Fun Fall Gardening

Environmental Education Topic for November:

Fun Fall Gardening

It might be fall, but the garden fun hasn't stopped. That's right! Put on your rain boots and go outside! There is still plenty to do in our Club gardens from removing annual vegetable plants (yeah, kids get to pull stuff!) to planting cover crops and bulbs, to mulching and composting. And don't forget a Harvest Fair. Check out North Seattle's Harvest Fair on November 19th for some good food and good ideas to bring back to your Club.  

Activities

Remove Non-Producing Crops

Get the kids out in the dirt to pull out annual plants, weeds, and debris. Perhaps some of your veggies went to seed? Kids can collect seeds from pods and examine plant parts including roots, fruits, and leaves. What do these parts do? How do they function? Add pulled plants to the compost pile as long as they are disease free. 

 Plant Onion Sets and Garlic Cloves

Onions and garlic show up early in the spring and can inspire excitement for the garden as soon as the weather warms. Onion sets look like small onion bulbs and you can plant them in well tilled soil about 4-6 inches apart. To plant garlic cloves, buy a head of organic garlic, allow the kids to break it into cloves and plant each clove 3-4 inches deep and 4-6 inches apart in loose soil. Which side of the clove or onion set points down? How do you know? Mulch with compost on top. 

Plant Cover Crops

Annual cover crops contribute to the health of your soil and the productivity of your spring and summer garden. These plants fix nitrogen, displace unwanted weeds, retain soil, provide flowers with nectar for beneficial insects, and provide organic matter that can be tilled under in the spring. Cereal rye, winter wheat, clover, and fava beans are excellent choices and can be purchased in bulk at City People's Garden Store. Fava beans not only fix nitrogen and break up compacted soil with a long tap root, they also have edible flowers! And the beans can be eaten as small peas, or harvested and dried for eating later. Plant them 4-5 inches apart, thinning to 8-10 inches, in rows 18-30 inches apart. They don't like to be planted with the onions or garlic though, so choose different beds for each. 

Mulch Garden Beds With Leaves

Kids can collect leaves and spread them on garden beds not growing a cover crop. Burlap bags can be used to hold down the leaves. As the leaves decompose they release nutrients into the soil. You can also make a wire frame leaf bin. Like a compost bin this will allow the leaves to break down throughout the winter and in the spring you will have a nice pile of leaf mold that acts as a fertilizer. Mmmm moldy.

Hold a Harvest Fair

Combine your thanksgiving meal give-aways with a Harvest Fair. North Seattle will be inviting families to an evening of learning, eating, and celebrating their Club garden. Families will receive recipes for produce that can be grown at the Club or at home and a local chef will demonstrate some easy vegetable meals. The kids in the fall LEAP! garden program will teach other kids how to plant seeds for indoor herb gardens and they will distribute their illustrated How-to-Garden guide. 

Though most of the produce is now gone from many of the Club gardens, herbs can still be harvested and dried. Kids can collect and dry herbs that might be used in holiday meals. Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Hehe! Include recipes for stews, soups, and stuffing that use the herbs. Kids can decorate the recipes with drawings and help distribute their harvest. The kids are the educators and providers. It is so powerful for them to take this role and contribute to the health of their community.

 

How to Build a Raised Bed Garden

June Environmental Education Topic:
How to Build a Raised Bed Garden
This spring Federal Way and Kirkland built raised bed gardens with materials granted by Home Depot. Raised bed gardens can be placed in areas with marginal or poor soil, they promote root growth and water drainage, and they prevent kids or dogs from running through the vegetable patch. Building the garden is a wonderful exercise in teamwork, leadership and developing skills with new tools. Below you can find the materials we used and an outline of steps to help you get started.

