Mabelvale Magnet Middle School

This fall began an exciting year for the garden at Mabelvale Magnet Middle School. The garden is transforming from its establishment as a pilot project site for the Delta Garden Study into its second year of sustainability as an outdoor classroom and learning laboratory for many disciplines at Mabelvale Magnet Middle School. This year Kristy Brownell, the Americorps service member serving at Mabelvale Magnet School, is collaborating with science, math and art teachers to integrate the gardens and greenhouse into the curriculum. The primary focus at Mabelvale Magnet Middle School in its second year is to bring together the school and community to sustain the garden so that it will best serve the needs of students, teachers, staff and the local community.

Together we have been concentrating efforts on rejuvenating the main garden by fertilizing, tilling, shaping, planting, irrigating and winterizing (covering) the beds of spinach, radish, garlic, cilantro, strawberries and carrots. These crops were chosen because, with proper care, they will be able to prosper even in the coldest of winter months.

In our two smaller gardens, the buckwheat cover crop planted this past summer has been tilled over and replaced by a winter wheat cover crop. This continued planting of cover crops suppresses weed growth and increases the fertility of the soil, thus ensuring that the soil where we grow our food crops at Mabelvale Magnet Middle School will remain healthy over a prolonged period of time.

In addition to a prospering outside garden we have a lively greenhouse inside, where multiple tables and beds are blanketed by propagated broccoli, strawberry, mixed greens and beet plants. Students and teachers have helped to clean and reorganize the greenhouse, which has created space for the new plants and opened an area for teaching space in the greenhouse.

The Delta Garden Study curriculum has just been initiated for 6th grade science classes this past week, during which the students learned about layers of the earth.

The students who will not take part through the curriculum are able to come to the garden and greenhouse (with teacher permission) for part of their elective periods. Thus far these students have been an amazing help, working at shaping and weeding beds, planting and watering crops, laying straw in the paths and cleaning around the garden.
Student involvement in the garden has also been fostered by individual teachers who have personally worked to incorporate garden lessons into their science, art and math courses. The Mabelvale community has done a wonderful job at bringing the garden back to life after a long, hot summer. Stay in touch for more updates on Mabelvale's Garden!