The first couple weeks of April, Avalon elementary students planted a flower garden and a vegetable garden from start to finish in honor of Earth Day. They took the plants out of the little cartons, dug the holes and planted them. They did it all!

Now, you should see their gardens! They are overflowing with beautiful flowers, ground cover and vegetables galore. So much so that the students attending summer school have been able to eat what they grew.

Denise Wimbish (paraprofessional) said, “It has been very exciting to come out and check on the garden for the summer. The summer school kids and I have been pulling weeds and taking care of all the vegetables and flowers. We have been able to sample the vegetables and we have been having a great time in the garden.”

Neva DelBosque (school counselor) said, “Every morning during snack at summer school the students go out and check the vegetables and pick the ones that are ripe. Then Miss Wimbish will bring them in, wash them and slice them up and pass them around and share them with everyone at lunch. They get to eat what they planted. They got to see the small plants develop into food. They have had tomatoes, green peppers and are waiting on the cantaloupe. The students have counted six cantaloupe that are almost ripe.”

When asked what he had learned from planting a garden, Jerry Salazar (summer school student) said, “We can take the plants that are dead in our garden and put them back into the dirt to make the soil richer.”

Another valuable lesson learned at Avalon ISD. Good gardening kids!