ACA Aids Walk 5.15.11

The HCZ A Cut Above Students geared up for their participation in the 2011 Aids Walk on May 15th. The students committed to participate as they focus on Community Service. The morning brought a pouring rain and yet they were dedicated to walk for the cause!!!! Students walked through the doors at 8am with ponchos, hats and ipods ready to get moving. After breakfast the rain begin to slow down a bit which was great. The staff and students kept up the team momentum with cheers and chants as transition began. There were 33 middle school students and 8 staff representing the HCZ A Cut Above program. The rain was not a barrior...way to go ACA!!!!

The Dirt

Our after school Garden and Cooking Club got into the dirt this week, literally. From tilling the soil to starting our first compost pile (pictured) to building our own Worm Café to some simple pH tests to figure out how to feed and replenish what was used up by last year's plants, we've been hands deep in the dirt (and the weeds) for the last two weeks! Along the way, we learned what a wonderful rich story every square inch of soil has to tell and we thought we'd share a few of the most fascinating facts with you.

What exactly is dirt?
According to our book on soil, soil is "the naturally deposited unconsolidated material which covers the earth's surface whose chemical, physical, and biological properties are capable of supporting plant growth." Huh? Deposited unconsolidated material, eh?  We love the SAT-worthy words, but we wanted to find a simpler definition so we surfed over to Websters Kid's Dictionary and found this:

soil (noun):
i. firm land
ii. a : the upper layer of earth that may be dug or plowed and in which plants grow
b : the superficial unconsolidated and usually weathered part of the mantle of a planet and especially of the earth
iii. country, land <our native soil>
iv. the agricultural life or calling
v. a medium in which something takes hold and develops

Definitions 2 and 5 seemed closer to what we think of when we talk about the soil in the garden. Still they still did not quite give us the simple straightforward definition of soil we were hoping for--and maybe that's because soil is so much more complicated than we give it credit for! It's literally teaming with life and essential to helping new life translate sunlight into usable energy. Soil is a crucial part of nature's recycling system and critical to the food web that we all rely on. For now we're consider soil as the living, breathing outer layer of the earth that's made from all kinds of materials (plants and rocks and vegetation and animal matter) in various stages of decomposition that provide habitat for new plants and animals.

Soil as we know it today has developed over an extremely long period of time; in some cases even thousands of years. It's one of the earth richest resources and it's also one of our most renewable. But it does require some care, especially when we put it through rigors like farming and remove its natural rehabilitators (like forests) from its surface. So, we've been testing the soil in our 39 rooftop planters and are getting ready to feed it with…you guessed it…worm poo! Feeding the soil is on our "to do list" for next week's gardening club.

So until then, we'll leave you to contemplate this chart that shows how soil fits into a complex food web plus a link to some great further reading about the basics of soil from CXI. We really like how they define Soil as "a complex habitat where plants and microorganisms live together. Healthy, living soil is alive with a diverse population of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, algae, protozoa, and nematodes. These organisms create a web of activity that decompose organic matter in soil to ensure that nutrients are usable by plants and crops. This results in continuous soil development, maintenance of soil structure, nutrient cycling, and various beneficial interactions with plant roots."

Pumpkin Patrol!

We continued the process of getting the beds ready for the first spring seedlings and plants enlisting help from as many community members as possible! One of Mr. Sander's 3rd Grade Science Classes at Promise Academy 2 has been growing Pumpkin Seeds in their classroom and brought them over to the garden to find more space to grow. Traipsing down Madison Avenue with the spindly pumpkin plants in tow, they happily dubbed themselves "The Pumpkin Patrol."

