May 2010
24th-25th Excellent Time For Planting Corn, Beans, Peppers, And Other Above Ground Crops. Favorable For Sowing Hay, Fodder Crops, And Grains. Plant Flowers.
26th-27th First Day Excellent For Planting Above Ground Crops. Second Day Favorable For Carrots, Beets, Onions, Turnips, And Other Root Crops. Both Days Good For Planting Cabbage, Lettuce And Other Leafy Vegetables, And For Planting Seedbeds.
28th-30th Do No Planting.
31st. Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
June 2010
1st. Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
2nd-4th Poor Days For Planting. Kill Plant Pests, Spray, Fertilize, Do General Farm Work.
5th-6th Favorable Time For Planting Late Root Crops. Also Good For Vine Crops. Set Strawberry Plants.
7th-9th Cut Hay Or Do Plowing On These Barren Days.
10th-11th Good Days For Planting Root Crops.
12th-13th Seeds Planted Now Tend To Rot In Ground.
14th-15th Plant Tomatoes, Beans, Peppers, Corn, Cotton, And Other Above Ground Crops On These Most Fruitful Days. Plant Seedbeds And Flower Gardens
16th-19th Poor Period For Planting. Kill Plant Pests, Clear Fence Rows, Clear Land.
20th-21st Favorable For Planting Peas, Beans, Tomatoes, And Other Fall Crops Bearing Yield Above Ground. Sow Grains And Forage Crops. Plant Flowers.
22nd-24th Extra Good For Planting Fall Lettuce, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Collards, And Other Leafy Vegetables. All Above Ground Crops Planted Now Will Do Well. Plant Seedbeds.
25th-26th Poor Planting Days. Cut Hay Or Do General Farm Work.
27th-29th Plant Late Beets, Potatoes, Onions, Carrots, And Other Root Crops.
30th. Poor Day For Planting. Kill Plant Pests, Spray, Fertilize, Do General Farm Work.
Happy Gardening, Beth
Our Mission is to... Improve the quality of life for the elderly & disabled in our community by producing home-grown nutritious food, reduce food budget, and eradicate hunger one person... one family at time.
Beth LaFata, Garden Coordinator cell 281 508 3040
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Upside down planting
Something else I'd like to try out... (parts of an article on yahoo) planters out of five-gallon plastic buckets. Cut a two-inch hole in the bottom of each bucket and thread a tomato seedling down through the opening, packing strips of newspaper around the root ball to keep it in place and to prevent dirt from falling out. Then fill the buckets with soil mixed with compost and hang them.
Upside-down gardening, primarily of leggy crops like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, is more common partly because of the ubiquity of Topsy Turvy planters, which are breathlessly advertised on television and have prominent placement at retailers like Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Bed Bath & Beyond.
The advantages of upside-down gardening are many: it saves space; there is no need for stakes or cages; it foils pests and fungus; there are fewer, if any, weeds; there is efficient delivery of water and nutrients thanks to gravity; and it allows for greater air circulation and sunlight exposure.
Happy Gardening, Beth
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Pergola is done... the fun begins now
Thanx in large to David & Linda Kessler, the pergola for the toddler area is done. Every muscle in my body is hurting but I'm incredibly happy with the day. It just plain feels good!!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
We got BEETS !!!
Thanx Willie Mae Hubbard for bring us buckets of red and yellow beets... now I have to learn to pickle them
Monday, May 17, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Aleesa's Birthday party ends at the Garden
Aleesa Morgan added to her Birthday sleepover bash a trip to the Garden for her and her friends to plant potatoes in hay and tires. They talked about how they are recycling, and growing things for the Meals on Wheels people to eat. Was a good couple of hours
Monday, May 10, 2010
Kids in the Garden
1. Kid gardens must be kid-based. This means that kids help generate the ideas for what will be there, help with construction and planting, and are responsible for maintenance. Grown-up’s need to facilitate and show how, but not do everything. Focus on the process of involving them, and they will then take ownership.
2. Develop the garden to be appropriate for the site and regional conditions. Involve the kids in the site analysis process so they understand how important the light, soil, drainage and other environmental factors are to having a garden. Develop the garden so the features and plant choices are adapted to local conditions, so you are not “working against nature.”
3. Focus on functional garden design, not how it will look. Start the design process by determining what the children want to be doing and learning in the garden. Base the features on the practical functions they will serve, and don’t worry too much about aesthetics. Gardens that serve as hands-on learning laboratories for kids will be beautiful because they are well-used and well-loved spaces. Also remember that the children’s sense of what is pretty may not be yours; that’s ok because the garden is their space.
4. Be comfortable with dirt. All kids are washable, so as long as parents have been notified about the gardening activity in advance and haven’t sent them in fancy clothing, let them get dirty. If mud is a concern once the kids are going back inside the building, try plastic grocery sacks over their shoes, or set up and hand-washing and shoe-scraping station before they go back inside.
5. Bugs and crawly critters are cool. Children aren’t inherently afraid of things that crawl and creep. They learn that these things are bad or scary or icky from adults. When you pass on an aversion to something because of how it looks, that’s called “prejudice.” Worms, caterpillars, grubs, insects, spiders and all sorts of wondrous creatures are out in your garden as part of the ecosystem. Please see them as integral parts of the system, and the kids will be amazed and curious, not afraid. Check out Worms Eat My Garbage and other great teaching resources on garden critters.
