Growing Vegetable Soup

the school garden way!

Read – Plan – Plant – Water – Harvest – Cook – YUM!

Teachers, students, and parents at Marblehead Elementary School recently learned what was needed to grow vegetable soup in their school garden with insight from author/illustrator, Lois Ehlert, in her bright, bold picture book about vegetable gardening for the very young - “Growing Vegetable Soup” (Voyager Books).

With a focus on planting seeds and nutrition, teachers read the “Growing Vegetable Soup” book with students, brainstormed with them on what it was about and what veggies they would grow, and why. Involving students in the planning process from the start got them fully engaged in the process and ultimately the result.

Here are some of the steps to Growing Vegetable Soup, the Kokua Junior Gardener Way:

Planted seeds and starters in their veggie beds during class.
Watered weekly with watering cans (supplemented by regular drip irrigation), while teachers and volunteers continued to talk with them about what was growing, tasting samples along the way.
Harvested their produce together, picking carrots, onions, red chard, kale, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, and parsley.
With assistance, students cleaned, chopped, and shredded vegetables and herbs after washing them in buckets.
With a propane camp stove, large soup pot and ladle, the veggies were sautéed right in the garden and then cooked with vegetable broth, salt, pepper, and garden herbs. They also made a rosemary bouquet with netting and thread to add to the pot that simmered 1 ½ hours in the back of the classroom.

The RESULT - a yummy veggie soup that fed three classes, with children eating it served over pre-made rice, and asking for “more, please!” Following their feast, students were asked to write about their “Growing Vegetable Soup” experience.