Materials for a 4x8 ft Raised Bed Garden
Drill
Hammer
Staple Gun2 1/4inch Deck Screws- 1 box
2x6x12 Cedar- 4 planks
2x4x8 Cedar- 2 planks
Weed Block- 1 roll
Garden Soil- 28 cubic feet Compost- 2 cubic feet
Seeds and/or starts
Trowel/sWatering Can
Hose and/or soaker hose
If you borrow a drill and hammer, you can purchase the rest of the materials, soil, seeds, and starts for about $200.00. LEAP! also has some trowels, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, and a drill available for project use. Contact Christine at cmorris@positiveplace.org to request tools.

Step 1
Decide with the kids where to place the garden. How much sun will it get? Is it near a hose or spigot? Is it in a prominent spot or gathering place where families can be involved? Can a picnic table or play area be located near-by? What kind of community impact will the garden have?

Step 2
Decide when to build the garden and who will be involved. Will it be during Club time or on a weekend with family members and community volunteers?

Step 3
Purchase and gather materials. Ask the hardware store to cut the 2x6x12 Cedar planks into 4ft and 8ft sections. The 2x4x6 and be cut into 2ft long pieces. Cedar is not the cheapest lumber, but it resists rot and does not contain the chemicals found in treated wood.

Step 4
Build the raised bed on a level surface if possible. Start by drilling one 2x6 into a 2x4. Then drill another 2x6 in a right angle to the 2x4. Continue with all four corners. Add the second level of 2x6 planks and drill them into the 2x4s. You now have a box. For added support drill two more 2x4s in the center of the 8ft sides.

Step 5
Place the box in your desired location. Staple the Weed Block around the sides of the box. Poke holes in the bottom for drainage and for roots to pass through. The Weed Block will help prevent soil from leaking out any gaps in the box between the boards and will suppress grass and weed growth.

Step 6
Fill the box with soil. Work in compost.

Step 7
Plant seed and starts. You can create signs and labels for the garden. Use a watering can to gently water the seeds. Once they have sprouted you can use a soft spray on a hose or a soaker hose to water the raised bed.
Step 8
Decorate. Paint the box, make scarecrows, wind socks, stepping stones.

Step 9
Celebrate!

Spa from a Salad

Environmental Education Topic for May:

Spa from a Salad!

Take a look at the ingredients in your shampoo, soap, lotion, cosmetics. What did you find? Hmmmm.

This DIY spa is cheaper, it's fun, contains no weird chemicals or parabens, and is healthy for you and the environment. Hooray! Perhaps treat someone you know for mother's day. A spa day is also a fun activity to include in your gardening curriculum or with your Smart Girls Club. You can discuss beneficial uses of plant products, or compare the independence gained from controlling what materials you put in your body care products to growing your own food without herbicides or pesticides.

Cucumber Slices Eye Soother
-1 cucumber
Preparation:
Cut the Cucumber into 1/2 inch slices. Lie down and place them on your eyes for at least 15 minutes. It feels cooling and reduces puffiness. Kids think it is funny.

Banana Face Mask
-1 banana
-1 tbsp honey
-1 egg whie -juice from an orange or a lemon
Preparation: Mix the banana, honey, and egg whites together. Add a few drops of juice from the orange or lemon. Leave on your face for 15 minutes and then rinse off with water and a warm washcloth.

Avocado Face Mask
-Avocado
-Honey
Preparation: Mash the avocado with a fork until creamy. Add 1 tbsp of honey. Apply a thin layer of the face mask and allow it to set for 15 minutes before rinsing off. Avocados contain vegetable oil, helpful for dry skin care and honey reduces swelling, inflammation, and has antimicrobial properties.

Clay Face Mask
-1 bag cat litter (must be labeled as 100% Natural Clay)
-Water
-Drops of essential oil
Preparation:Mix a couple tablespoons of cat litter with water and drops of essential oil. Apply it your face and wait for the mask to harden. Rinse it off with water and a wash cloth. The clay cleans and tightens pores.
Ginger Mint Hand and Foot Scrub
-Honey
-Freshly grated ginger root
-Chopped fresh mint leaves
-Olive oil
-Brown sugar
Preparation: Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl using 1/3 olive oil to 2/3 brown sugar. Use the scrub as a buff on dry hands and feet. Rinse with warm water. The oil helps skin retain moisture while the sugar exfoliates.
For more great DIY bath and body craft ideas check out this website: http://www.craftbits.com/bath-and-body-crafts

Starting from Seeds

Environmental Education Topic for March: Starting From Seeds

Yes! You CAN grow plants from seeds right inside your Club! And then transplant the seedlings outdoors into a garden, or a container garden, or you can hold a farmers market and give them away to Club kids and families.

Watching plants grow is rewarding. It takes responsibility, trial and error, and motivation. Growing edible food is empowering. And healthy. How about some science? You can discuss botany, biology, chemistry, economics, sustainability, and climate change.

But what if the seeds don't sprout?

Try different types of seeds and different conditions. If the seeds don't germinate, determine possible causes and try again. It will work!

Seed Starting Tips:

Choose Your Seeds

Do you want hardy seeds that germinate early in the spring? Will you be starting indoors? Can you give your seeds artificial light? Organic? Some seeds you will need to start indoors, such as tomatoes, other seeds do best when directly planted in the ground. Read seed packages for information about when to plant.

Some suggestions:

Indoors= arugula, tomatoes, broccoli, basil, lettuce, kale

Outdoors= chard, radishes, beets, peas, lettuce, spinach

What type of Soil?

If you are starting seeds indoors, plant them in a seed starting mix. This mix has the right type of density and nutrients for the delicate baby seed. Moisten the soil before planting.

How Deep?

Plant the seed about 2x deep as it is wide. Don't tamp the soil down hard. For very small seeds only lightly cover them, or not at all. Plant several seeds in each hole just in case. You can thin later.

In what Container?

Any that can hold about 2 inches of soil for seedling root growth. Recycled containers, old plastic pots, and seed starting trays. Even newspaper rolled into a cylinder and folded into a pot will work. Make sure that excess water can drain out. Kids can decorate containers with pens and paint.

How Much Water?

Seeds need to be kept moist so the seed coat is softened and the root and shoot can emerge. Too much water can drown the seed or promote rotting. Gently water the seed so the soil feels like a damp sponge. You can dip your hand in a bowl of water and drip it onto the seed like rain. Or poke holes in the top of a plastic soda bottle cap with a thumbtack to create a watering can. You can also use a spray bottle. Remember to assist kids with watering. They really like to water. A lot. Often too much. Using a spray bottle is just so fun! Lightly cover the containers with plastic until the seed germinates. This will help keep in moisture, especially if no one is around to water on the weekends. Once the seed germinates you can let the soil dry out a bit between watering and water deeply which will encourage strong root growth.

Light?

Using a florescent bulb hung 2-3 inches above the soil or seedling for 12 hours a day is best. Without this extra light your seedlings may become tall, spindly, weak, and pale. If you do not have access to extra light, put your seeds on a sunny windowsill and try these hardy varieties: arugula, parsley, and fava beans

Then?

Have fun! Sing to your seeds and sprouts, gently touch them imitating the wind. Can you grow up from a seed into a sprout and sway back and forth? Try it!

Decorating pots with Nature Consortium at R.V.

Plant movement at R.V.

Building a Worm Bin

Environmental Education Topic for January:

Building a Worm Bin!

Ewwww. Why?

Complete the loop! Worms recycle food scraps into nourishing compost for plants that provide more food!

Kids can learn about the process of decomposition, gain responsibility as they care for living creatures, and develop an ethic of sustainability.

Activities

Worm Observation

Worms can be placed in the middle of the table. Kids can each take some worms and put them on a white sheet of paper in front of them. What makes a worm a worm? What do they look like? How do they act? Use magnifying lenses and microscopes for a closer view. How can you tell an adult worm from a juvenile worm? (It's the band or different colored ring on their body, not necessarily their size) Kids can name their worms, draw obstacle courses or houses for them on the paper and just have fun. Remember worms need to be moist, so limit the observation time so they don't dry out.

Building the Worm Bin

Worm bins can be made from wood, out of rubbermaid plastic containers, or ten gallon buckets. Choose the method that is best for you. Detailed instructions can be found here http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm and here http://www.seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/compost/otsbinplans/view

The Basics:

1. Decorate your worm bin!

2. Drill ventilation holes in the bins according to the instructions.

3. Make bedding for your worms. Rip up old phone books and newspapers (recycling!), dip in water and wring out. The bedding should be moist, not sopping.

4. Assemble your worm bin. Bury food scraps in the bedding and cover with a damp piece of cardboard to keep the worms moist and dark.

Maintain and love your worms!

Make a How-To Manuel for Family and Friends

Take pictures of the process. Photocopy these next to each instruction. Or, print out instructions for kids to decorate with descriptive pictures. Kids can also write their own suggestions and steps.

Make a Worm Restaurant Menu

What would worms in your worm bin like to eat? Maybe a Chewed-Orange Peel Salad with Spilled Fruit Juice Dressing? You can discuss what would be good foods for the worm bin (veggies, fruits, coffee, tea, etc.) and what would not be so good (meat, dairy, oil, etc.). Kids can make menus in groups, share, and display.

Resources

Red Wriggler Worms (the kind you need for a worm bin) can be purchased on the internet or at Stone Way Hardware in Seattle. Contact Christine at cmorris@positiveplace.org for help leading a worm bin building activity.

The Enviromentals (Episode 1) How to Make a Worm Composting Bin from Hal Brindley on Vimeo.

What's Growing On Outside and In

Environmental Education Topic for December:

 
What's Growing On
Outside and In

 

Outside

It is finally frosty and time to put your garden to bed for winter. There a few things you can do now with the kids that will set the garden up for a great start in the spring.

• Remove spent annuals and seasonal vegetables. If they are not diseased or contain pests they can be put into a compost pile and will eventually return their nutrients to the soil
• Remove weeds and debris
• Cut back perennials. The roots survive, even if above growth is brown and dead. Trim this part back to a few inches above the ground for healthy spring regrowth
• Add mulch around plants and on garden beds a few inches deep. Mulch stabilizes soil temperature, insulating overwintering bulbs, decreases soil compaction and weed growth and retains soil moisture. Organic mulches such as compost, straw, and leaves add nutrients to the soil as well. You can cover the mulch with burlap bags which will additionally help prevent evaporation, keeping the organic materials moist. They will also provide a safe, dark home for beneficial invertebrates churning mulch and compost into rich, healthy soil. Burlap bags are free at the Tully's Roasting Plant, 3100 Airport Way South.

Inside

There are plenty of ways to observe plant growth indoors.

Grow Wheat Grass

Easy and fast to grow, wheat grass can be added as a supplement to smoothies and the roots observed through a clear jar are fascinating. Get some wheat berries from the bulk bin of a grocery store, clean out some mason jars, and find some potting soil and sand. First, soak the wheat berries for 8-12 hours, changing the water half way through. Then place some sand on the bottom of the mason jar, fill up with potting soil, and add a thick layer of wheat berries. Moisten the soil and cover the jar loosely with saran wrap. Keep the jar in a shady or dark place and spritz with water 2x a day. When the wheat berries sprout, move the jar to a sunnier location and continue to spritz with water. When the grass begins to grow, rinse out the jar by filling up with water, holding soil and grass in place with your fingers and carefully draining out. Sprouting sprouts is a similar process and also quickly rewarding. For more information go to: http://www.classbrain.com/artfamily/publish/growing_sprouts.shtml

Make an Indoor Herb Garden

Indoor herb gardens can provide seasoning to snack throughout the winter. Several herbs are especially hardy and can be found as starts at garden stores. Rosemary, paresly, and sage were used by the kids at Renton/Skyway in their indoor garden. Kids can take turns watering the plants, testing the soil for moisture, and trimming edible parts. For more indoor herb garden ideas go to: http://www.catalogs.com/info/garden-yard/growing-an-indoor-herb-garden.html

Grow Carrot Tops, Onion Roots, and an Avocado Tree

These projects require minimal work and supplies. So easy! To grow carrot tops, simply place cut ends of carrots in a dish with water. Change the water every day. Greens will grow. To observe an onion growing roots, use toothpicks to suspend the onion in a jar of water. Add water as needed. Follow the same steps with an avocado pit; watch the root grow and the seed sprout. Involve kids in the scientific process. Experiment growing different types of vegetable tops. What works and what doesn't? Why? How long will it take for the avocado to sprout? What will potatoes do? Or garlic cloves?

Gardening

Gardening

It is spring!
And time to think about gardening! In a garden kids can see, smell, and touch the natural world. Gardening encourages responsibility, community, cooperation, and inquiry. Find a way to connect your Club with plant growth!

Beginning a Garden

• Assess your resources; size, shade/sun, time, interests. Pick plants that are appropriate for your resources. Plant according to the recommended times. Maybe start some seeds indoors. Do some research and ask questions.

• Garden information specific to the Pacific Northwest can be found in print: The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide and online: www.seattlepi.com/nwgardens/. For questions or general help call Seattle Tilth's Garden Hotline: (206) 633-0224

• If you already have a garden, till the old plants into the soil, add some compost, plant some starts or some seeds.
  

Tools
A list of tools available can be found under the Tool Library label.

Types of Gardens

Native Plant Garden: Provide home for wildlife, insects, and birds, while creating a low-maintenance garden and year-round naturalist lab .
See the King County site for more information: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/stewardship/nw-yard-and-garden/native-plant-resources-nw.aspxspx

Container Garden: Perfect for Clubs with limited/no space. Grow herbs, flowers, even vegetables.
5 Senses garden: Plant to delight the senses. Use different textures, colors, smells, and tastes. Attract birds and listen to their songs.

Rotary, Redmond, Mercer Island, B.F. Day, Northgate, Blackwell Elementary, and Renton Skyway Clubs have gardens growing vegetables, herbs, and native plants.

Create Soil Not Landfill
Start a compost or worm bin. Food scrapes can be used to make compost to grow more food. Cool.
Northgate Club built a worm bin in 2008 with the assistance of a Nature Consortium educator and LEAP!. Bainbridge Club just finished a worm bin during their Spring 09 LEAP! program.
Find information at http://www.seattle.gov/util/services/yard/composting/SPU01_001996.aspyard/composting/SPU01_001996.asp
and at http://www.seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/compost1/compost



Store Your Rain
Build a rain-barrel to harvest the rain.
B.F. Day and Redmond Clubs made theirs during LEAP! programing.
Find information at www.Seattle.gov/UTIL/Services/Yard/Natural_Lawn_&_Garden_Care/Rain_Water_Harvesting/index.asp

Garden Activities

Start with the Soil
What is soil made of? Who lives in soil? What type of soil do plants grow in? Take kids outside to collect soil samples from different locations. Back at the Club study the soil with magnifying lenses and microscopes, or just sharp eyes. What are the differences in texture, composition, and color? If the soil was made into mud pies, what wou ld be the list of ingredients? Kids can use a little water and the dirt to finger paint on paper. Make smudge animals, people, trees. Add pen lines for detail.

Build a Bean-Pole House
Bean-Pole houses can be made by lashing together three or four poles at the top in a triangle and settling the ends into the ground. Plant beans at the base of the poles so they can climb up, leaf-out, and create a shady structure.

Watching Roots
Discuss how plants grow and what they need to live. Kids can watch roots by planting seeds close to the edge of a plastic cup or glass jar. Look closely at a small plant or flower. How many different parts can be identified? What do these parts do? Kids can pre ss the plant or glue and tape it to a paper, labeling form and function.
For more information and activity ideas see: www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/currl/plants/default.htm and http://http//urbanext.illinois.edu/gpe/case1/c1facts2a.html

Plant Growth Time Lapse Video