Interest Learning Gardening Class Starts!

 We were very excited to start the NCCS Garden Class this past Friday.  Students got to choose one of the offered topics and 11 Primary and Early Elementary students chose the Gardening Class.  We learned what ingredients make up a good soil and then we got to mix our own potting soil.  Our focus was also on one part of the plant that we eat; leaves.  So we planted lettuce seeds and should see them come up by next Friday.  Stay tuned!

   Learning about ingredients that make good organic soil; fertilizers bloodmeal, greensand and rock phosphate mixed with peat moss, lime, perlite and compost.

 Planting lettuce seeds in our freshly mixed soil.

 Mixing it up and getting our hands dirty.

Learning to plant seeds.

Time to Order Seeds!

     

This is the time of year when the garden starts to come to life... on paper of course.  Time to plan out what will be grown and time to order the seeds that will make the garden come to fruition.  Here, you can see my three favorite places to order seeds from.  Johnny's Selected Seeds out of Maine has a great selection of cut flower varieties; this is where most of our seeds for the Cut Flower CSA will come from.  Fedco Seeds is also out of Maine and are so unique.  They are a true cooperative seed company.  They also have one of my favorite catalogs; black and white newsprint with hand drawn illustrations and very witty descriptions.  They make up for the lack of shiny photos with their whimsical prose.  And last, but not least is Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.  They are located in near-by Virgina, so their seeds are great for us here in Maryland as they are adapted more for our climate.  All of these companies have a great selection of organic and non GMO seeds for our gardens.

If you are looking for seeds, check out these great catalogs for a little garden inspiration.  We'll be well stocked with seeds at NCCS to grow plants for our Plant Sale and Cut Flower CSA!

Welcome to our blog and website for the NCCS Learning Garden Programs!  We will use the blog to post updates about what's going on in the gardens.  Please browse the site to find information on our specific projects.  More information will be coming soon as we build the site.

Thanks for stopping in!