Transplanting seedlings can be a tricky process. Even if you are careful you may lose some of your hardiest plants along the way. For fledgling sprouts that have grown up in the comforts of a classroom, sudden exposure to the elements can often be too much. Be as gentle as possible and if you've got the time "harden off" your plants off by slowly taking them out into the fresh are. This process simply means that you gradually expose your plants to the outdoors in order to help them acclimate. When your plants are coming from one school building to another, you can't always create the ideal conditions. The harsh reality of the outdoors, combined with the fact that our roof can get very windy and we knew our pumpkin plants would have to be packed in well for good soil-to-root contact in order to have a fighting chance in their new setting. For more about transplanting your seedlings outside in your own garden, read this article: http://bit.ly/j13Wfm

We have had some surprises this spring in the garden...like the carrots and beets that survived through the winter! We've also got several herbs that have self-seeded and sprung back to life including oregano, thyme, sage and parsley. Thanks so much to the group of students and teachers who came over to help us start transforming our garden from winter's fallow ground to spring's sprouts. We have had a mysterious arrival of loads of Pansies in many of our vegetable beds which are beautiful and unexpected joys. We've been working to move them from the vegetable bins to a few flower boxes and pots where they can be enjoyed by everyone. We gave the Pumpkin Patrol several potted pansies to take back with them to beautify their own school and enjoy. Stop by the 5th Floor Terrace Garden to see the flowers for yourself.

We've got seedlings!

There's always a lot of excitement in the air (not to mention allergens! Achoo!) as the plants and trees that have survived with us through the long winter start to bloom and blossom. Walking around New York the past few weeks it's been impossible not to notice the Pear Trees and Cherry Blossoms showing signs of life from Harlem to Brooklyn. Meanwhile, here at HCZ we've been incubating our own set of seedlings for our Kitchen Garden...and after a few days and weeks of patience...we've got sprouts!

These seedlings will grow up to be some deliciously fresh fruits and vegetables. Plus along the way we'll get to learn about the amazing scientific processes that go on in the soil and the systems that support turning sunlight, air, and water into edible energy. So far we've started lots of tomatoes (Tiny Tim, New Yorker, Fox Cherry, Green Zebra, Goldie), some cucumbers (Big Munchers and Pickling Cucs), Eggplants (Apple Green and Black Beauty), Peppers (Big Jim and Hot Chili), Herbs (Thyme, Tarragon, Dill), some melons (Banana, Iroquois, Jerry Lind), some squashes (Patty Pan Squash and Pumpkins) and some cruciferous vegetables (Broccoli and Brussels Sprouts) to transplant into the garden.

We love the artist illustrated seed packets that we got from the Hudson Valley Seed Library and are excited about the heirloom varieties donated by John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds! What about you? Are you starting to think about growing your own balcony or fire escape garden now that the weather is turning? Or do you want to get your hands dirty in our garden? We would love to give you a tour of what's growing and we're always looking for volunteers to help us with our latest project. Let us know if you want to get involved. Until next time, keep growing and learning and eating well!

Happy Earth Day!

Since 1970, April 22nd has been celebrated around the world in ways big and small as "Earth Day." This unique holiday promotes awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The Harlem Children's Zone recognizes what an important idea this is and we're excited to be in the process of preparing our own school garden for yet another year of connecting our students and community members with the process of growing and harvesting their own food. In honor of Earth Day, we got out in the garden and cleaned up what was lingering from last season so that we could kick off our compost bin and get the beds ready for the new seedlings that are started.

According to the Earth Day website, "planting a garden at a school or at home is recognized universally as one of the best ways to teach children of every age the life sciences, to inspire a greater desire for whole foods and generally to reconnect them with Nature." We could not agree more and we are looking forward to enjoying and honoring our garden and this beautiful planet we call home, not just on Earth Day, everyday throughout the coming seasons.

You can participate in this day by making your own pledge at www.earthday.org

Help Us Get our Garden Going!

Every year as winter thaws out into spring we get giddy thinking about returning to our work in the garden. We've ordered the seeds and are gearing up to start planting once the risk of frost has passed. Everyone who's a part of HCZ is invited to join in the fun of getting the garden ready to go! In fact, all next week, April 18th-22nd, we are hosting Community Garden Work Days from 1-4pm in the 5th Floor Terrace Garden. We'll be outside, unless there is rain, and you can come and help us:

• Test the soil PH
• Feed the soil
• Clean up from the long winter!
• Start our compost heap
• Turn and till the soil to prepare it for new seeds and seedlings
• Weed out any stubborn plants that have found their way into the planters

It's going to be a great week of garden prep and we hope to see you there. If you have any questions or want to schedule a specific time to come with your class or group, please email our gardener, Miss Mia, at mlittlejohn@hcz.org. See you in the garden!