Our Mission

Penn Alexander School wishes to create an urban green space, where students and their families can learn sustainable urban gardening techniques.  This garden, with the aid of the community, will provide nourishing fruits and vegetables, as well as offer a place of natural beauty for all to enjoy.

Our Goals

Digging in the dirt

Our current goal is to create a vegetable garden which can be enjoyed by the community.  In order to realize this goal, Penn Alexander would like for families to become involved with the care and upkeep of the garden.  Families who are able to help maintain the garden through out the summer would be offered first pick of the fruits and vegetables produced.

The current status of the Penn Alexander Garden

Students in K-5 have planted many varieties of seedlings, which we have started growing indoors.  As soon as the garden has been cleared and new beds added, these seedlings will be transplanted and grown outside.

Our garden is able to grow through the generosity of many individuals and organizations.

• The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
• U.C.Green
• The Water Department
• The Office of Sustainability at the University of Pennsylvania
• Penn Alexander Home and School
• The Philadelphia Food Trust

The Penn Alexander Edible Garden

Vegetables

• Lettuce
• Radishes
• Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Pumpkins
• Peas
• Beans
• Carrots
• Beets

Herbs

• Dill
• Basil
• Sage
• Mustard
• Cilantro
• Parsley

Fruits

• Strawberries
• Serviceberries
• Blueberries
• Raspberries

Past, Present and Future

• What we have done:
• Native plants and trees
• Organic mulch
• Organic gardening
• Drip irrigation
• Created a “habitat garden”, which attracts birds, butterflies and ladybugs

What we are doing:

• Peat mulching
• Using composted soil
• Adding more raised beds
• Creating a compost pile

What we want to do:

• Add rain barrels
• Add a green roof to the shed
• Prune trees (professionally?)
• Re-gravel the pathways
• Buy a compost bin and decomposers