words and in the future you and your students will be glad you took the time to take them.

[PrimoPepper]

Even though I am not the greatest photographer, I totally believe in taking photos.... If only just for documentation...

Primo

[molly]

I am currently in Modesto California where teachers in Stanislaus County will be using EarthBoxes in the classroom and in afterschool outdoors.  These lucky folks can roll them in and out of their classrooms for most of the year.  They don't even need to concern themselves about grow lights...must be nice!

[John]

Molly, for us in the North it would be a dream come true!
Do you feel the teachers have the support of the school when they start an EarthBox program?  In general, are the issues of water and placement of the EarthBoxes a problem in schools?

[SageGarden]

Hello Everyone!

I will be starting an afterschool project with a group of about 10 kids.  We will be using many earth boxes and grow lights.   The room we are using does not have any windows.  I would love to grow something edible, maybe lettuce or beans.  I have a few questions for anyone with experience growing plants indoors, under grow lights, throughout the winter. 

Is there a certain type of grow light that works best?
What plants will do the best under these conditions?
How long should we leave the lights on for per day?

Thank you to Donald for all the information about using compost.  I can't wait to experiment with that. 

Kristen
Scranton, PA

[John]

Hello Kristen and Welcome!
The only grow light experiement I did was with T-5 growlight.
I would recommend it for greens and would set the timer for about 8 hours of light.  Remember also, the distance a light is from the plants  also makes a difference.
Maybe someone with some knowledge on this will respond.
Thankyou for your information about "Green Lifestyles"  The sessions on Sustainable Living and Essential Eating are of particular interest to me.  These are the reasons why I am hooked on the EarthBox. 

[molly]

Hello Kristen,

Welcome to the forum and the best of luck to you and your ten students who will be growing out EarthBoxes with Grow lights in the classroom. I am somewhat experienced at this process.   A 24 inch grow light hangs nicely from the EarthBox staking system. Also, we used a time to run our grow light  for 12-14 hours.  We grew dwarf sunflowers, snow peas and lettuce.  We also used a cheaper grow light that can be purchased at K-Mart.  I also know of a group in St. Louis who grow beautiful crops in  a closet using one large grow light.  I will contact them to see if I can get them to join the forum to post pictures and to share their experience.

Molly

[PrimoPepper]

Although I can't find the thread on this site, I do remember a post here mentioning something about having the grow lights closer to the actual plants being of benefit...

If you posted this... or know the link to this... please reply...

It may have been linked to a post from DL, if memory serves me well...

Primo

[John]

Yesterday, I planted Dwarf Grey Sugar Snow Peas in an EarthBox here in NorthEast, PA.   Once they germinate (7-14 days) I will be using a grow light.  I really don't know if there will be a difference but I am going to try 2-20w-Sylvania (Grow-Lux Wide Spectrum) bulbs for 1 EarthBox and for the other I will use another relatively cheap bulb. From what I understand, this type of grow light should be close to the actual plants like Primo stated; probably because this type of bulb is not that strong? I do know that if they are further away from the plant, the plant will grow "leggy" or "spindly".

[molly]

TEACHERS: The Educational EarthBox is in the process of developing a DVD training tool for teachers. The proposed DVD will be divided into three sections. The first section will help teachers to design, setup and maintain an Educational EarthBox Garden using the Youth Garden Guide.  The second section will help Pre-K through 12th grade classroom teachers set up EarthBoxes to perform science-based experiments in the classroom, greenhouse or lab.  The third section will help teachers to create a customized training tool that alternates instruction between the Youth Garden Guide activities and standards-based lesson plans to correlate the learning that takes place in the garden with the instruction in the classroom.  This approach will increase student interest and retention, resulting in higher academic scores.  It can also provide a direct instructional connection  between  the learning that takes place in after school garden programs and classroom instruction.

We would love to receive input from teachers to make this tool as helpful as possible. Let us know the classroom management issues that you face with regards to space, mobility, light, access to water etc.