UF Home

Maintaining a School Garden

Once your garden has gotten off the ground you will want to keep it looking nice and manageable. Regular weeding and upkeep will keep your garden from becoming an overwhelming project. Set up a schedule for you and your students to water, fertilize, weed, prune, and conduct general maintenance of the garden.

Sometimes after school or Saturday meetings may be required to tackle some of the big maintenance. Determining who will care for the garden on the weekends and during semester breaks is also important if you wish to keep your garden going year-round.

Finding volunteers will be important if you do not wish to do it all yourself. As each new group of students comes to your garden, allow them to add their creativity to the garden, this will help them feel that the garden is theirs. The feelings of ownership and pride will be necessary if you want your new students to help care for the garden.

Maintaining your garden does not have to become an overwhelming task, locating people to help you care for it will make your job a lot easier and will keep your garden looking great year-round.

rakes crayon drawing

Contact

School Gardens
University of Florida
P.O. Box 110675
Gainesville, FL 32611-0675

Resources