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!
Send me some pics! I know we have some growing going on right now!
Guess what? The online modules to support Growing Teachers Throughout the Seasons are LIVE!! You can access them HERE, or check out the go link –> go.osu.edu/GTS
We will have printed guides available in the next couple of weeks. We have two professional development opportunities to sign up to learn how to get GTS into your school. Both will be at my building, 2548 Carmack Rd. Columbus, OH 43210. (SEE MAP) Both require registration as space is limited.
CLICK HERE for April 2nd, 4:30 – 6:30pm
CLICK HERE for April 11th, 4:30 – 6:30pm
First up a weather report to get us through the week for planning on our season extension:
Outside in the raised beds:
This is a good week to both harvest some produce, and fertilize. Once we get to the 50 degree days and the plants start to increase their growth rate, we will need to fertilize using either the Shake and Feed or the pink crystals that mix in with water that you got from Katie, not the Aerogarden fertilizer. Make sure to follow the label instructions. Check for your fertilizers now, and if you do not have any, then contact Katie.
This week:
- Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday – Great rainfall for growing. Good days to take a harvest if it is not too stormy outside.
- Friday – Make sure your beds are covered before you leave for the weekend, it looks like some overnight cold is expected.
If you did not get a chance to plant spinach and kale last fall, you will have an opportunity to plant this week. If you need spinach and kale seeds please contact Katie.
Have questions about how your plants are doing or if they are big enough to harvest? Just send me questions and pictures to mcdermott.15@osu.edu
Inside under LED lights:
We should have some good growth in the 2″ pots. You may need to start fertilizing your plants under the LED lights. Add fertilizer to the bottom watering according to the package directions. Email me or Katie if you have questions.
We have been creating videos to support this project and have 4 done so far at our OSU Extension County YouTube channel. We get lots of questions about seed starting under the LED lights. Check out the video below for a super quick, kid-safe (can show in class to your kiddos) seed starting video using the materials you have for the pilot: The same technique as for kale in the video below works for spinach, collard greens, lettuce, and bok choy.
All of the seedlings we are planting now can will be able to be transplanted outside later on, or if you want to let them grow indoors until they are harvested you can do that too. Collard greens may get too large under the lights so plan on a later transplant date.
Inside in the Aerogarden:
Hopefully your tomatoes are doing great. Let me know if you have any questions or problems. CLICK HERE for the Aerogarden tomato planting guide. If you need tomato pods then contact Katie.
I have heard that some schools have tomato plants that are growing very slowly. If you have a slow growing tomato plant, gently lift up the tray of the Aerogarden to check on root growth. Take a picture of the roots to email to me and Katie, then gently replace the tray back onto the Aerogarden. We are trying to investigate why some tomato plants are growing slower than others. One other thing to do is make sure that you shake your fertilizer bottle before you add fertilizer so that the fertilizer is mixed before you add some to the reservoir.
Basic Aerogarden Tomato Planting
- Plant just one tomato pod in the Aerogarden Harvest.
- Keep the small plastic dome on the pod until germination.
- Remove the small plastic dome after the seed sprouts.
- Thin to only one tomato plant in the system.
- Keep the other holes covered with the black or white plastic caps to keep light from entering into the reservoir with the nutrient system.
If you started in January you should have some tomato seedlings coming up. Make sure to thin to one tomato plant per pod and with the Aerogarden Harvest, it is best to only have one in the system although I have seen some teachers do two. Keep in mind if you keep two growing, they will use up water twice as fast and you will need to check and add water twice as much!
The Aerogarden website has a tremendous amount of content to assist with maintenance of the units, troubleshooting problems, or how to take care of the plants in the system.
Hopefully you have some good tomato growth in your Aerogarden. Once the yellow flowers open up, have your kiddos pollinate them according to Aerogardens instructions.
Do you need seeds or seed starter for your project? Contact Katie.
Any questions about your growing? Email me at mcdermott.15@osu.edu