How does your garden grow in the fall? With cold frames, and chilly plants, and covered beds all in a row? Quite the contrary! Presenter Thianda Manzara talked about back to school gardening in this month’s Growing School Gardens webinar.  She discussed several choices for cover crops, ideal conditions for growing and harvesting, and the science behind certain plants’ ability to survive and grow when overnight temperatures drop below freezing. Attendees of the session also learned about the Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids model for seed-to-table growing in both spring and fall.  Watch the webinar to find out more.

Quotes from the session:

“Thank you!!! This has been another quality presentation!!”

Click to view the webinar “School Gardening in the Fall: Strategies for Growing Seed to Table.”

Co-hosted by edWeb.net and the National Farm to School Network.

Presented by Thianda Manzara, Ph.D., Founder and President of Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids in Delaware.

Thianda Manzara, Ph.D. is the Founder and President of Healthy Foods for Healthy Kids (HFHK).  Motivated by a desire to improve children’s health, Thianda combined her love of science and her passions for food, cooking and gardening to create HFHK in 2005.  Three years later, with a goal of expanding the program to more schools, she founded the HFHK non-profit organization.  Before starting HFHK, Thianda’s career focused on biology research and teaching.  She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology, a master’s degree in Agronomy, and a Ph.D. in Genetics.

School gardens are a growing initiative to help children understand where their food comes from and how their food choices impact their bodies, the environment, and their communities at large.

A school garden can have an impact on the entire life and educational program of school and the surrounding community. Gardening activities can be incorporated into nearly every curriculum subject to enhance the appreciation of the natural world, and to provide hands-on learning activities for students.

This online learning community is a place for educators, gardeners, parents, and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, and integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school.

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