5. Be mindful of the season
Swampscott Public Schools’ greenhouse has switched from producing tomatoes and squash, which ripened before school started, to produce that could be harvested during the school year, such as lettuce. “I suggest growing what your school can use when open,” Maureen Kellett, foodservice director for the Swampscott, Mass., district, says. “Don't grow vegetables that peak in July if your school is not open until September.”