Plants

Plant choices will vary by school based on local factors like garden size and placement, soil type, and frequency of plant-munching fauna like deer and raccoons!  In a typical year, each school will have a selection of the plants listed below.

Thyme

Thyme is a frost-hearty herb common in many seasoning blends.

Tomato

Tomatoes are eaten raw in salads and on sandwiches, cooked for sauces and soups, and even dried.  Each method produces a very different tasting result. Tomatoes come in many sizes and colors and some are even shaped like miniature light bulbs! Europeans cultivated many varieties of tomatoes, but believed for a long time that they… Read more »

Turnip

Turnips roots are often roasted and used as a side dish or added to soups.  The leaves can also be cooked like chard or kale.

Winter Squash

The flesh of hard-sided squash is cooked before being eaten and is used for everything from main dishes to deserts!  These “winter squash” are a common fall food item. Hard-sided squashes come in many shapes, colors, and sizes and are a valuable crop because they ripen later in the season and store well over winter.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Zucchini and yellow squash are usually eaten cooked and can be used in a variety of side dishes, often steamed or sautéed.  Zucchini noodles are a trendy alternative to pasta. Summer squash comes in many varieties, but the most common are zucchini and yellow squash.  Zucchini and yellow squash grow in a shrub shape, rather… Read more »