“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be magic hour.” – Victoria Erickson
We’ve crossed over the threshold of a particularly lovely Rogue Valley summer into the softer, cooler days of autumn – the last days of harvest season. This year was a productive one in our school gardens; we had a solid start to the season thanks to seedlings grown by our friend and long-time gardener, Vicki. This spring and summer, we grew kale, Sungold cherry tomatoes, Amish melons, Cinderella pumpkins, groundcherries, cucumbers, tomatillos, strawberries, squash, and so much more!
As the weather turns colder, we’ll spend more time in the classroom learning the nuts and bolts of gardening and its science. Each educator has a specially curated library of favorite lessons and curriculum for this time of year to keep the magic alive until spring thaws our outdoor spaces. Some of our favorites include reading, then preparing, Stone Soup, creating Frankenstein-esque monsters out of overgrown vegetables, and warming our students’ chilly hands* with mugs of toasty, aromatic tea. We look for seed pods to save and poke around root systems, knowing that they are a promise of warm times and new growth to come. We work on tucking in our gardens for the season and lean into the magic of looking forward to spring. But for now, we’ll bundle up and enjoy the rest and pause that this season invites.
(*Here lies one of our chilly season challenges: how do we keep these kiddos’ hands warm enough?! During Harvest Meals, it’s the coveted steaming bowl of warm water or the delicious flame inside the pizza oven – but out in the garden, you start to go numb!)
Recently, a student of mine thoughtfully noted that tomatillos and groundcherries look similar and wondered if they were related – it was probably something about the charming lantern shades they both sport that gave it away. It amazed me that this child connected these dots after spending just a few minutes exploring the garden. I say amazed, not surprised, because children are fantastic at noticing the wonder around them. They ponder and follow their curiosities to naturally draw conclusions that adults often miss in their busyness. What a joy it is to follow along in their awe and learn with them!
This time of year, it’s fun to teach the kids about seed saving and the timelessness of food storage: canning, drying, powdering, etc. Last month at Patrick Elementary, my students and I shelled nearly two pounds of runner beans (so beautiful with their pink and purple striations!). They’re drying on my kitchen counter as we speak and we’re planning on cooking up a lovely stewed bean dish, complete with onions, garlic, savory herbs from the garden, and crumbly cornbread to soak it all up with.
The first frost served as a fun exploration day in the garden a few weeks back. The cosmos were especially stunning in their frost-bitten state and the kiddos had a blast discovering the sweet, ice-crusted strawberries (delicious!). This led to a fun lesson in what survives a mild frost (strawberries, large sauce tomatoes) and what doesn’t (squash blossoms, zinnias).
This season has me thinking more intentionally about what we need in order to rest, nourish, and restore. My mind turns towards warming soups, heavy blankets re-fluffed after seasons spent in storage, and cracking the window in the evenings to take in the sounds of stirring leaves and gentle rainfall.
I hope that you, dear community, find rest, warmth, peace, and plenty in this season. Take good care of yourself, and let’s take good care of each other, too.
- Taylor Solorzano-Madden, Garden Educator