Even in Winter, Gardens Grow Healthy and Strong

With the world outside swathed in snow, it's probably difficult to imagine the lush, colorful life abounding in a greenhouse just off Leland Street.

But on a bitter winter day, there it is: Head  lettuce bursting out of the soil; bushy carrot-tops protruding; herbs shooting up in scattered varieties.

This is the vibrant winter garden at Touchstone Community School, an independent school for youngsters in preschool through eighth grade with an emphasis on the outdoors.

Winter growing is a natural extension to the school's ingrained outdoor curriculum, according to Seth Mansur, assistant middle school science teacher and one of the garden's main volunteers.

Throughout the year, children spend some portion of every day outside, from simply playing at their own whim to taking part in organized rope and challenge courses to tending to active gardens.

In-season, Touchstone itself is one giant garden of sorts. Plants, vegetables, fruits and flowers stretch across its 8-acre-plus campus, from the parking lot where tomatoes and pumpkins grow; to the playground lined with student-planted sunflowers; to a half-dozen separate raised gardening beds – or “mini gardens” – where various classes take turns planting, tending and harvesting their own bounties.

The greenhouse, meanwhile, is the apex of all this: It sits right at the middle of the bustling recess area.

“It's a central location for the school,” Mansur explained.

And right now, it's the central growing site for head lettuce, some of which will be donated to the Grafton-based Community Harvest Project, carrots, asparagus, a variety of herbs, bok choy, radish and kale.

Many of these greens are grown as “cut-and-come-again,” meaning that every three to four weeks they are pared down, with volunteers working through with scissors and emerging with bag-fulls of fresh produce, and left to grow again. 

“It makes for wonderful salads for each class at the school,” said Mansur.

But ultimately, beyond the tasty harvest, the greenhouse and gardens provide a rich educational experience, he said.

In addition to tending to the garden and watching food grow, students are given the daily task of collecting scraps from classrooms and the kitchen, and putting them into three compost bins.

To learn more about Touchstone's programs, visit www.touchstoneschool.com