School Caja Gardens
School gardens have been an integral part of our operations since day one. We believe that engaging children with gardening is a great way to promote better nutrition, physical health, academic results and social skills in a fun, positive environment.
Gardens promote a wide range of skills, and stimulate students of all ages with interactive, hands-on learning opportunities. The Caja can be integrated with all core subjects to provide a balanced and well-rounded education. From hands-on science projects to creative writing, chemistry, history, math, fine arts, social studies, and economics, the Caja creates a catalytic effect which provides momentum for deeper learning and activity.
Staff report higher job satisfaction, as gardens promote positive social interactions and calm and relaxing spaces. Gardens can also be incorporated into the broader community through events, activities, and extra-curricular clubs. The Caja can be installed and can make use of non-traditional spaces such as perimeters, outdoor stairways, courtyards, and more – and always with no fear of soil contamination and no need for soil testing.
Why Choose the Caja?
Simply put, the Caja can overcome all of the most common reasons administrators, teachers, and students say “no”. Here are some of the most common objections and obstacles and how they can be overcome.
Obstacle: I don’t have space for a garden.
Solution: The Caja can be installed on any flat surface including parking lots, rooftops, fields, perimeters, outdoor stairways, courtyards, and asphalt surfaces. A 20-box garden uses less than 100 sq ft and can be producing within weeks.
Obstacle: I’m not allowed to dig or build new infrastructure.
Solution: No digging, special infrastructure, permits, soil testing, concerns with soil contamination are needed. Simply grow on any flat/sunny area.
Obstacle: What do we do in the summer when the kids are off from school?
Solution: Implement a summer take-home program where interested students and staff can sign up to care for one or more Cajas during the summer. In the fall, return the Caja to continue growing indoors throughout the winter. For large installations, move the Cajas to a community garden or community center where they can be properly cared for and maintained if they cannot continue growing at the school.
Obstacle: We don’t have any money for a garden
Solution: We have fundraising programs where students can fundraise by selling discounted Cajas to family, friends, and neighbours. Proceeds can then be put towards a school garden. We believe this is a better alternative to the common candy/cookies/unhealthy foods that are commonly used for fundraisers. We can also recommend several grants your school can apply for.
Obstacle: I don’t have time to create new gardening lessons for my students
Solution: No problem. We have several curriculum guides with lesson plans and teacher resources that have already been developed for elementary, and secondary school students we can share with you to use and adapt. We also can help you run hands-on workshops for students and for staff that include planting/transplanting, seed saving, pruning/harvesting, natural pest control, companion planting, and more.
Obstacle: I’m a beginner gardener. How can I figure out how much to plant and how much to grow without getting overwhelmed?
Solution: The Caja is designed to be simple and easy to use. We have a planting and spacing guide to tell you how many plants will fit per Caja. Simply choose what types of plants you want to grow and/or how many Cajas your garden will have, and you’ll be well on your way to a successful first crop. We also offer workshops and training sessions for students, staff, and administrators on growing with the Caja. This can be as short as a few hours to cover the basics, up to a series of workshops and training covering a broad spectrum of gardening topics.
Obstacle: I prefer “X” method/style of gardening instead of the Caja
Solution: All gardens are great and the Caja can and has been used as a primary and complementary method to your other garden types such as raised beds, flat-earth, hydroponics, etc. We love the portable, flexible nature of the product. It doesn’t require special tools or equipment, and no batteries, pumps, motors, or moving parts which makes it durable with nothing to break or replace.
Obstacle: I’ve tried gardening in the past and it didn’t work. How is this different?
Solution: Simply put, Caja gardens are a game changer when it comes to ease of use. Caja gardens require much less watering/labour compared to traditional gardens. Cajas can also be moved/wheeled directly into the classroom for direct, interactive, hands-on learning. Small groups of 4-8 students can plant and garden around a single Caja. For students of different heights and abilities, we have various stands that can elevate the garden to kid-friendly height. Cajas provide outstanding yields and are not dependent on how good the soil quality is on your property. We use our own custom soil blend or you can use a rich potting soil mix from your local garden center.
Obstacle: Will the plants dry out over the weekend or long weekend if no one is there to water?
Solution: Each Caja planter has a built-in 10L water reservoir. This is more than enough to keep your plants hydrated and properly watered for 3 or more days, even during the hottest days and with full-size/mature plants. Cajas can go up to 10 days between watering depending on plant size and environmental conditions.
Obstacle: What do we do in the winter?
Solution: Caja gardens can be brought indoors to grow greens, herbs, and more all year round. We offer a variety of growing-light options to keep your plants healthy and thriving no matter how much or how little direct sunlight comes through your windows.
Obstacle: Do we have to grow only food/edibles in the Caja?
Solution: No – grow what the staff and students want to grow. We have many schools growing pollinator gardens, butterfly gardens with the Caja and incorporating ornamental plants/flowers in some of their boxes.
Obstacle: Other teachers have told us about their gardening failures. How is this different?
Solution: Our Caja gardens have a high potential for success, with easy setup, easy watering, easy harvesting, and immediate results. This makes it much more likely for students and staff to stay engaged for the long term and more likely to see positive outcomes. For the garden failures we’ve seen in the past, the most common factor is the human element. Even with the best tools, training, and support, organizing a group of people can be challenging. This can be over-reliance on a single individual (and then that person getting busy/sick/burning out/changing schools), gardens drying out from irregular or too little watering (especially during the hot, summer months or over a long weekend), unexpected amount of hard work and difficult labor in digging and prepping a traditional garden and dealing with all the subsequent weeds that germinate, crop failures (not choosing suitable crops for the sun/soil conditions), or a combination of the above. Gardens take time and
Obstacle: What experience do you have working with schools?
Solution: TGC has been building school gardens since 2003 starting in Ghana and Mexico. In fact, our global garden footprint means we can help connect your school with a garden in another region/country to share ideas, photos, inspiration, and promote cross-cultural learning.
Obstacle: I have a grant or some funding that needs to be used ASAP.
Solution: One of our fastest school garden projects went from idea to planting in just a few weeks. Because there is no need for digging, new infrastructure, or municipal permits, all that was required was sourcing the required amount of soil, and the seeds/plants for the garden. Choosing a suitable installation/planting date for the teachers and students proved to be the bigger coordination challenge.
Obstacle: I still need more information.
Solution: You can download our Caja school garden pdf (2 pages) that covers the highlights of growing with the Caja. A shorter poster can be found below.
