Hastings Educational Garden
September & October, 2000

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During the months of September and October, Hastings students have taken part in a number of garden-based activities. The wheat crop had been gathered in late July by the school garden coordinator. The students all had a hand at threshing it and picking it over to separate the wheat from the chaff, an expression many students had heard, but had no previous experience with.

The forecast called for an early frost, so we needed to organize the harvest. The most abundant crop we grew was the Anasazi Blue Corn. In about one month, once the corn has dried out sufficiently, we will grind it and make cornbread.

This fifth grader is examining a rice plant and its root system.
First and fifth graders worked together to separate the wheat from the chaff. The children then had a turn at flailing the wheat.
Here is a plate of wheat, ready to be picked over before we mill it into flour for bread.
This girl is harvesting the corn she planted last spring.
I bet you thought the corn was going to be yellow, right? Click here to find out more about the fascinating history of corn.
Someone's been eating my corn, and it wasn't me!
Just as people come in different colors and sizes, so do many other living things in nature- even corn! Did you know that corn can be red, white, yellow, orange, burgundy, or purplish-blue? It can even have many of these colors together in the same ear.
It's important to remember that every bean inside the pod, as well as every kernel on the cob, is also a seed.
This is an Apache Dipper Gourd. Native Americans used the gourds as dippers for collecting water because of the gourd's long handle and bulbous end. Gourds need to remain on the vine until the vine withers and dies, or the gourd will rot. Gourds take a long time to mature, and will rot if picked before developing a sufficiently hard shell.

Garden Update: November
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Last update: 11-24-00/mgl