Hydroponics, vermiculture and worms, oh my!
January 31, 2012
Rapid City Elementary garden coordinator, Sarah Thayer, worked in Ms. Root’s class to grow alfalfa sprouts in mason jars with no soil, only water! After planting their seeds the students will rinse them twice a day with water and make observations about what they see happening day to day. At the end of this experiment the students will taste their sprouts and learn that these little plants are great on a salad or sandwich!
Mrs. Thayer also brought in a Vermiculture Bin, which is a small compost bin using worms to do the work. Mrs. Quast’s and Mrs. Morrison’s classes first cut up newspaper and mixed it with leaves and bark to make a nice home for their worms. They cut up fruits and vegetables to feed them. With the help of some garden club volunteers, the worms will be tended to weekly. The children will be able to learn how the worms eat up unwanted food scraps and turn it into rich compost fertilizer. As spring nears the students will be able to use this compost to grow some spring seeds.
