Spring Has Sprung!
Or did we skip over Spring and go directly to Summer? It was over 80 degrees today and everyone was HOT! We had 19 gardeners sign-up and there were lots of new faces, so we introduced ourselves during snack-time. Regina Howell and Tina Chaleki are both Master Gardeners, volunteering their time to work with the kids. Regina talked to the kids about what it means to be a Master Gardener. She also asked the kids if they would be interested in potentially starting a Junior Master Gardener program (JMG) at the school. The JMG mission is "to grow good kids by igniting a passion for learning, success and service through a unique gardening education." The program has a formal curriculum and when completed, the kids would be certified Junior Master Gardeners. They were interested in learning more, so Regina will do some more research on it. We'll provide information to the parents when we know more. A special thanks goes out to Lily and Abigail for helping us out!
Starting Seeds
Each gardener got their own seed starter tray with 32 cells. Southern Exposure Seed Exchange was once again extremely generous and donated lots of vegetable, herb, and flower seeds. The kids planted seeds in their tray and marked them with color coded toothpicks.
Planting Cabbages
Bonnie Plants donated cabbages to the school and we planted them in our vegetable garden. We talked to the kids about how cabbages grow. We're planning on donating the cabbage to the local food bank when they're mature.
Coming Up...
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Divide and Multiply GardenWhile you're working in the garden this Spring, consider donating some of your plants to our "Divide and Multiply" garden and become part of the school garden. Here's a link to examples of plants. We could use some more medium and tall plants and currently have plenty of daffodils and iris'.
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Southern Exposure Seed Exchange is located in Mineral Virginia and emphasize plant varieties that perform well in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. They do extensive germination and purity testing to ensure they always provide the highest quality possible. As part of their mission, they promote seed saving and traditional plant breeding.
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Vegetable gardening is a fun and rewarding way to learn about nature and healthy food. That's why we Bonnie Plants started the Bonnie Plants Cabbage Program. Through the program, millions of students have learned about gardening.
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