Barrels, Bulbs and (almost) Bird Tables!

This week was very busy. On Tuesday, school inspectors wanted to meet us so we gave them a slide show about all we have acheived in our first year. Well done to Lewis, Shaun, Catriona and Charlotte - you all read your lines very well!
On Wednesday we decided the barrels outside the front of the school really needed replanting - you can see why in the picture below!

We emptied them out completely and used new compost. They now have hyacinth bulbs deep in the soil, which should smell lovely in the spring. In the top are pansies which will get bigger and give good winter colour to brighten up the entrance of the school.

We were joined on Thursday by five members of staff and two first year girls who helped us plant yet more bulbs behind the school. There are now quite a lot of daffodils ready to come up in Spring. Thank you everyone!

We also used spare bulbs and some pansies to plant up two large pots for the garden - we will keep them a bit warmer in the greenhouse for the winter and put them out by the shed doors in the spring when they flower. Mrs MacLennan kindly donated some large pots that we can grow carrots and parsnips in next year - thankyou! Also on Wednesday, Danielle and Mr MacFarlane finished chopping up the sunflower plant remains into the compost. They also planted some onions.
If you are wondering about the "almost Bird Tables" bit of the title, well, Miss Swallow started to make a bird table just before lunch on Thursday using old bits of wood that we have. We want to feed birds during the cold winter (which started with snow just yesterday!) and be able to watch them from the shed. Things didn't go quite to plan - some of the bits are shown below - so hopefully, she can finish it over the weekend and we can put it up next week...watch this space!

Collecting Leaves and Planting Bulbs

Another week whizzes by and we still have lots to do before the winter sets in! On Wednesday we raked more leaves and started cutting up the dead sunflowers for the compost heap. On Thursday we had some help from Miss Forsyth and five S1 boys to plant a big bag of daffodil bulbs. It was a pretty cold day and the ground was stoney and difficult to dig, so everyone did well to plant what they did!

Happy Birthday DiGGers!

This week we got lots done! On Wednesday we carried on treating the shed. We were lucky as it was sunny though also very cold! Lewis's dad gave us some overalls - so you can see why we look as though we are on an episode of CSI!! Also, Catriona's mum came to help us. She continued after lunch with Mr MacFarlane and Danielle, then Miss Swallow made the most of the dry weather by completing the job after school.

On Thursday, we celebrated our first birthday by having a cake (carrot of course!). Unfortunately, Lewis was away at the dentist, so we saved a piece for him! We also opened lots of "presents" - parcels that have been arriving for us over the past few weeks. For example, we passed the Royal Horticultural Society "Campaign for School Gardening" level 1 and received lots of seeds and two wooden pot makers.

Next Thursday, there will be a "Bulb Planting Activity" for any pupils and staff to join in. We'll be planting bulbs all around the school grounds to brighten it up next spring. If you'd like to participate, meet at the main school office at 1.30pm.

Treating the Shed and Collecting Seeds

On Wednesday this week we had blue skies so started to treat the shed for the winter. The girls got going with the brushes whilst the boys worked with a marker to outline our DiGGers! logo using stencil cutouts.

Typically it rained on Thursday but we still had plenty to do! Below you can see us collecting seeds from the runner beans to sow next spring. Also, the seeds from the Sunflowers. We'll make a fat ball with some of them, to feed the birds in the winter and keep the biggest for planting again next year. We might even eat some in a salad next time we make garlic bread!

Garlic Bread Feast!

On Wednesday this week we took our own-grown garlic and made garlic bread with it. Quite a smelly job - a little bit of garlic goes a long way! Hence Danielle's face in picture two! On Thursday we then had lunch together - lentil and vegetable soup with garlic bread. Delicious! Needless to say there was none left at the end! Mr McFarlane came to join us - and brought a table to use for potting in the shed - thanks, it's just what we need!

The Garlic - dried and ready to use. Crushing the garlic - what's that odour??! Leaving the garlic to stand after it's crushed and before cooking allows it to release a chemical called allicin (which causes the garlic smell). This chemical is well known as a cancer-busting chemical so it is very healthy to eat regularly (as well as warding off evil spirits and vampires in the films!!)

Butterfly and Bumblebee flowers sown

This week, we did several jobs - weeding borders, feeding the sunflowers and brussel sprouts, raking up leaves and our main job was preparing the border to sow our seeds. They are a mixture of nectar rich flowers to attract both butterflies and bees. Hopefully they will also give us lots of colour and interest to look at next year You can see here lettuces that we've potted on too. The warm weather is keeping them growing.

We have left some runner beans to get bigger and produce seeds so we can sow them again next year:

Sunflower Competition Winner!

On Thursday this week, we measured the sunflowers at Frank Nicol's. There was a clear winner - number 4 (planted by S5 pupil Rachael MacRae) - standing at 267c cm. Mrs Morton who works at the Academy guessed the closest height and wins the £20 voucher to spend at the garden centre. We would like to thank all those who contributed by making guesses. In total, the competition raised £50 - enough to buy 2 goats for families in Africa! In the top picture, you can see Miss Swallow, Mr MacFarlane, Danielle Burton, Lewis MacKenzie, Catriona MacIver, and Lid Philip from the garden centre who has cared for the flowers so well through the summer holidays! In the second picture you can see Miss Richards at the front. See how much taller than the others the winning flower is!

Below: measuring the shorter ones - "smile"!

Mr MacFarlane needed to use a ladder to measure the highest ones!

Danielle looking studious as she takes down the heights!

How will we get them back up to school? After measuring, we loaded Miss Swallow's trailer and she drove VERY slowly back to school where we carried them down into the garden! They brighten the place up and we'll let them go to seed so we can collect them for sowing next year. We'll feed some to the birds in the winter too.After all that, we still had time to dig some more of the raised bed to get ready for sowing our flower border:On Wednesday it was pouring with rain, so we ate our lunch in the shed and sat planning things for the future!