How Does Your Garden Grow?
Thursday, September 17, 2020
Like many of you around the world, the emergence of COVID-19 and stay-at-home orders has served as inspiration for trying out a new hobby at home. Recently, as our Kopila Valley School staff sat together at breakfast, they began to talk about their students and what sort of activities they have been undertaking during the pandemic.
In May of this year the students were all given a special assignment, to plant a garden. They were challenged to learn the names of various vegetables and to study the best way to grow and care for these plants. This included how to plant the seeds, from the depth of the soil to the spacing of the rows, and then how to care for the growing plants. Every student was asked to plant a few seeds and look after the budding plants. They were told to watch, observe, make notes, and even draw pictures as they grow.
Krishna Adhikari, our Gardner, shared that we purchased 14 kinds of seeds! “We bought cucumber, pumpkin, bottle gourd, beans, snake guard, tomato, coriander, bitter gourd, spinach, eggplant, black-eyed beans, sponge gourd, and spinach seeds,” he shared. “They were all local seeds. Each child was given four types of seeds.” Since then, our teachers have been asking for updates during their check-in calls with our students and their families.
Beyond serving the students in our school, we also provided seeds to our staff and their families as well. Krishna, one of our Children’s Home Aunties, shared that the vegetables have been a great benefit to her family. Her son, Basant, planted the seeds and they have been able to grow enough vegetables that they have not needed to purchase any from the shops. And they are still growing! “We cook rice, lentils and get our own vegetables for the morning and evening meals. We already harvested 50 to 60 kg of vegetables.”
Shova, another one of our Children’s Home Aunties said, “We got vegetables throughout the lockdown. The beans, cucumber, and pumpkin are still fruiting. My son feels happy and proud when he picks the fruits for cooking.”
Our horticulture teacher, Durga, has plans to teach the students even more. Durga said, “I am going to teach the children to grow coriander and spinach in flower vases or empty sacs, so they can still plant things even if they don't have land. A few seeds of garlic and beans can be planted with the coriander and spinach.” The timing right now is perfect for students to learn these gardening tips, as the coriander or spinach could be harvested while the beans and garlic continue to grow.
On our campus, we continue to grow radishes, cabbage, cauliflower, coriander, beans, and peas alongside grass for the cows. Pumpkin and bottle gourd are already fruiting and used in the kitchen. We have eight cows, and three of these are giving milk. We get nearly 15 liters of milk from the cows every day, which helps us provide quality nutrition for the children in our Kopila Valley Children’s Home. We even have a new buffalo who provides 6 additional liters of milk! Soon we will also divide our new land into small plots and challenge our staff to plant gardens there. The best gardener will receive a reward while the crops will help provide more food for our KVS kitchen!
How many of you have started gardening this year? What other hobbies have you discovered to help pass time and provide for your family during the pandemic? We would love to hear from you and see photos of your own gardens, baking projects, and more!