BROOKSVILLE — School lunch doesn’t get much fresher than when ingredients are grown in the schoolyard.

On Friday, 14 Brooksville Elementary School fifth- and sixth-graders crowded around beds of lettuce, collard greens, turnips, spinach and radishes in the school’s new greenhouse. They checked the building’s temperature and rattled off questions about plant development.

Teacher Rosanna Sherman assigned half the group to pick lettuce and the rest to take the bounty to the school cafeteria, where head cook Suzanne Dodge supervised salad spinning. The greens were mixed with other vegetables and served with hot lunch this week.

“We’re starting small so we don’t get overwhelmed,” Sherman said of the greenhouse project.

The greenhouse was built over the summer with a $4,000 grant from the Blue Hill-based Community Health Alliance. Community member Tony Ferrara helped with construction and local farmer Annie Silver pitched in with the planting. Silver has partnered with the school in recent years to provide produce through the Farm to School Program. Students noticed and appreciated when fresh, local produce was served so school officials and community members decided to start the Little Seeds Greenhouse Project.

The polycarbonate greenhouse is built like a shed with a pitched roof to take advantage of southern sun exposure. A compost bin out back turns cafeteria scraps into rich nutrients for the soil.

The greenhouse not only provides the cafeteria with fresh produce, it also functions as a science lab where students can learn about horticulture and nutrition.

Sherman’s students have honed their green thumbs there since planting seedlings Sept. 30.

“You have to water and make sure the plants have water to drink and eat and you have to harvest,” fifth-grader Michael Smith explained.

The plants students are now growing were selected because of their tolerance for the cold. Temperatures can be chilly in the greenhouse in the mornings before rising to the 60s around noon.

School officials hope to continue using the greenhouse through the winter if conditions permit.

There are plans to create raised garden beds outside in the spring. The beds would allow more students to start gardening. The fifth- and sixth-graders are considering which seedlings to raise in the greenhouse for the outdoor beds. To help in the decision, they surveyed other Brooksville Elementary School students about what vegetables they like to eat.

The greenhouse has introduced some new tastes to young palates.

One boy tried Swiss chard for the first time. He wasn’t a fan, but said it was good to try new things.

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