Thursday, August 11, 2011

Help Is On The Way - Horticulture and Green Jobs

Today was the last day of this year's Garden N Grow, and the young gardeners harvested their produce. They also did some watering, so they can come back to the garden to continue to harvest for the next couple of weeks. We found several tobacco horn worms on the tomato plants. Some of the young gardeners took them home, and some tomato leaves to feed them!






Over the last several weeks, the young gardeners have become scientists. They have been curious, creative and open minded. They have formed hypothesis and conducted experiments. They have been careful observers, and have kept good records of rainfall, soil and weather conditions and the height of the lasagna garden.

Today the young scientists learned about jobs available to those with a horticulture background: research scientist, garden writer, greenhouse manager, teacher, florist, peace corp volunteer are just a few. They were encouraged to think about 'green jobs' in the industry.



We asked the budding scientists what they liked the best about their Garden N Grow experience. Here are their answers:
Tosh - squishing bugs
Ethan - planting the garden
Garrett - taking home produce
Tyler liked the lessons
Caitlyn liked tasting basil
Reilly loved the pickled okra
Anna liked picking produce. She also liked when the snack was the lesson and the lesson was the snack!
Bridgette liked eating the fried okra her grandmother made with the produce she brought home.

Before we parted, the young gardeners made thank you cards for the good people of Fairview Christian church, without whose kind generosity this session of Garden N Grow would not have been possible.



It was a tough year for the garden, unusually hot and dry. In an organic garden pests are always a challenge, but the weather this summer made it more difficult than usual. Our squash failed early (squash vine borer), and flea beetles got to our beans. And of course there was the very cool tobacco horn worm. There could have been a tomato horn worm as well (very subtle difference, and they do the same damage). Still the young gardeners were able to take home some harvest. Here are this year's totals:

Tomato 7.7 lbs
Peppers 6.45 lbs
Squash 0.0 lbs
Beans 0.1 lbs
okra 17.8 lbs!!!
cucumbers 6.4 lbs
onions 0.1 lbs
herbs 3.2 lbs



Monday, August 8, 2011

Trading Traits






Today we harvested peppers, okra, a few tomatoes and purple beans. Trevor found a very unususal shaped okra. The two black swallowtail larvae that Miss Cass found Thursday on the bronze fennel plants has grown quite a bit; Thursday we'll look for their chrysalis.

The gardeners dug into the lasagna garden that we planted at the beginning of the summer. The components weren't completely digested. Sawdust, and leaves were still recognizable. The students found a very cool big garden spider with a very large teal shaped egg sac - see the picture.

In the classroom Miss Kirsten taught the lesson on Trading Traits. Using a diagram of a corn plant, she described how ideal plant traits are made using selection, plant breeding, mutation and gene manipulation. The young gardeners made their own plant mutations with fruit and other snacks.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

What's It Worth? Calculate the Veggie

Can you find the two Swallowtail Caterpillars the girls found on the bronze fennel?










It continues to be hot and dry in the garden. After some weeding and watering, the young gardeners retreated to the classroom to talk about the value of their produce. They used store circulars to calculate the value.

The youngsters made bird feeders out of plastic bottles. Here is Caitlyn showing two feeders.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Friend, Can You Spare a Tomato


It was brutally hot in the garden today! The gardeners quickly harvested their produce, and Miss Cass set the sprinkler to water the garden, while the young gardeners went on a field trip to St. Charles Food Pantry.

Miss Mary, who runs the food pantry, discussed the need to help some families get enough food to eat. During the summer donations to the pantry are down, but demand is high. The Garden N Grow gardeners donated over 5 pounds of produce from their own gardens, and lots of non-perishable food they brought from home. Then they put together a food order from the pantry's shelves for a family of six.

Back in the classroom at Fairview Christian Church the students discussed the need for food pantries. They recalled the very first lesson when Miss Cass taught about hunger.

We finished the hot day with fruit popsicles and Angel Food Cake Cupcakes.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Bountiful Harvest - Pick and Store




Monday Miss Chris and the young gardeners found this cool tomato horn worm - not in our garden but in an adjoining plot. Today the same tomato horn worm was covered with parasitic wasp eggs! Very cool!

Really hot and dry in the garden. Tosh helped Miss Chris set up a sprinkler to water half the garden while we all weeded the other half. Then he re-adjusted the sprinkler and we switched halfs. The students harvested a lot of produce today. Some of what was picked:
Okra from Caitlyn's plot
Tosh - eight ball zuccini and cherry tomatos
Ethan - cherry tomatos
Reilly - onion and banana peppers
Garrett - banana peppers

Today's lesson was about how to store and preserve the produce from the garden. Glenda Kinder, nutrition specialist with the University of Missouri Extension Service, talked to the class about how to preserve their produce. The students loved the frozen grapes Miss Glenda brought, and the frozen bananas on a stick provided by Miss Chris. The donuts Miss Ty brought were enjoyed too!

Reilly made a 'Thank You' poster for Miss Linda, who supplied the gourds the we painted for birdhouses.

Monday, July 25, 2011

What's Up Doc? Diagnose and Treat



Still hot and dry in the garden! The young gardeners wore hats, drank lots of water and worked hard weeding and watering their plots. We've lost more squash to the squash vine borer, but the good news is our smart gardeners are experts at recognizing and controlling pests. We harvested okra, peppers and tomatoes, and saw our first cucumber, about 4" long.

Miss Kirsten taught the gardeners about plant problems and diseases. She showed plants that had evidence of insect damage such as honeydew and tracks from leaf miner insects. Several plants had damage from fungus and bacteria. We also saw a plant with a viral infection that had puckered and distorted leaves. Miss Kirsten explained the disease triangle, and the three things needed for disease: (1) a pathogen such as an insect, bacteria, fungus or virus, (2) a host, and (3) an environment that allows disease to take hold.

Miss Kirsten brought two examples of "good bugs" - a praying mantis and three bags of lady beetles. The gardeners had fun releasing them in the garden. The praying mantis was glad to get out of his jar and entertained the gardeners. The lady beetles quickly exited their mesh bags. Trevor really enjoyed having them climb up his arms and said they tickled.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Good, Bad and Beautiful Bugs

Hot and Dry! We watered and weeded to start Thursday. Garrett's last squash succumbed to the dreaded squash vine borer shown here.









Miss Chris taught the class about bugs. The young gardeners already knew about good bugs and bad bugs. Today they learned about the different mouth parts various insects have - chewing, piercing-sucking, sponging, siphoning and rasping-sucking. A really cool slide show followed with photographs of good and bad insects.

Today's snack was almost to pretty to eat! Here's Ethan with his.




Monday, July 18, 2011

It's A Plot

HOT and DRY! Bugs don't seem to mind the weather! We found cucumber beetles.

Miss Cass taught the class how to design a garden plot, then everyone got to design their fantasy garden.

Afterwards, the young gardeners put some more time in painting their gourd birdhouses. These are artistic masterpieces!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Fruit or Veggie - What is...?

Our gardens needed a lot of weeding today, and this is not our young gardeners' favorite task! We measured 1.6 inches in the rain gauge, so we didn't need to water today. Miss Chris showed the gardeners a pollinator and got a good picture of it.



We harvested okra and pattypan squash today. Here is Ethan's pattypan squash before he picked it, and Trevor showing off freshly harvested okra.
























Miss Chris taught the class the difference between a fruit and a vegetable. A fruit is a special container of seeds, the fleshy part of an ovary formed from a pollinated flower. A vegetable is a growth or part of a plant such as a stem, root, leave or petiole. Lots of foods we think of as vegetables are botanically really fruit, like tomatoes, cucumbers and squash! The youngsters snacked on lots of fruits and vegetables while they learned about them.





The take away lessons for today - pay attention to what you eat, and try a new fruit or vegetable!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Zoning Out - Zones Explained

Monday the gardens needed lots of weeding and bug patrol. Some of Garrett's squash plants were wilted. We dissected a plant to find out if it was bacterial wilt from those pesky cucumber beetles or squash vine borer eating through the plant stem. We saw some bug "frass" or poop that looked like sawdust on the outer stem but inside the plant stem near the base of the plant we found the culprit. A squash vine borer - a small white smooth caterpillar - had been burrowing through the stem. He was summarily squished.

We also saw and squished lots of squash bug eggs. Some of these eggs were hatching. Baby squash bugs are pale blue with black legs. We found a new invader, the Mexican bean beetle. It resembles a lady beetle (good bug) in appearance but the Mexican bean beetle (bad bug) eats holes in the bean leaves.

Miss Cass and the young gardeners started a new science experiment. One plant in each garden had reflective cloth put under the plant. We will check to see if this material deflects bugs and increases light, allowing the plant to grow better and faster.

In the classroom, Miss Cass taught everyone about Plant Zones. The plant hardiness zone in our area and other areas in the country were discussed. Each gardener then designed there own "dream garden". They looked through garden catalogs and picked their favorite fruit and vegetable plants. The cost of planting their dream gardens was calculated. Our gardeners have refined and expensive taste!

The Master Gardeners prepared a great project for the gardeners. Miss Linda donated birdhouse gourds, which were cleaned, drilled and based painted by Miss Ty and Miss Chris. The youngsters started painting their birdhouses Monday. Check these out!


Thursday, July 7, 2011

Pistils, Petals and Other Parts

Rain Thursday, so there was no work in the gardens.

Today's class was all about flowers. The students learned the parts of a flower and each part's purpose. They learned that the anther produces pollen. The color of the petals attracts pollinators, who help transfer the pollen to the stigma, where it travels downs to the ovary to produce seeds. The young gardeners dissected different flowers to see the parts. Here are Trevor, Reilly and Tyler dissecting flowers.























After dissecting their flowers, the students got to make flowers out of colorful tape and straws. The results were beautiful flowers. Here the young gardeners are showing off their creations!




The students checked the soil experiments they started last week. They mixed different soil types together with water in olive jars and let them settle. Today they could see the different layers.


Thursday, June 30, 2011

Shine On! - Photosynthesis



Thursday the class learned how a plant makes food for itself. That process is called photosynthesis. The chlorophyll in the choroplast grabs energyy from sunlight and combines it with the water and carbon dioxide the plant takes in to produce glucose and oxygen.

The cloroplast is what makes the leaves green. The students started an experiment where they covered part of a leaf on a few of their plants. In a couple of weeks they will uncover the leaf to see if it looks different than the other leaves.

No rain in the rain gauge since Monday. The young gardeners weeded, watered, and performed the never ending search for bad bugs. Garett has a small yellow squash on one of his plants.

























It was so hot, the students were glad to go inside to the classroom. After the photosynthesis lesson, everyone stuffed and decorated a ladybug beanbag. These were tossed in the air to land on numbers to learn the hardiness zones. We'll hear more about those in a future lesson.



Monday, June 27, 2011

Sand, Silt or Clay - Soil Types

Monday the rain gauge had 2" of water so the weeds were easy to pull, but there was standing water in some areas of the garden. The lasagna garden remained at 8".

Miss Chris took this great picture of squash bug eggs.




Eggs are usually found under the leaves between the leaf veins. We scraped the eggs off the leaves with fingernails and squished them between our fingers.

Some good bugs we saw today were fireflies, spiders and a spined soldier bug. Bad bugs we squished were squash bugs, striped and spotted cucumber beetles and bean beetles.

Miss Chris showed the young gardeners the difference between male and female flowers in our squash family plants. The female has a swelling under the flower where the vegetable will grow and the male flower has a straight stalk.

We already have yellow squash and peppers on some of our plants.

The young gardeners got their hands dirty again in the classroom with soil experiments. They learned about sand, silt and clay, and did tests to determine the texture of their soi
l samples.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Grow, Grow, Grow Your Beans




Lot's of activity in the garden this morning. More weeding, watering and mulching today. We looked for squash bugs and cucumber beetles; found and squished some.


















Tosh's squash has a beautiful blossom.
















After gardening the gardeners went to the classroom where they set up scientific experiments. they stated the know fact - plants need these four things to grow - water, nutrients, air and light. Then each team of two young gardeners and an adult came up with a hypothesis based altering one of those requirements. They'll test their hypothesis on bean seeds over the next two weeks. Can't wait to see the results! Check back!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Coddle Those Cotyls - Germination

We started Monday working in the garden. The young gardeners read the rain gauge in the community garden at 2.75" so watering was not necessary. The rain brought more weeds though, so some time was spent weeding. The weeds were easy to pull because of all the rain. Wish we had a picture of those muddy hands!

Cucumber beetles were still a problem with the squash family, and bean beetles had been busy, although we could not find any. The lasagna garden has gone down some more. The gardeners measured it at 9 inches, down from 12 inches.

