Seed to Table
Growing Spaces
Growing Together:
A Journey from Seed to Table
From Preschool to Upper School, Maharishi School students experience the magic of growing their own food. Our Seed to Table program fosters a deep connection to nature, encouraging students to cultivate a love for healthy eating and sustainable living.
Our youngest learners delight in tending to classroom gardens, while older students delve deeper into sustainable practices through projects like composting, building community gardens, and developing innovative solutions for environmental challenges.
Through our Senior Capstone project, students apply their knowledge to real-world problems, such as designing sustainable technologies or advocating for regenerative agriculture. By integrating sustainability into every aspect of their education, our students are prepared to be responsible global citizens.
A Place to Grow
The Garden of Bliss Growing Spaces are designed to reflect and enliven our students’ growing inner peace and joy. We have four Garden of Bliss Growing Spaces: our 4100 sq. ft. greenhouse, various gardens, an orchard with over twenty-five fruit trees and a food forest.
Food Forest
Part of the landscape in front of our school includes a food forest which is managed by the middle school students. This permaculture garden includes three layers: an overstory of deciduous and fruit trees, an understory of berry bushes including gooseberries, currants and beach plums, and a ground cover of hyssop, strawberries, lemon balm, comfrey and sage.
Greenhouse
Our three season teaching greenhouse is entered from the East by passing through a vine-covered arbor built by local craftsmen. An added sustainable component of our greenhouse facility is the rainwater catchment and solar-powered drip system used to water the plants throughout the year. The greenhouse staff uses double tunnel growing and cold frames to extend the growing season of the unheated greenhouse and allow vegetables to be grown as late as December and seeds planted as early as February.
Life is Bliss
The goal of the Garden of Bliss curriculum is to establish Bliss in the awareness of each student and help them be at home with all the laws of nature which govern their world. We have found that the more comfortable our students are with the natural processes at work in growing the food that they eat, the more comfortable they will be with those same laws of nature at work in all aspects of their lives.
Gardens
Many organic gardens surround the greenhouse. They include the Tulip Rainbow “Peace garden”, the Veggie Tunnel (red runner beans this year!), the Butterfly and Hummingbird gardens and the Strawberry patch. On the south side of the greenhouse, we grow squash, cabbage, beans, peas, potatoes and pumpkins in our large outdoor vegetable garden. There you will also find the ever-popular Pizza Garden, which is home to several varieties of basil, peppers and tomatoes.
Orchard
The central campus courtyard or Brahmastan is located to the East of the greenhouse. It is filled with a variety of fruit trees including pears, plums and several varieties of apples. Students are taught when and how to harvest the fruit to insure the continued health of the trees. The orchard is also a great place to relax. It creates a magical experience for students who pass through it on the way to class as they get to snack on fruit picked fresh from the tree. Of course, the orchard also provides the key ingredient needed for delicious apple pies baked in our Edible Schoolyard Kitchen.
Through the Garden of Bliss Seed-to-Table program, students make a real connection to the food they eat. They plant, care and tend the vegetables and fruits they will later harvest, cook, and eat together.
Our Seed-to-Table curriculum has been highlighted by the nationally acclaimed Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley, California, founded by National Humanities Award Winner Alice Watters. The seed-to-table curriculum includes lessons on seeds and plants as well as nutrition, cooking, and culture.
Overall, our students are establishing life-long patterns of healthy eating and developing a passion for good food, creating happier individuals and families.
Food Sustainability | Life Skills
Garden of Bliss
As our students immerse themselves in our Garden of Bliss program, they experience the joy of nurturing plants from seed to table. This hands-on experience not only cultivates a love for nature and healthy eating but also fosters a sense of accomplishment and self-worth. By connecting with the natural world, our students develop a deeper appreciation for life and the skills needed to lead fulfilling and sustainable lives.
Garden of Bliss Recipes
