Vegetable garden coach wants to sit down with schools in autumn and early winter

As a garden designer, Marijke has learned to ask a lot of questions. What does someone want and what do they need as a result? Coming up with a beautiful solution is what makes her work so enjoyable.

Through her company Oogst Ontwerp, Marijke designs and creates natural gardens, including school vegetable gardens. She says: “I think gardening at school is very important in this day and age, when we spend so much time in our heads and indoors. A school garden creates balance between the head, heart and hands. You harvest not only crops, but also enjoyment, peace and relaxation. And it teaches children that sometimes things don’t work out because of slugs or the weather. That’s part of it; that’s life.”

Consulting in autumn

Marijke prefers to start consulting and discussing the budget in autumn. “If you only start in May, it becomes difficult to harvest anything before the summer holidays. Another advantage of starting in autumn is that you can immediately plant some perennial fruit bushes, if desired. They establish themselves well in autumn and winter, meaning you can harvest quite soon. I always advise schools with enough space to choose perennial edible plants and fruit bushes, supplemented with annuals that require much more time.”

Building support

But how do you maintain support if you start consulting so early and cannot sow until March? According to Marijke, there are all kinds of ways to do this. “Think of creating a vegetable garden plan, a sowing and harvesting calendar, ordering seeds and planting fruit bushes. Ideal activities for winter. You can also plant flower bulbs, so that the children can already see flowers emerging above the ground in February. Another educational activity for children is looking at soil life: what does it look like when it is dormant? In all these ways, you can maintain enthusiasm for the school garden right through to spring.

Starting small is also an option

Marijke emphasises that schools really do not have to start on a grand scale straight away. “Sometimes it works better to start small, for example with one planter. Once you see that the planter is looking beautiful and full, and gardening at school is starting to come alive among the teachers and children, you can expand. If you have a lot of land but not yet enough enthusiastic people to maintain it, opt for perennials and shrubs that require less maintenance.
Do not immediately use the energy you feel yourself to grow maintenance-intensive plants or more crops, but use it to build support among colleagues who are less green-fingered. It is really important to get several people involved. Because if you are the only enthusiast and go on holiday for three weeks, gardening at school still needs to continue. My goal is to make myself redundant. I want the school to take responsibility for the school garden.”

You can find Marijke on her website OogstOntwerp.nl and on Instagram under the name @oogstontwerp. Photos: Monique van der Hoeven and Marijke Starke.

Source: Alliantie Schooltuinen.