6. No chemicals. Given that you are gardening with children, this really should not need any explanation. Also in urban areas, it is advisable to have a basic soil assessment for lead and other urban contaminants to make sure your site is safe for children before the garden is developed.
7. Grow some things to eat. Children are much more willing to try and consume fresh fruits and vegetables that they have grown. In fact, they likely will try things they never have eaten before because they have tended the plants through harvest. Since 60% of kids today don’t eat enough fruits and veggies, learn more through the There’s a Rainbow on My Plate from the USDA and other kids nutrition resources. Have a harvest celebration and encourage the kids to share their bounty with others, whether informally or through national programs like “Plant a Row.”
8. Reinforce the lessons from the garden while indoors. Prepare the kids for their gardening experience by asking questions like, “What will we see today?” or “How much do you think things have grown since last week?” Engage kids in keeping journals and/or scrapbooks of their garden to monitor its progress through the season and over the years. If working with a school garden, integrate the garden across disciplines beyond science.
9. Keep it fun. Have enough equipment, whether trowels or watering cans, to allow small teams of 4-8 kids to work together on a task. Many children do better in small group situations, and it’s also easier to guide the kids when each team has a specific assignment. Try partnering older (grades 5-8 or HS) and younger children to provide younger kids with a helper, and help older children be more responsible. Have a plan for how the kids’ time in the garden will be organized so they aren’t left idle for long, but also be open to the “teachable moments” that come along.
10. Gardening is a powerful experience for children. Children have fewer and fewer chances to interact with the natural world, and the connection to nature is important for their development. Children who develop regard and concern for the natural world come to be good stewards of the land and its resources. Being responsible for tending a garden also fosters their sense of “nurturing” and helps them learn to care for other living things. Kids don’t often hear much positive feedback from adults, and creating and tending a garden also empowers kids because they hear that they have “done a good job” from other adults.
Happy Gardening, Beth
2. Develop the garden to be appropriate for the site and regional conditions. Involve the kids in the site analysis process so they understand how important the light, soil, drainage and other environmental factors are to having a garden. Develop the garden so the features and plant choices are adapted to local conditions, so you are not “working against nature.”
3. Focus on functional garden design, not how it will look. Start the design process by determining what the children want to be doing and learning in the garden. Base the features on the practical functions they will serve, and don’t worry too much about aesthetics. Gardens that serve as hands-on learning laboratories for kids will be beautiful because they are well-used and well-loved spaces. Also remember that the children’s sense of what is pretty may not be yours; that’s ok because the garden is their space.
4. Be comfortable with dirt. All kids are washable, so as long as parents have been notified about the gardening activity in advance and haven’t sent them in fancy clothing, let them get dirty. If mud is a concern once the kids are going back inside the building, try plastic grocery sacks over their shoes, or set up and hand-washing and shoe-scraping station before they go back inside.
5. Bugs and crawly critters are cool. Children aren’t inherently afraid of things that crawl and creep. They learn that these things are bad or scary or icky from adults. When you pass on an aversion to something because of how it looks, that’s called “prejudice.” Worms, caterpillars, grubs, insects, spiders and all sorts of wondrous creatures are out in your garden as part of the ecosystem. Please see them as integral parts of the system, and the kids will be amazed and curious, not afraid. Check out Worms Eat My Garbage and other great teaching resources on garden critters.
6. No chemicals. Given that you are gardening with children, this really should not need any explanation. Also in urban areas, it is advisable to have a basic soil assessment for lead and other urban contaminants to make sure your site is safe for children before the garden is developed.
7. Grow some things to eat. Children are much more willing to try and consume fresh fruits and vegetables that they have grown. In fact, they likely will try things they never have eaten before because they have tended the plants through harvest. Since 60% of kids today don’t eat enough fruits and veggies, learn more through the There’s a Rainbow on My Plate from the USDA and other kids nutrition resources. Have a harvest celebration and encourage the kids to share their bounty with others, whether informally or through national programs like “Plant a Row.”
8. Reinforce the lessons from the garden while indoors. Prepare the kids for their gardening experience by asking questions like, “What will we see today?” or “How much do you think things have grown since last week?” Engage kids in keeping journals and/or scrapbooks of their garden to monitor its progress through the season and over the years. If working with a school garden, integrate the garden across disciplines beyond science.
9. Keep it fun. Have enough equipment, whether trowels or watering cans, to allow small teams of 4-8 kids to work together on a task. Many children do better in small group situations, and it’s also easier to guide the kids when each team has a specific assignment. Try partnering older (grades 5-8 or HS) and younger children to provide younger kids with a helper, and help older children be more responsible. Have a plan for how the kids’ time in the garden will be organized so they aren’t left idle for long, but also be open to the “teachable moments” that come along.
10. Gardening is a powerful experience for children. Children have fewer and fewer chances to interact with the natural world, and the connection to nature is important for their development. Children who develop regard and concern for the natural world come to be good stewards of the land and its resources. Being responsible for tending a garden also fosters their sense of “nurturing” and helps them learn to care for other living things. Kids don’t often hear much positive feedback from adults, and creating and tending a garden also empowers kids because they hear that they have “done a good job” from other adults.
Happy Gardening, Beth
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