Connecting Students to Agriculture
Students get such a kick out of digging into the soil, wrapping their hands around a potato, and yanking it out of the ground — roots and all! It’s even better when they’ve planted the seed potato and tended the plant themselves. Potato plants are the ideal teaching crop: they can be planted in containers, they have a short growing season, and they can be harvested before the end of the school year. And, they’re healthy and delicious!
BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) has been providing schools across the province with an opportunity for teachers to grow potatoes in the classroom since 2006. For schools that may not have the resources for a garden, or that may just want a way of getting started down that path, Spuds in Tubs provides teachers with all the necessary materials and instructions they'll need for growing their very own potatoes. Once you’re registered, a one-hour workshop provides everything you need to know about the program, from planting to harvesting. This hands-on learning experience will enable you to bring a genuine, contagious enthusiasm for growing potatoes to your K-12 classrooms.
We provide everything you’ll need, including seed potatoes, soil, and tubs for the plants. Plant your seed potatoes in early March (before spring break) and tend them — lots of water, sunshine, and plant food — until they are ready to be harvested. In early June, the plants will die back and it’s time to dig up your potato garden. Your students will love the taste of really fresh potatoes, and they’ll take pride in the fact that they grew them themselves.
Here’s a timeline for your classroom potato season:
September: contact us regarding participation
October: register for a workshop near you
November: participate in a workshop in your area
February: you receive your Spuds in Tubs classroom growing kit
Early March: plant your seed potatoes in the tub
April: move your plants outside during the day for extra sunshine
May/June: water and feed your potato plants
Early June: harvest time!
Spuds in Tubs in Action
West Vancouver Secondary: Soil Contamination Experiment
We used the potatoes for an experiment in soil contamination and phytoremediation. We doped the spuds with lead nitrate and tried to see how soil pH affected uptake in different parts of the plant. I took pictures of the different test conditions for the spuds. [Here is] one of the lead/lime treatment. Thanks for this opportunity. It has created some great questions for the students and has helped us to get linked up with some great programs. — Gord Trousdell, West Vancouver Secondary
Richmond Christian Middle School
We planted Warba seed potatoes in mid-March in the classroom. After 25 days, the potato plants were ready to be moved outside to continue growing in the natural elements. My grade 7 students experimented with two types of soil to see which one produced the biggest harvest. The class carefully documented and observed their new potato plants, and there was much excitement at harvest time in mid-June. — Mr. Reimer, Richmond Christian Middle School
Sign Us Up!
Spuds in Tubs has been such a success that we are having a hard time keeping up with demand — that’s a lot of potatoes and tubs to source! We typically have a running intake list for the program that carries on from year to year.
Registration for teachers returning to the program is September 9 - 27.
To add your K-12 classroom to our new intake list, please contact the program coordinator, Tina Evans, at any time during the school year. After you express interest in participating, a notification will be sent when a spot becomes available in the fall. Remember, the sooner you sign up, the sooner you’ll be attending a program workshop, then planting potatoes in your classroom.
We are now offering teachers the opportunity to be sponsored into the program. A one-time, tax-deductible donation of $100 to BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) will ensure your enrollment for the next consecutive 3 years. Your sponsor can be your PAC, your school, your school district, yourself, or a private supporter.
Would you like to sponsor a Spuds in Tubs classroom? To find out more, please visit our Donate page. Sponsorships received by August 31 will apply to the upcoming school year, and sponsorships received from September 1 onwards will apply to the following school year.
A Crop of Resources!
To help ensure Spuds in Tubs runs as smoothly as possible in your classroom, we provide a handbook that guides you every step of the way, from planting to enjoying your harvest.
If you’ve missed this year's intake and would like to grow potatoes on your own, you can download our Spuds in Tubs Handbook or order a copy from our Educational Resources page.
And, there’s more:
Unit and Lesson Plans for Spuds in Tubs
What Does it Take to Produce Food? Handout
Spuds in Tubs - A Perfect Food Package
We have a number of classroom resources that provide helpful information on growing food, along with visuals to enhance Spuds in Tubs cross-curriculum teaching opportunities. All of our general resources are available as downloads or can be ordered from us directly.
Posters
Our posters are a great way of making connections to agriculture in your classroom!
Dig in for Dinner (English version)
Dig in for Dinner (French version)
What Does It Take to Produce Food? (available in both English and French)
Make A Payment
Partners Make It Possible — Thank You!
Thank you to all of our partners for their support and help in making Spuds in Tubs such a success. With their involvement, we are able to continue bringing the potato planting, caring, and harvesting experience to students in classrooms throughout the province.
BC Potato and Vegetable Growers Association
BC Youth in Agriculture Foundation
Benjamin Moore — Abbotsford
Vandeven Financial Solutions Ltd./The Co-operators
Berry Haven Farm Ltd.
Dykhof Nurseries & Florist — North Vancouver
GardenWorks — Burnaby/Lougheed, Coquitlam, Courtenay, Mandeville
Grow & Gather (Trice Farms Ltd.) — Maple Ridge
Hunters Garden Centre — Surrey, Vancouver
Minter Country Garden — Chilliwack
Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants
Individual Donors
Join Us!
To find out how you or your business can support this exciting program, contact BC Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation or check out our Partnership Opportunities.
Teachers and Parents Ask the Best Questions
Spuds in Tubs is a program designed to teach students how to grow potatoes in tubs by starting the growing process in the classroom and eventually moving the tubs outside in the spring. This hands-on experience shows students how fun and easy it is to grow their own food.
Teachers first sign up for a one-hour workshop to learn about the program, which follows this timeline:
February: you receive your Spuds in Tubs classroom growing kit
Early March: plant your seed potatoes in the tub
April: move your plants outside during the day for extra sunshine
May/June: water and feed your potato plants
Early June: harvest time!
You can download our free Spuds in Tubs step by step guide or order it on the Educational Resources page.
We provide early Warba seed potatoes, as they can be planted, grown, and harvested before school ends in June.
Spuds in Tubs was originally designed for elementary grade levels, but middle and secondary classrooms are joining and benefitting from the learnings of this program. Easy to manage and integrate into the curriculum, it’s also a great way to show students how to grow healthy vegetables to eat.
Contact our program coordinator, Tina Evans.
