Work Night and Orientation

If you're interested in being a garden volunteer this summer, we're having an orientation/work night on Monday May 14th at 6:30pm.  (Rain date will be May 21st at the same time.)

At the work night, we’ll show you the basics of caring for the garden, and will have a rough outline of what will be planted and where (map).  We will also have a sign up sheet for you to sign up to care for the garden for one week over the summer.

We will have approximately 1-1.5 hours of work to do.  We will weed the garden beds and also help Ms. Karen Lee-Wahl remove an area of grass so that students can put in a perennial bed near the office. 

Kids are welcome to join and help with this project.  

We would like to ask that you bring:

Gardening shoes

Gardening gloves

Tools for weeding and grass removal

Water to drink

We will try to provide some snacks to sustain us!  

*Please let us know if you plan to attend.*    epgarden@gmail.com

Spring!

What an early Spring it's been!  Quite a contrast to our first Spring.  Last year we had cold and driving flecks of ice on and off through June.  This year, we've already had Huegel Eagles in the garden.

Mrs. Hruska's third graders have been out planting peas.  Mammoth Melting Sugar is the variety and they're already coming up!  Don't they look great?!

The weeds have been getting an early start as well.  You can see in this photo how huge they're getting!

About the only good thing to see in the above photo has to do with the weeds distribution: they're concentrated along the garden beds.  Here at Dirt Club Hq we decided our priority when we began the garden was to improve the soil from the mix of sand, broken pens, glass, and corn starch that made up the plot.  Not even dandelions wanted to grow there!  Sure, we're still finding broken pens, but the height and vigor of the weeds along the garden beds show that we're making a difference in the soil.

And then there's this:

Yup, that's a worm.  A small worm to be sure, but still a worm.  We didn't see any worms our first season, and just a couple last summer.  And this wasn't the only worm found either when I was weeding.  Every shovelful of garden turned over had one of these guys!

Want to find worms too?  Like the feel of loam under your nails?

Contact the garden with the email address above!  Join Dirt Club today!  

Pictures from the End of Summer

Hello Huegel Eagles.  Below are some pictures from the middle and end of August.  Extra points for spotting the Gold Finch in the first picture:

More coming soon!

And Now for Something Completely Different

Here are at Dirt Club Hq, we're always looking for something new to do with what the garden gives us.  What follows is something we never would have thought of.  Ever.

Here is the link to the original story via the Smithsonian website, and here is the video you'll find there.  Enjoy!




A theme for next year's garden...hmmm?

Harvest Moon

Hey there Huegel Eagles.  This blog has fallen a bit behind the times!  We'll resume new postings soon, but in the mean time check out this shot from the night of the first frost of the year!

The picture is taken from the top of the Prairie with the moon rising over the school.  More pictures from the end of summer coming very soon!

July in the Garden

Hey Huegel Eagles!  It's July and despite the dry weather, Dirt Club has been busy watering and planting!
We're trying Popcorn this year.  Ms. Hruska's class planted these in May and when they came up, they looked exactly like blades of grass.  Now look at them!

Next, per the suggestion of Ms. Lee-Wahl, we've planted 5 kinds of pumpkins.  White, orange (regular), orange (large), red, and blue.  It's going to be one colorful patch come fall!  A mulch of hay will help keep moisture in the ground where the roots can access it.  It will also provide a great environment for creepy crawly oddments!  Lift for a look!

Finally, because YOU demanded it on the end of the year survey, we have planted Watermelons!  In fact we found 50% of you, per the excellent statistical work done by Ms. Campbell's class, asked for these to be grown this year.   We're not sure if we can get them to ripen as late as September, but we're sure going to try!  To give these more room, we'll soon be putting up a structure for the vines to climb.

Stay tuned for more coming soon!  If you would like to volunteer for Dirt Club please contact us via the email address at the top of the page.

Opening Day!

Opening Day at the Huegel School Garden started with clouds, drizzle, 11 volunteers, and at least a ton of compost.

First we weeded:

 

Then Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 2111 arrived and built us a much needed Compost Bin!

They stayed to swing some shovels as we started to shift the ton and more of compost onto the garden beds!  They were tough!

It was a big job, especially since it had rained the night before.

Vicki Hruska works compost into the Sunflower bed.  Notice the difference in colors between the existing soil and what was delivered!

Great work!  Look how fantastic the garden looks!  It's ready for the Sunflower seeds to be planted!

Dirt Club members:

Those who Worked Hard and got Rained On and Dirty:

Melissa Burger
Vicki Hruska
Barbara James
Karen Lee-Wahl
Kendra and Meghan (Troop 2111 members) 
Allen Wenzel
Evan and Henry (Clodbusters 0407)

Those who Helped Save the Above from Getting Wetter and Dirtier:

Nicole Craig at the Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, Inc.  for arranging a timely compost delivery from the City.  CAC is a great organization filled with dedicated people.
Marquis Childs for taking the time make sure the giant pile of compost was dropped close to the garden.  Many backs were saved due to his effort.
David Bray for his continued and enthusiastic support.