Progress!

Flower Bed

In the last post, I mentioned that we were working on a large flower bed.  It's purpose is to provide food and a habitat  for local birds and insects, and to provide opportunities for the kids to observe them.  We're working towards creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation.  If anyone has extra plants or seeds that need a home, we're more than happy to help out.  Here's what we're looking for:

Monarda (P)

Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)  (P)

Bronze Fennel (P)

Lobelia (Cardinal Flower) P

White Dragon Flower (native) (P)                                    

Yarrow (P)

Aster (various) (P)                                                            

Sedum (P)

Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan) (P)                                    

Mexican Blue Sage (P)

Coneflower (P)                                                            

Blue Queen Salvia (P)

Columbine (P)                                                            

Butterfly weed (Asclepias) (P)

Lamb’s Ear (P)                                                           

Joe Pye Weed (P)

Creeping Phlox (P)                                                            

Thyme (various) (P)

Tarragon (P)                                                                        

Rosemary (P)                       

Dianthus (pinks, Sweet William, carnations) (A/P)

Poppies (A/P)                                                           

Parsley (A)                                                                        

Dill (A)

Love In A Mist (A)                                                            

Bachelor’s Buttons  (A)

Zinnias (A)                                                                       

Mexican Sun Flower (A)

P – perennial

A – annual 

Also, we're still looking for more apple trees.  We have one now, thank you again to the Cohen family, but unless it gets some friends, it will never produce anything.  We're looking to eventually have approximately 20 apple trees of different varieties.

If an apple tree seems like it might be to expensive (money is tight lately, I know) perhaps you might like to donate a strawberry plant or two.  We're going to be planting a large strawberry bed in the next few months.   They're inexpensive, and seem to be what the kids most want to grow.  

Of course, we can't plant much of anything right now. . . but hang on!  Spring is quickly approaching!

Garden Club Day

It was a good day for gardening today.  Well, yeah, the wind made it feel a lot colder than we expected, but we got a good 15 feet of a new big flower bed covered.  Next week we'll do a bit more and talk about what we want to grow this spring.

A Call For Cardboard!

This week my small group of hardcore garden club kiddos are going to get a flower bed ready for spring. In the fall we worked really hard on removing the grass from the area, but it was difficult. We're going to try a different method. I've got a load of topsoil ready to go, but we're going to need a lot of corrugated cardboard if you all have any old boxes looking for a new life in the garden. It'd be great if you can drop any off at my room (C-2) at school. We'd prefer it you all could remove any labels or tape, but it isn't necessary if you're pressed for time.

The Great Backyard Bird Count

If you're looking for something to do next weekend (and you're tired of reading seed catalogs and waiting for spring), the Great Backyard Bird Count runs from February 18-21.

It's very easy to participate.  You don't need to know a lot about birds or have and special equipment. There's all kinds of good information at the website.  If you put your zipcode in here, you'll get a great checklist of birds you'll see this time of year in our area.

Double Oops!

Oh my!  I did forget at least one person.  Wendy Puddy, though she couldn't be with us for garden club due to work, has been invaluable to the club.  Not only has she come out to help on weekends, but she arranged for two UVA landscape architecture students to help out with our plan,  written to local businesses for donations and donated a lot of equipment.  I've really appreciated all the help.  Sadly, the Puddy's will be moving in December.  They've very nicely left lots of garden stuff for us to use, though, including a great indoor grow light for starting seeds, a bunch of peat pots and a lot of soaker hose.  Thank you all so much, and have a great time in your new home!

Oops!

Wow!  So sorry.  I didn't forget about this blog, but I certainly have been kept busy doing paperwork at school.  Now that we're done the first quarter and a lot of that is out of the way, I'll try to be a bit more regular.

Esteban

Our first tree!

We had a very successful, but very large group in garden club this fall.  We fluctuated between about 35 and 40 kids every week for seven weeks.  It was a bit like herding cats, but we did manage to get a few things done.  We've started digging a huge flower bed, gotten a cover crop planted in the vegetable patch and planted the first tree in what I hope will be a small apple orchard.  The tree was provided by Mrs. Josie Cohen and family and is a dwarf Granny Smith.  My buddy Esteban and I planted it during one of our recesses.

Semi-Dwarf Granny Smith

I couldn't have done it without a lot of help.  Deborah Riddick, Theresa Gimbert, Angelo Vangelopolous, Sean O'Rourke (I'm glad he came despite the Yankee fanboy thing), Josie Cohen, Lori Stoddard, Amy Eastlack and Ken Ferguson all came out to help.  Please forgive me and let me know if I've left anyone out, it was quite a crowd.

I would like to continue with garden club after Thanksgiving on Tuesday afternoons.  Hopefully, and I know this sounds terrible, we'll have a smaller group (10 - 20 kids).  A smaller group is easier for me to keep track of and I think will probably be more productive.  Of course, I'll take whoever would like to come out and help.  There won't be any bus to the Boys and Girls club, so kids will need to be picked up at 3:30 at school.  If you'd like to come out and help, or if your kid would like to come help, let me know and I'll send home some information next week before break.  It may be fall/winter but there's still plenty for us to do.

Garden Party - Thanks Everyone!

Stink Bugs

Stink bugs, it turns out, are probably going to be a huge agricultural problem in the not too distant future.  Here's a link from the University of Florida Entomology Department showing how to make a stink bug trap.   Actually, I'm thinking it may not have been squash bugs that destroyed the school pumpkin patch. They look pretty much alike unless you really stop to check them out.  Which I didn't.  
Hmmmmm. . .

They don't seem to like the nightshade family as they seem to have left the tomatoes and potatoes alone.  Good to know I guess.  Looks like the garden club has a new project!

Garden Club starting again

I'll be meeting with any students who are interested in working in the garden every Tuesday afternoon after school.  We'll get started as soon as everyone arrives and work until 3:30.  All I need is a note from parents saying that their kid is staying after school with me and letting me know how they are going to get home.  For now, parents will have to pick up their kids or they'll have to go to the After School Program.  When clubs officially start at the end of this month, there will be a bus to the Boys and Girls club at 3:30 (ish).

Any parents that would like to help out are also more than welcome to come one out and work in the garden with us.  Actually, I'm begging you!  Please come out and help.  There are a lot of kids that want to help and the more adults present, the less chaotic the group is.

Also, don't forget our garden party on Saturday, September 18th from 1-4.