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

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.

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.

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.