Pine-Richland High School student Jodi Kenney went directly to the basil plants in containers on an outdoor table, concerned a tall stem was falling over and the plant was coming out of the soil.

Students Sean Carthy and Brian Thee headed for the greenhouse where they picked up jars of seeds, rinsing the sprouts that were developing from seeds.

Others tackled putting plants into containers or tending to the outdoor plots of lettuce, spinach and snow peas already planted.

There is a job for everyone in this school garden cared for by special education students and their peer buddies, who are not in the special education program.

Accompanied by their teacher and three paraeducators, about a dozen special education students in the life skills class -- which emphasizes skills needed to function outside of school -- walk across the high school parking lot to the middle school, usually five days a week, even in the rain or snow.

There, they take care of vegetables, flowers and herbs planted in the middle school courtyard and a small greenhouse accessible via the courtyard.

Their basil plants are sold in local stores under the brand "Green Thumb Growers," and their vegetables are sold to the school cafeteria vendor and local markets.

The special education students are ages 15 to 21 and will continue working in the garden in an extended school program through much of the summer. Mr. Schweers waters the garden when students are out of school.

Locally, gardening ranges from growing plants on a windowsill to raising crops in a greenhouse, including some efforts that have been around for more than a decade.

In Fox Chapel Area, kindergartners at Hartwood Elementary in Fox Chapel Area save pumpkin seeds in the fall and plant them in May, and Kerr Elementary students were raising money for a "rain garden" that will help runoff be absorbed into the ground.

In Woodland Hills, Dickson Intermediate students are working on a "Picket Fence Project," with children painting pickets that will encompass a garden.

Carlynton High School's emotional support students plant and nurture house plants, which they sell to benefit charity.

South Allegheny Elementary School has created gardens aimed at attracting wildlife, including Monarch butterflies and birds.

Some students, including North Hills Junior High and Seneca Valley High School classes, maintain Western Pennsylvania Conservancy gardens.

For the life skills students at Pine-Richland High School, gardening began small with basil and zinnia plants in Mr. Schweers' classroom five years ago. It clicked with students, and they're now in their fourth year of gardening in the courtyard.

Mr. Schweers said he thinks students like seeing the results of their work. "It appeals to all the senses. You can smell it, taste it, watch it grow."

Mr. Schweers has had to learn more about gardening himself. The class tried fruit trees, but Japanese beetles interfered. One year, some plants were moved from the greenhouse too early and froze. Now plants move from the greenhouse to a cold frame to the outdoor garden, with the hardiest, such as lettuce, making the move first.

Last year, the class sold basil plants at local stores, with all or half the price of $3 apiece -- depending on the store -- going back into the garden. The garden also annually has received a donation of $1,000 from the Trees Foundation.

This school year, the students learned some hard facts about gardening when a fungus overtook the basil. The students love to water, and one of the problems may have been too much watering, Mr. Schweers said. They had to clean out the entire greenhouse.

But by this spring, things are looking up. Last week, about 150 snow pea plants were climbing a trellis built by the students, the green lettuce looked healthy, basil plants were getting bigger and most of 20 tomato plants started in the greenhouse were moved outside.

Some of the skills -- the math they learn by writing invoices or the sense of independence -- come in handy when the special education students work as volunteers or for pay at places such as local health care facilities, markets and restaurants.

The gardening activity also puts together special education students and other students who take a peer buddies class. Although the special education students have limited verbal skills, they and their peer buddies have forged bonds.

The special education students aren't the only ones learning.

Junior Kayla Haskins signed up for peer buddies because she plans to be a teacher. She uses different methods to help each student. "Every kid is different," she said.

Sophomore Caitlin Collins, also a peer buddy, said, "I just really like all the kids and have a lot of fun with them. I've learned a lot about disabilities. They all enjoy life."