The old and the new

Date posted: 01 March 2017

We're just under two weeks away from the year's first Little Sprouts Kitchen Garden Learning Program sessions so everyone's understandably excited to hit the ground running! Let's take a look at what's been happening in the Garden of late.

Changes

Our expert gardener, Pip, is busy preparing the soil and working on the Autumn/Winter crop plantings for the year. A large shade structure has been erected, drinking fountains and hand-washing stations have also been installed.

Have you brought your children to the Little Sprouts Kitchen Garden Learning Program before? This year we are introducing some new STEM activity stations into our sessions so watch this space!

Volunteers in force

Volunteers are a really important part of the program and we had a volunteers Little Sprouts induction morning last week. We have a lovely mix of volunteers this year from diverse backgrounds. Some are new to the program with some old familiar faces returning too.

We look forward to working with them all in the Garden as they have a rich knowledge of plants, a passion for healthy eating and, most importantly, enjoy working with the children.

A Mayan and Aztec favourite

Our "hero" plant that's attracting a lot of comments at the moment is Amaranth. Amaranth, originating from Central America and Mexico, was once a favourite food crop for the Mayans and Aztecs.

Known as an "ancient grain", Amaranth seeds can be ground up and made in to flour, breakfast cereals can be made from it and it even makes great budgie food!

It's extremely good for your health too - high in protein, amino acids and vitamins as well as being gluten and wheat free. Oh, and did we mention that it adds a spectacular element to your garden?

A dad joke to finish

One of our coordinators, Aaron, is always quick with a dad joke in the Garden. Here's this month's cracker (or fizzer, depending on how you look at it)

Q: Why did the bee get married?
A: Because he found his honey.