Children at Anna Kirchgater Elementary in Countryside have been giving up their recess periods since spring to work on a garden all of their own.
Students from the "Home of the Gators" began the Ed-U-Gator Garden in March, when the wooden planting beds were little more than dirt.
Last week, 20 second-graders patiently waited their turn at the spigot to fill buckets to water pumpkin and watermelon patches, tomato plants, leafy greens and an array of flower beds. Students planted everything in the cornucopia on display.
"I like planting tomatoes and making jack-o'-lanterns," said Joshua Her, 8.
The student's tomato plants produced more than 300 tomatoes, said Mike Crain, 63, a school volunteer and spouse of first-grade teacher Laurie Crain. The Crains donated their time to build the garden over five days last spring after the school received a $5,000 grant from Lowe's Home Improvement to support such an effort.
Burpee, the seed company, donated most of the seeds the children planted, Crain said.
"Last week, we cut six watermelons into pieces to share," he said. "They were small pieces, but 185 kids got to eat watermelon."
Crain refers to the miniature gardeners as "the bucket brigade." The children water the beds with buckets because it is too expensive to put in an irrigation system, he explained.
"These are my first-grade plumbers," Crain said, pointing to Abdullah Khan and Joshua Ard, both 7. Abdullah and Joshua helped install the pipes and PVC pump that bring water to the spigot, he said.
The boys beamed, pails in hand.
After the children fill their buckets, they disperse over their garden like purposeful, busy bees.
Michelle Ho and Bunni Leavenworth, both 7, waited in line to fill their pails. They stood next to several pumpkins as big as truck tires.
"It's, like, humongous," Michelle said.
"They're my favorite," Bunni said. "You can make pumpkin pies from them."
Vice Principal Peter Lew said the garden provides the children with hands-on learning experiences and a sense of ownership.
A patio table in the garden provides space for students to collect and record data while others are caring for the plants.
He pointed to the stalk of a tall sunflower that hovered over most of the children's heads. The flower, which was 22 inches in diameter, and recently died, is being used as a science project for fourth-graders.
The children have dissected it, looked at the aphids that lived within it and are counting seeds, Crain said.
Soon, children at the Elk Grove Unified district school will pull out the remains of the spring-summer garden and plant turnip greens and rhubarb, spinach and other leafy greens. They'll get to taste the fruits of their labor, too, as they have this past summer.
Crain said two students took home green string beans to their family and prepared them. "They came back and said (the beans) were delicious," he said. "It was the first time they'd eaten green beans."
Call The Bee's Melissa Nix, (916) 478-2653.
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