Miss Cass taught the lesson on seeds. The gardeners munched on roasted peanuts while they learned the different types of seeds found in the garden and grocery store. Some seeds they learned about are avocados, peanuts, beans and popcorn. Everyone dissected bean seeds to learn the 5 parts of a seed and how they grow into different plant parts.

The young gardeners made "seed bombs" with clay, compost and seeds. This is a native American technique, and is still used today in some parts of the world. It's also a beautification method used in inner cities by Guerrilla gardeners.

A snack of popcorn and watermelon was meant to further the lesson about seeds. Unfortunately a "seedless" watermelon was purchased by accident! It was delicious regardless!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Weed or Seed



We started Thursday weeding and since there hadn't been any rain we gave the garden plots a good watering. We've noticed some crop failure in a couple of the plots - the peppers aren't growing. We also found squash bugs and cucumber beetles. These are organic gardens, so we picked off the bad bugs we found and squished them.


Here is a picture of a cucumber beetle and one of a squash bug.
















Miss Chris taught the young gardeners all about weeds. They learned that a weed is a plant growing in the wrong place, and that weeds compete with crops for water, sunshine and nutrients. Weeds also can attract pests and disease. The gardeners identified some common weeds: dandelions, crabgrass, clover, bindweed, common ragweed, and others.

The group divided into teams of two students and one adult, and had a scavenger hunt to identify 10 weeds. Two teams tied for the win with seven weeds identified. The winners got to plant the banner on the lasagna garden. Here are the winners - Anna and Caitlyn, Garrett and Trevor.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Three Sisters - Beans, Corn and Squash

Since there hasn't been much rain, we started the day weeding and watering, while dodging raindrops! As expected, that rain didn't amount to much.




Miss Cass explained the ancient Indian technique of growing corn, beans and squash called "Three Sisters". The Master Gardeners constructed bamboo tepees, and the young gardeners did the planting. Squash went in the middle of the tepee and corn and beans around the periphery. We completed Three Sisters project by watering well.






A mysterious scarecrow in a Garden 'n' Grow tee shirt moved into the garden over the weekend. He is quiet and needed a noisy friend. The young gardeners made a noisy scarecrow out of recycled cans and buckets, and signed their names on his belly. When the wind blows his arms and legs, he'll make lots of noise and hopefully scare away the rabbit that has been nibbling on Anna's squash.






















Miss Chris showed the students how to make and calibrate a rain gauge out of one litre bottles and marbles. The rain gauges were uniquely decorated by the gardeners.




Thursday, June 9, 2011

Lasagna Gardening

Today Miss Chris gave us a recipe for lasagna gardening. Just like lasagna is made up of many repeating layers, a garden plot can be created with layers of brown (carbon) and green (nitrogen) organic material. We created our lasagna garden with lots of layers of newspaper, grass clippings, coir (from the coconut shell), leaves, yard soil, fish emulsion and more. The resulting garden was about 15 inches high. We'll watch it decompose over the summer. Here's a picture -



The young gardeners made banners to personalize their gardens, while munching on treats brought by Garrett and Ethan. We've got some creative youngsters in this group! Here are a couple of the banners.


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Planting 1, 2, 3

Miss Cass explained the steps for planting, then everyone braved the heat and out to the gardens we went! We planted our beans, okra, tomatos, basil, and a whole lot more for the salsa, relish tray, sunshine, holiday and weird gardens. a good watering followed. Since it's so hot and dry, the adult volunteers said they will water the gardens between sessions.

Miss Cass distributed donut seed packets. The young gardeners couldn't wait to plant them and ate the seeds!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Growing Together

Welcome to Garden N Grow 2011 - Gladstone! We appreciate the generosity of the good people at Fairview Christian Church in Gladstone, Mo. for the use of the garden plots and classroom space!

Today we got to know each other and learned some rules of the garden - be safe, have fun, don't disturb pollinators in the garden, bring a hat, water bottle and sunscreen.

After a get acquainted ball toss game we got to see the garden. The students picked their plots, then we went into the classroom where the lesson was "Why is there hunger?" A crossword puzzle illustrated some reasons that some people go hungry.

The young gardeners picked the type of garden they are going to plant. Choices were sunshine garden, holiday garden, salsa garden, weird garden and relish tray garden. Can you guess what plants are in each? Check back as the season progresses!


Here are pictures of the students and adult volunteers.