Horticulture enterprise

 

If you start now by May you will have a range of summer bedding and vegetable plants to sell and use in your own college garden.

Here are a few jobs which can be done now in January  even if it is cold and wet outside 

Clean flowerpots ready for potting on later in the season. We usually have a production line with pots passing from one bowl to another to ensure a good clean before being stacked pyramid style to dry out  and of course quality control.

Collect mushroom trays to keep the pots in. Keep a count of the pots ( A good Maths task)- How many will you need?  

Check your tools- clean the trowels and forks - Do you have dibbers and gloves?

Label everyone's gloves so they get the same ones and are responsible for bringing them back after time in the greenhouse or garden.

Research  prices and costing items on the computer

If you're borrowing money to fund the enterprise spend time working on your pitch- Each student taking a part in the presentation.

Buy in any planting modules and labels and permanent markers you need - visit the garden center


Make some of your own labels out of old plastic containers 

Look at seed catalogues or visit the garden center to buy seed.

For sewing in pots big seeds are best : Nasturtiums  and sweet peas and  dwarf sunflower , For vegetables :runner beans broad beans, french bean peas, cucumber, courgette, marrow . Not all of these are for planting now but you can start now with Sweet peas

Buy First Early potatoes and start chitting in a cool dry place. Take photos of their progress See blog post for resources from 2017

Buy Tete a tete or other miniature daffodils. Plant three in a pot

Buy peat free compost ( buy it in sizes you can lift!)

Order plug plants now- I use Jersey Plug Plants

Clean out the greenhouse 

If you have a heater in the greenhouse you can start planting now .

 I don't do small seeds because pricking out is quite a skill  and time consuming for the teacher to have to do.

An easy herb to do is mint- If you can find a clump to dig up it can be divided between lots of little pots and  grown on. 

Think about watering- can other groups help you out 

How will the plants survive through the holidays? - If there is no one to water don't be too ambitious because someone will have to take the plants home!

A watering system is useful , A rota of staff who can water. Trays  to go under the  the flowerpots and trays  help.

How to sand a wooden plant label

How to sand wooden plant labels 

Running a meeting

From time to time we need to teach our students how to hold a meeting.
Chapter 5 page 5 of 
  
 Creative Minds – The Guide has a clear  guide to help young people with a learning disability to conduct meetings effectively.
 
The Guide can be downloaded  either as a whole document or in separate chapters, here: http://www.creativemindsproject.org.uk/the-guide/

On line Shop

 Currently  newhamteamspirit is taking a short break Jan 2020
Entry 1 students at Newham College have opened an on line shop as part of their enterprise project.They have a shop on the website etsy.com where they sell greetings cards.


www.etsy.com/shop/newhamteamspirit

Learners design cards and then add them to their shop on the site.The learners pay a small fees and then wait for their orders. Items are then packed and posted out .
The project has been a good way to improve ICT and communication skills.

Accessible Till for students with a learning Disability

 No longer available Jan 2020 Richmond Adult Community College have developed an easy-to-use cash register.You can read about it at Sensory Software on the ability net Wiki:
thanks to
Global Assistive Technology Encyclopedia (GATE)
for the link

Gardener's delight

The Geranium plants arrived this week and what an amazing sight to see 72 healthy little plants tucked up safely in a box all the way from Jersey!

My Life skills group has planted them on into bigger pots which has bought colour and life to the greenhouse.
For our Enterprise module the 'Greenfingers Garden Company' will plant up and sell hanging baskets and patio pots. We have ordered plug plants of Geraniums,Petunias,Fuchsias and Busy Lizzie's and are also growing from seed (hopefully the warmer weather will speed these up now).

Also see my blog entries for Gardening and the award winning Centre for Autism enterprise project

Social Enterprise

Perfect Pots is a social enterprise project.They have been shortlisted for the 'Social Enterprise in Schools Award' and are now down to the final three. The winner will be chosen by an online vote. Working in a social enterprise has already made a huge difference to young people with autism and learning disabilities who attend the

Holbrook Centre for Autism.

view this image at www.helphope.org.uk

It has helped them to believe in themselves and to better understand their abilities, as well as to cope with the challenges they face.
'Perfect Pots' has proved to people in the local area that young people with autism can make a positive contribution to their community. Voting closes on 30th November. You will have to vote for social enterprise in all four award categories for your vote to count; there are short video clips to help you choose but others to consider are:

The Breadmaker

Pack It-Group

Enterprise Organics

Here is another idea for an enterprise project. This one is from Lewisham College .The team of students with learning difficulties are making organic soaps and lotions.

Cumbernald College get Crafty

Cumbernald College get crafty
is a news story about a fundraising craft project undertaken by students with a learning disability at Cumbernald College . It features photos, sound and a short You Tube video.
The story is featured on CK Click .This is a fully accessible Internet magazine for people with a learning disability which is on the Common Knowledge website.
The slide show on my next blog entry gives an over view of the Common knowledge website.