Spring 2024
Discovery Elementary School | Arlington, VA
What is in our garden?
- Fruits, vegetables, and flowers we can harvest BEFORE school is out in June
- 40% of any garden should be flowers to attract pollinators and help pollinate our plants - do we meet that goal?
- ...Our PTA for generously providing funds to keep our garden up and producing fruits!
- ...Our 4th and 5th grade gardening class students for doing the research and getting their hands and clothes dirty maintaining our beautiful and bountiful garden!
-Ms. Hutto, Mr. Glasner, and Ms. Caputo for teaching gardening classes!
Various parents for also putting in the work to maintain the garden when it’s easier for adults to do the work than kids :)
Our administrators for supporting our learning time outdoors!
Garden Map
Blue box indicates plants have been planted already
Arugula
Student Expert: Mason (5th)
- Planting Timeline: April 1-15
- Ready to Eat: 6-10 weeks after planting
- Fun fact: Arugula is also known as “rocket” in some places
Asparagus
Student Expert: Eric (5th)
- Planting Timeline: Early Spring
- Ready to Eat: May-June
- Fun Fact: Asparagus grows back year after year and some plants can be 30 years old!
- Recipe: Oven Roasted Asparagus
Garden Beans
Student Experts: Jack & Logan (5th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-April
- Ready to Eat: Early June
- Fun Fact: Some bean pods can grow up to 12 inches in length
- Recipe: Sautéed Fresh Garden Beans
Beets
Student Expert: Clara (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1 outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 60 days after planting
- Fun Fact: The biggest beet ever grown was 53 pounds!
- Recipe: Beet Hummus
Bok Choy
Student Expert: Nic (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 15 indoors then transplant outdoors after frost
- Ready to Eat: 60 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Bok choy has grown in China for over 6,000 years
- Recipe: Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce
Student Expert: Marielle (4th)
- Planting Timeline: February 15 indoors then transplant outdoors after frost
- Ready to Eat: 90 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Broccoli is really countless tiny flower buds
- Recipe: Broccoli Stir Fry
Cabbage (Green)
Student Experts: Charlotte & Eleanor (5th)
- Planting Timeline: February 1 indoors
- Ready to Eat: 70 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Cabbage has been to space
- Recipe: Sautéed Cabbage
Cabbage (Red)
Student Expert: Ethan (4th)
- Planting Timeline: February 7
- Ready to Eat: 70-100 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Red cabbage can be used to dye Easter eggs
Cape Daisy
Student Expert: Liam
- Planting Timeline: March 1 outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 60 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Cape daisies are excellent companion plants for tons of other plants!
Carrots
Student Experts: Ashley & Isaac (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March-April
- Ready to Eat: 70-90 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Carrot flowers are great for pollinators
Student Expert: Matthew (4th)
- Planting Timeline: February 15 indoors then transplant outdoors after frost
- Ready to Eat: 90 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Cauliflower comes in 4 different colors
- Recipe: Cauliflower Cheese Pasta Bake
Student Expert: Paul (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Spring
- Bloom Time: Early summer to fall
- Fun Fact: Plants can be up to 3 feet tall
Chives
Student Expert: Ellie (4th)
- Planting Timeline: April 15
- Ready to Eat: 80-90 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Chives have edible purple flowers!
- Recipe: Garlic Chive Baked Fries
Collard Greens
Student Expert: Samuel (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-February
- Ready to Eat: 75 days after planting
- Fun fact: Collards can be grown year-round but are tastier and more nutritious January-April
- Recipe: Southern Collard Greens
Corn
Student Experts: Henry, Lucas, William (4th/5th)
- Varieties of corn we will plant: Country Gentleman, Golden Bantam, Stowell’s Evergreen Sweet
- Planting Timeline: Late March outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 80-100 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Corn is a vegetable, fruit, and grain!
- Recipe: Favorite Skillet Corn
- Learn more about corn here
Candystripe Cosmos
Student Expert: Dean (4th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1
- Ready to Cut: Anytime after blooming
- Fun Fact: They can grow 3-5 feet tall!
Green Onion
Student Experts: Ellie & Graham (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 20
- Ready to Eat: 60 days after planting
- Fun Fact: In ancient times people believed green onions warded off evil
Student Expert: Denis (5th)
- Planting Timeline: When threat of frost is gone
- Bloom: 8 weeks after planting
- Fun Fact: Crackerjack marigolds (the kind we have) are often added to chicken feed to make the yolks a darker yellow
Michihili (Chinese Cabbage)
Student Expert: Henry (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1
- Ready to Eat: 70-85 days after planting
- Fun fact: Each head of michihili can be up to 5 pounds!
