Copenhagen School Gardens

Water cans are a necessity in school gardens

Today I had the opportunity to visit Copenhagen School Gardens Københavns skolehaver. It is some kind of miracle, that these school gardens has survived through changing times. I was surprised by the number of school children having a small plot here. In one corner alone there is 200 childrens tiny plots!

Rasmus and Rebeccas gardens

Every school child gets a plot with a name label. The teachers help the children to sow the vegetables in a certain order, for the plants to support rather than shadow each other. In this way the pupils get more joy out of their effort. Here and there I noticed some individual deviations from the pattern. Some children bring seeds from home.

The apple walk

The small plots are set in a larger garden with common areas containing a huge variety of herbs, fruits, flowers and lawns where the children can play and rest. There is also a bee hive corner, hens and lots of wildlife. A long hazel walk is often visited by squirrels.

Starlings living quarter

Gooseberries will be ready for the children in next week

Some of todays garden guests

Although it was a rainy and windy day, sun started shining as this guy played his guitar.

Pippi House

The school gardens contain both new and old houses. My favourite is the Pippi House. It was old and decaying, could hardly stand anymore. Now it is being restored, with financial help from another organisation.

Tool shed with a ship

A lot of tool are needed, when several classes work their gardens at the same time. Order is imperial. I enjoy the practical way they stack the water cans on a shaft.

Rose

I guess this is the first rose this year. It must be wonderful being a school child in these beautiful school gardens, with room for work and play.

Visit the school gardens homepage (in Danish):
www.kbhskolehaver.dk

 

The little pot maker

Pot Maker – my new toy

Last summer I was presented a pot maker, a small tool for paper pot making. I didn’t use it until now, but came to love by first paper pot finished. No more hurling around in our house and garden looking for small pots, used beakers and the like. Now I only have to find the little pot maker and an old newspaper.

How I use my little pot maker

I start finding a newspaper section, preferably without glue in the folding, and cut it in three slices. Now I have a lot of paper strips in the right size. Then I fold a little top border, and roll it around the pin. I can do it quicker along the edge of the kitchen table. Press the surplus paper under the bottom, place it in the saucer and rock it gently to lock the bottom of the pot. Now the difficult part, to slide the new paper pot off the pin. I do it by pushing gently from top of the pin.
Now it speeds up, and a collecting tray is most convenient.

Sweet pepper in the new paper pots

All pots came in use at once for my small sweet pepper plants. Now they live in a warn out wash tub.

All this happened on april 2. —–time is running 🙂

 

My shredder

My friend the shredder in work

Today I cut down a part of the privet hedge. When the twigs have passed the shredder they are transformed in to an excellent covering material. I made a narrow path in the kitchen garden with the result of todays work. It does consume some nitrogen during breakdown, but release it later. Some of all the carbon will be transformed into humus. My heavy clay soil need a lot of that.

Many gardeners in the neighborhood drive all kind of garden waste to the recycling. In my garden there is no waste, only compostmaterial waiting to start the process of transformation. Thicker twigs (more than 35mm) gives congestion to the shredder, instead I cut them in small bits (10-20cm) and spread them under trees and bushes. In the deep shadow they shelter and feed many beneficial tiny organisms, and after a few years they are absorbed into the dark upper layer of the soil.

Other motorised gardentools I haven’t found use for. The garden is small, and noisy motors disturbs my thoughts while doing the job. The shredder though is silent and doesn’t disturb me.
In a larger garden I probably would aquire more motorised gardentools. I’m not fanatic on this, but I do enjoy the luxury of silence.