Listen "53: Sheet Mulch Your Way to a Caretaker-Proof Garden"
Episode Synopsis
Send us a textIn this episode of School Gardens with Ease, Leila shares real stories from Toronto schools where well-meaning but misinformed caretakers accidentally damaged school gardens—from mowing over fruit trees to refusing to maintain grass paths. These challenges are more common than you might think in school gardening—and there’s an easy solution.Sheet mulching. This simple Permaculture technique not only keeps grass out of garden paths and beds, but it also reduces maintenance, prevents damage, requires no permanent structures (read: no school board approvals!), and turns a common conflict into a collaborative, student-led learning experience.Leila walks you through how to sheet mulch with your students using just cardboard, water, and wood mulch—while explaining why this method is the perfect way to keep your garden thriving and your caretaker happy (or at least neutral 😉).What You’ll Learn in This Episode:Why some caretakers resist maintaining garden-adjacent areasHow school policies and union rules complicate garden maintenanceCommon ways gardens get accidentally damaged—and how to stop itWhat sheet mulching is and why it’s ideal for schoolsStep-by-step: How to sheet mulch paths and beds with your studentsHow sheet mulch supports low-maintenance, high-impact school gardeninghttps://www.kidsgrowingcity.ca/Gardening-for-Elementary-Teachers
More episodes of the podcast School Gardens with Ease
66: Can a Teacher Run a School Garden Solo?
04/10/2025
61: How to Design a School Garden
30/08/2025
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