I was reflecting on the start of the Sturgis Elementary Garden today and wanted to be sure to thank Michelle Grosek of Bear Butte Gardens.  I searched  and searched for the pictures I took that day, but could only find one of a student admiring the herbs and plants she brought in to share with the students.  It was evident after reading the thank you letters that were written to Michelle that she had a tremendous impact on the students' understanding of seed starting.  Students were inspired to seed the first garden at our school and to take their new learning home and start their own family gardens.  Thank you Michelle! 

To learn more about Bear Butte Gardens please visit: http://www.bearbuttegardens.com/Bear_Butte_Gardens/Welcome.html

Thank you to the Leah and the Brengle family!  They cared for the garden during the third week in June! 

The extreme heat this week, June 25-29th,  wiped out some of the petunias.  On a happy note the sugar snap peas and beans are beginning to take off!  The FIRST sugar snap pea was harvested today.  It was delicious!

The beans, tomatoes, and pumpkins have buds and the herbs are nearly ready to be trimmed as well!

Basil, Cilantro, & Flat Leaf Parsley

A bed of tomatoes, carrots, beans, cucumbers, and sugar snap peas!

The first pea!

A Growing Garden

The garden is growing, but we continually battle the elements of "Mother Nature" as we move from spring to summer like weather (some days even feel like fall!) 

The Gordon's...ready to adopt the garden for the week!

A huge thanks to the Gordon family for all the garden care this past week.  The wind really hit the peas hard and Mrs. Isaacson reseeded the cucumbers and beans early in the week.  The bean and cucumber seedlings didn't make it during the first week of extremely and unusually hot late-May temperatures.  The new seeds though have sprouted nicely!



Cucumbers, carrots, & beans in here.



Tomatoes, peas, basil, & carrots round out this planter.

Planting the Garden

On Monday, May 21st (the day before summer break) we ended our school year by planting seedlings in our school garden.  Mrs. Isaacson, Mr. Haraden, and Ms. Russell's classes contributed the seedlings to fill the beds in the garden.  Planted today were:

• Sweet Corn
• Peas
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Beans (variety)
• Cucumbers
• Watermelon
• Tomato
• Rosemary
• Basil
• Carrots

We all had a "hand" in planting today!

The gardens will be maintained by teachers and various families throughout the summer.  Check back often to see the garden's growth and progress!

Putting in the peas.