ACTIVITY

What to Grow, When to Grow – Garden Almanac

Description: Students investigate when different crops can be sown, grown and harvested in their region. They use their findings to create a seasonal garden calendar that shows what can be grown and harvested throughout the year.

 

Intention:Students learn how seasonal crop cycles can be used to plan a garden that provides a continuous supply of food throughout the year.

Before:

Before the lesson:

  • Collect a few reliable sources for sowing, growing and harvesting information.
  • Gather examples of different types of garden calendars or almanacs for inspiration.
1

Introduction 

  • What is an almanac?
  • How do gardeners know when to sow and harvest?
  • Show a simple example.
2

Choose crops 

  • Give students a list of suitable local crops.
  • Each student/team chooses 3–5 crops to investigate.
3

Research 
Students find and record:

  • When to sow
  • When to transplant, if relevant
  • When to harvest
4

Create the almanac

Students turn their research into a visual seasonal calendar. They choose how they want to organise and present their information, for example as:

  • a seasonal wheel
  • a month-by-month calendar
  • a garden timeline
  • a garden map with seasonal information
  • another creative format of their choice

They show when their selected crops are sown, grown and harvested using colours, symbols, drawings, seed-packet labels or other creative elements.

Encourage students to make their almanac clear, useful and visually engaging, so that another gardener could use it to plan what to grow.

5

Share & reflect 
Ask:

  • Which crops can we harvest in different seasons?
  • When do we have gaps?
  • How could we plan for food throughout the year?

Didactic tips:

  • Give choice: Let students choose crops and decide how to present their findings.
  • Provide reliable sources: Make sure students have access to accurate local growing information.
  • Keep the research focused: Limit students to 3–5 crops so there is enough time for the creative part.
  • Encourage different solutions: There is no single “correct” almanac format.
  • Connect research to practice: Ask, “If you were actually planning our garden, what would you grow and when?”
  • Focus on usefulness: Remind students that their almanac should help someone make real garden decisions.
  • Share the results: Display the almanacs so students can see and compare different approaches.
GreenComp: 2.1 Systems thinking, 3.3 Exploratory thinking, 1.2 Supporting fairness
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InvestigateCreate
THEME:
Nature & biodiversity
TIME: 45 minutes
AGE: 10-12 years, 13-15 years

SUBJECTS:

  • Nature sciences
  • Social studies

TOOLS / MATERIALS:

    • Paper, large sheets of cardboard or poster paper
    • Pencils, pens and coloured markers
    • Rulers and scissors
    • Glue and tape
    • Access to books, seed catalogues or reliable online sources
    • Seed packets or seed-packet images, if available
    • Examples of garden calendars or almanacs
    • Optional: magazines, natural materials or other materials for creative collage

METHODS:

    RESOURCES: