Harvest Has Begun!

Cutting has begun and the flowers have been so plentiful lately.  We've had enough to make some donations and also expand the CSA.  We are up to 24 shares sold!

Going into the 6th week, we are excited about the beauty and bounty that the NCCS gardens are proving capable of!

Have a great week!

Willing Workers

We've been picking away at our garden projects this spring.  One day after school as I was spreading organic soil amendments on the vegetable garden site and planting some flowers around school, Samantha offered her help.  'Sure!' I replied enthusiastically.  Sam eagerly and proficiently helped me at each task, running in to ask her mom if she could accompany me to the next job.  She was a BIG help!  It always amazes me how eager the kids at NCCS are to help with gardening.  They are so genuinely interested and so willing to work.  Thanks Sam!

 We've had great help from parents as well.  Thanks to helpful hands the entire flower plot is now planted and starting to bloom.  It's been great to get to know other parents in the garden.  If you'd like to help this summer, please contact me and I will send you updates on group workdays.

Thanks to all you great volunteers!

Getting Ready for Flowers

This post is a bit late, as some of the pictures were taken in March.  But I wanted to give an update about what exactly is going on in that plot next to the cornfield, near the road and marquee.  Why, cut flowers of course!  To be exact, we have readied a 75 x 25 foot garden where many different varieties of cut flowers will be grown for the NCCS Flower CSA.

The first step is using the plow to turn over the sod.

Next, we attached the tiller and went over the plowed area to even things out and incorporate the sod.

Green Heart Sunflower seeds were planted mid April.  Sunflowers are surprisingly hardy!

Here you can see a row of 'Rocket Mix' snapdragons, planted with the sunflowers in mid April.  Snapdragons can also take colder temperatures so it's okay to plant them this early.

It's now time to think about the big planting of the 15 plus varieties of flowers that will grace this garden.  This will happen within the next 2 weeks.  

We still have flower shares available, please get in touch if you're interested in a beautiful bouquet once a week for 18 weeks, starting in June!

Worms, worms, worms

On the last winter interest learning day we talked about decomposition and how compost is made.  We also talked about the role worms play in breaking down organic waste and also their role in aerating the soil.  After reading a book about composting, everyone lent a hand in building a worm bin to compost food waste from the school.  After the bin was built, we enjoyed some time outside digging worms and made individual 'worm farms' in mason jars for each student to take home.

The kids are eager to get their hands on a worm.

Our finished worm bin.  Newspaper strips were soaked in water and wrung out and then the worms were placed on the 'bedding' with a bit of food waste buried inside.  The container is an 8 gallon plastic tub with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage and the top edge and lid for ventilation.

Another garden day!

Dexter is SO excited to see that his lettuce seeds have sprouted!

The start of sweet potato slips.  We placed the potatoes 1/3 of the way in water.  Soon they will grow vines from the eyes, called 'slips'.  The slips will be cut from the potato and set in water.  There they will grow roots.  From here we can plant them in the garden in late May and with good luck we will harvest the sweet potatoes in the fall!

Our lettuce seeding from week 1; some have started to sprout.

Our light rack where we are growing our projects since it is still so cold outside.  Light racks are a great way to get things started early as they provide heat, light, and protection from the elements.

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!