- Recipe: Spicy Stir Fried Cabbage
Mint
Student Expert: Wade (5th)
Little Marvel Peas
Student Expert: Tommy (4th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1
- Ready to Eat: 65-85 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Ancient Romans grew 37 different varies of peas at one point
Olla Pots
- Olla Pots are our new (very old) experimental watering technique.
- The pots are made from two terra cotta pots glued together.
- Terra cotta allows water to pass through it, so when we fill the pots with water, it seeps out slowly, watering the soil and plants around it without us having to water every day!
- Olla pots help with water conservation because the water goes directly to the roots and very little evaporates.
Student Expert: Joseph (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-February
- Harvest: 75-90 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Bell peppers have the highest level of vitamin C of any plant! Even more than oranges!!
Potatoes
Student Expert: Wolfie (5th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-April, after last frost
- Ready to Eat: 125 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Potatoes were the first food to be grown in outerspace
- Recipe: Perfect Fries
Purple Potato
- Planting Timeline: After last frost
- Ready to Eat: 2 weeks after the vines have died back
- Fun fact: Potatoes have more potassium than bananas
- Recipe: Mashed Purple Potatoes
Radish
Student Experts: Donovan, Julian, Everett, Marty
- Varieties in our garden: Champion, Scarlet Globe, Watermelon
- Planting Timeline: March 1 outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 20-30 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Americans eat 400 million pounds of radishes each year!
- Recipe: Garlic Roasted Radishes
- Learn more about radishes here
Rosemary
Student Expert: Sonia (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-Spring
- Ready to Harvest: Can harvest year-round, but soft new growth has best flavor
- Fun Fact: According to legend in various regions of the Mediterranean, it was a sacred plant in which fairies would hide or live.
- Recipe: Rosemary Melting Potatoes
- Learn more about rosemary here
Sage
Student Expert: Charlotte (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Indoors before last frost or outdoors after last frost
- Ready to Eat: 75 days after planting
- Fun fact: Sage is part of the mint family
- Recipe: Brown Butter Sage Gnocchi
Spinach
Student Expert: Teddy (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1 outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 45-60 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Spinach is thought to have originated in Persia (modern day Iran)
Strawberries
- Planting Timeline: Mid-March
- Ready to Eat: throughout summer and autumn (we have ever-bearing strawberries)
- Fun Fact: Strawberries are the only fruit that have seeds on the outside
- Recipe: Strawberry Cake
Sunflowers
Student Expert: Harper (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March-May
- Bloom Time: Summer
- Fun Fact: The world’s tallest sunflower was 30 feet and 1 inch tall!!
Student Expert: Ellie (4th)
- Planting Timeline: Mid-March
- Ready to Eat: 90-100 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Sweet Potatoes are commonly referred to as "yams". Native Americans were already growing sweet potatoes when Columbus arrived on America's shores in 1492. The sweet potato is not a potato, not even a distant cousin. Potatoes are tubers; sweet potatoes are roots.
- Recipe: Sweet Potato Pie
Tatsoi
Student Expert: Noelle (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 15 outdoors
- Ready to Eat: 50 days after planting
- Fun Fact: Tatsoi is an ancient green, it was part of the diet in China as early as the 5th century (400 C.E.)
- Recipe: Tatsoi Salad
Thyme
Student Expert: Ellie (5th)
Turnip
Student Experts: Wesley, Oliver, Mikayla (5th)
- Planting Timeline: March 1
- Ready to Eat: 40-65 days after planting
- Fun Fact: The first jack’o lanterns where originally turnips!
Yellow Mustard
- These were planted as a cover crop for our garden last winter
- Cover crops help protect the soil when we aren’t growing any plants
- They can help make the soil healthier and keep weeds from growing
- Right now, the yellow mustard flowers are beautiful and are attracting pollinators to help our garden be bountiful!
- Mustard also loosens up soil that's become compacted by growing deep roots 1-3 feet below the soil surface
Zinnias
Student Expert: Ella & Nadia (5th)
- Planting Timeline: Indoors before last frost
- Bloom Time: Late Spring to first frost in Fall
Rain Barrels
Student Expert: Ethan & Jackie (5th)
- Rain water from the roof of Discovery is filtered through small screens in pipes.
- Water is stored in the barrels for later use, when you want to use the water you open the nozzle and let the water flow.
- A rain Barrel also has an overflow valve, in case it overflows some of the rain water will flow out.
- There is a screen on top, where water enters barrel to keep bugs and debris out.