This is a weekly look at what is happening in the school garden to assist teacher educators engage their students in agriculture. It can be used by garden students of all ages however!
CCS GTS Teachers! Focus groups start next week, there are only a few spots left and we will contact those who have not signed up yet.
Please check to make sure you have filled out the March survey as well as any surveys your may have missed earlier in the school year.
Let’s check out the forecast.
Outside in the raised beds:
We have some cold nights this week, make sure your row cover is covering your raised beds before you go home each day. We did not get good rain over the past week. I recommend that you water once or twice a week as well especially as we have no rain in the forecast until the weekend. Add fertilizer to your water if you are using the pink crystals every two weeks.
A good amount of water is to count to ten as you water with a watering can for each plant to make sure that you water deeply enough to get all the way down to the roots.
Make sure that you let the beds warm up before you pop the top. The best time will be around mid-day to early afternoon. Then re-cover the beds before you leave for the day because we have some cold nights.
We are pretty much done with the need to use plastic but do not throw it away. Let it dry out and then fold it up and store it so that you can use it next year. Keep using your row cover. If you uncover your beds during the day, place the cover back over the beds before you leave. It will help with the temperature as well as protect your crops from nuisance wildlife. I have gotten some reports about bunnies eating the crops.
If you are using the pink crystal fertilizer (not the Aerogarden fertilizer) then make sure that you fertilize your outside plants every two weeks mixed in water according to the label. Contact Katie if you need more fertilizer.
If you have some Shake and Feed or Natures Care from prior years that would be a good choice. The pictures of those two fertilizers are below. They are granular fertilizers that are mixed into the soil according to the label instructions. If you would like some of these fertilizers, contact Katie to see what she has.
This can be added into the soil when you transplant, or sprinkled around the plants on top of the soil and then gently worked in to the soil before you water. This will feed plants for two months so you should only need to use this once the rest of this season. Follow the instructions on the label.
This can be added into the soil when you transplant, or sprinkled around the plants on top of the soil and then gently worked in to the soil before you water. This will feed plants for three months so you should only need to use this once the rest of this season. Follow the instructions on the label.
Inside in the Aerogarden:
Tomatoes are growing in the Aerogarden. Follow the instructions for tomato planting carefully. Make sure you are checking water levels and fertilize as needed. Make sure you check water levels each Friday before you leave school so that the water level does not drop too low over the weekend. CLICK HERE for the Aerogarden planting guide.
Keep your lights about 1-2″ from the leaves to avoid leggy plants. Remember If you started two plants in your Aerogardens, you might need to thin to only one plant or they will overwhelm the Aerogarden eventually. You will need to start pollinating your tomato flowers once they appear. Check the Aerogarden site for guidance on pollinating. You will also need to do some pruning of your tomato plants to keep them growing correctly.
All of that is detailed very well in the Aerogarden Tomato Guide –> tomato_planting_guide
Inside under LED lights.
Does anyone have any plants under the LED lights indoors? Make sure you continue to fertilize every two weeks as they grow. The bigger they get the more you will have to water.
I got a question about transplanting basil from the Aerogarden to the outside raised bed. Basil is very cold intolerant and would likely not survive, even under row cover. You could plant it in a pot and keep it under the LED lights with occasional trips outdoors.
If you have plants under LED lights then there are some good days for transplanting this week.
This week in transplanting:
- Monday: Too chilly and windy.
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Good days to plant outdoors under row cover, wait until mid-day when it warms up. Replace the row cover over the beds when you are done.
- Friday: Scheduled to rain which will be great for the transplants.
- Be sure to re-cover your beds after you transplant.
- Use only row cover and not the extra plastic layer so that the plants get watered when it rains.
- If you are done with plants under the lights then clean all your materials (warm soapy water, dish soap is fine) and pack them up very carefully, including the cords, timers, etc… and label the box with your name, so that they will be ready for you next year.
Check out the transplanting video below to help with the process: