Garden Box

When space is limited at your school, planting wheat in a garden box is a great alternative to planting into the ground. Before you plant the wheat, make sure you have your garden box set up and filled with soil.

Process:

1. Arrange your garden boxes into the orientation of your choosing, based on the space you have available, sunlight location, and any other environmental factors (tree leaves, shade, etc.) that could affect the wheat’s growth.

2. Fill the garden boxes with soil. Since wheat loves well-drained loamy soil, the plant can grow in all sorts of soil types but does not thrive in acidic or poorly drained soils (ideal soil pH for wheat is between 6.0-7.0). Make sure to water the soil generously.

3. Make sure to add fertilizer to the soil prior to planting. In general, for best growth and yield, wheat plants need the following nutrients: Nitrogen (N), Potassium (K), Phosphorus (P), Sulphur (S), Magnesium (Mg), Iron (Fe), Μanganese (Mn), Zinc (Zn), Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Calcium (Ca). You can purchase a bone meal fertilizer at a local home improvement store to apply to the soil before planting to ensure all nutrients are present. Organic amendments include bone meal (Phosphorus) and blood meal (Nitrogen). Follow instructions on the package for application and reapply 3-5 months later if needed.

4. After steps 1 and 2, you can begin planting the wheat. Depending on the size of the  garden box, use a hand shovel to make rows vertical to the length of the box, around 1-2 inches deep. 

5. Add seed generously throughout the rows.

6. Ensure the watering system is set up and that the wheat is being adequately watered