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Edible Landscape

Norway

June 2023 was extremely inspiring and busy for us. We largely spent it in northern Norway. As part of the study trip, we were able to complete many interesting activities and see many beautiful landscapes. 

On June 13, 2023, together with Knut Berntsen
we visited Kjerringoy Skole. After integration games led by Knut, we told the students and teachers about the foundation and our project Edible Landscape. We presented charts from the exhibition "School garden - in harmony with nature", which showed the school gardens we have realized from Poland, Kenya and Cape Verde. Then we went to the field, where we talked about ecological gardening. Together we made plant manure from weeds, ashed the flower beds and prepared the area for new plantings using cardboard boxes and cut grass. The school's students showed off the plant cuttings they prepared on their own. They plan to use the money they get from selling them at a local festival for a joint team-building outing. Then the students of the whole school took part in movement and integration games! It was a very nice day! Tusen takk Knut!


 

We continue our coverage of our study tour in Norway. Another of the activities we participated in was a seminar on school gardens, aimed at Norwegian teachers and educators, combined with a visit to the Bodin 4H-gård garden farm. We presented a lecture and photo exhibition entitled: "School garden - in harmony with nature". All presentations were followed by a cognitive walk around the garden farm, where the owners talked about the cultivation techniques used in the northern part of Norway. We were able to observe methods of mulching with sheep's wool. Thanks to Na wypasie, we will soon be experimenting with such mulching in our front garden, which is said to be an effective form of protecting plants from slugs. Have you tried it?

As part of our stay in Norway, we also managed to visit numerous community gardens. On June 14, 2023, we visited the gardens established near the Bodin 4H-gård horticultural farm. These were quite extensive with crops both in boxes and in the ground. Many of the beds were lined with various types of organic matter and covered with agro-textiles to protect against the cold. The vegetable crops were accompanied by numerous plantings of fruit bushes, with red currants and raspberries dominating. It was hard to get out of admiration how many plants could be successfully grown here, considering that these gardens are located behind the Arctic Circle!

Particularly noteworthy in the Bodø area are the extensive and very diverse Vågøne community gardens. ❤️ In the former, each resident has his or her own area to arrange individually. In the second, one works together for a common harvest, which is then shared. Look at all those plants! 😍 Rhubarb, lovage, asparagus, strawberries and currants are extremely popular in ground plantings in this area. 🍓 In greenhouses, tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers successfully bear fruit. However, potatoes are leading the way. And it was to them that the largest part of the discussion of the garden visit was devoted. 🥔

On June 15, 2023, we had the opportunity to participate in the expansion of the Vågøne school garden in the municipality of Bodø. Elementary school students, under the supervision of teachers, have been learning gardening in practice for some time. 🏡 As part of the field lessons, we built another 4 boxes and planted them with vegetables. 🥕 We also prepared a piece of new land for planting in the following years. A popular practice in Norway is to cover the ground with agro-textiles and leave them as a cover for weedy ground. Under such a covering, weeds die relatively quickly and the land is suitable for new plantings after one season of covering without unnecessary agro-technical work and digging. 🤩

We filled the boxes with rain-washed seaweed, which is readily used as fertilizer here. Composted wood chips, old newspapers and local weeds, which we used to mask the mats, were also in motion. We were also not without branches and stones, which we obtained from the area and used to hold the mats. It was a very enjoyable day! ❤️