Uncategorized | Growing Franklin

School Garden Week of March 24th, 2025

March 24 2025

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!

Have you been using the Growing Teachers Throughout the Seasons guidebook to assist you with your growing?

Want to learn what Growing Teachers Throughout the Seasons (GTS) is? Check out the Guidebook HERE and the 20 Online Modules HERE! It is a great way for a teacher to learn how to engage their kiddos in agriculture in a data driven and teacher tested method based on the academic calendar.

Lets take a look at the weather:

Outside in the raised beds:

It looks like this week has some good growing weather plus some overnight cold temperatures.
We got a little bit of rain this weekend, but you still should check to make sure that your garden got enough water, and water if needed.
If you do want to harvest: Make sure to wait until the season extension garden cover is fully thawed before you pop open and check the plants. The best time to do this will be around mid-day. Replace the season extension garden cover after you harvest to let the heat build back up.
If your lettuce is ready to go outside under the season extension garden cover, make sure to harden the seedlings off prior to transplanting I added the transplanting video below to guide you.
Make sure the season extension garden cover is secure on Friday before you leave for the weekend.

Here is a video from the GTS Online Modules to learn more about Season Extension

Here is a video that show how to safely harvest and store your fresh leafy greens

Here is a video on transplanting

Inside under LED lights:

This month you are maintaining collard greens and lettuce under LED lights for transplanting outside in the raised beds later in the spring.

Make sure to fertilize according to the directions with the pink fertilizer.
Water as needed. They are growing fast!
Make sure to check and water on Friday before you leave.
If they are ready to transplant, see the video and guidance above.
Email questions to me at mcdermott.15@osu.edu

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. I need some pics! Send some my way!

Inside in the Aerogarden:

This month we are planting tomatoes in the Aerogarden. If you planted herbs in the Aerogarden last semester you will need to clean out the unit before you plant your tomatoes so you can start fresh with a clean Aerogarden. Follow the instructions for tomato planting carefully, a link to the guide is below. If you need tomato pods then contact Katie.

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.
Make sure you are pruning as directed in the Aerogarden instructions.
Make sure to pollinate your flowers to maximize your harvest!
Check water levels daily! The tomatoes are growing fast and using lots of water.

Keep the tomato under the lights by pruning as needed.

Aerogarden has some great information on planting on their website. CLICK HERE for their product manual website.

Click HERE for the Aerogarden planting guide for tomatoes.

Want to see what others are doing? Check out the Columbus City School gardens at ccs_growing_teachers on Insta!

Starting a Food Business Webinar Series upcoming in early 2023.

December 11 2022

Originally posted in the Ohio Beef Cattle Letter. This is a great opportunity for scaling up your urban agriculture business. It is free, but registration is required.

A recent USDA survey identified 7,107 farms in Ohio with direct food sales—the third highest state in the nation. That might be why OSU’s Agricultural & Resource Law Program receives more legal inquiries about food sales than any other area of law. “We are constantly surprised by the interest producers have in selling meat, produce, jams, baked goods, and similar foods directly to consumers and retailers,” said Peggy Kirk Hall, the program’s director. To address the questions of those who want to directly market farm-raised and home-based food products to consumers, OSU Extension will host a webinar series this winter.

The “Starting a Food Business” webinar series will bring OSU’s expertise in food safety, law, product development, economics, and marketing together to help explain what a producer needs to know when planning to sell home-based and farm-raised foods. Food businesses are challenging for many reasons, according to OSU Extension Educator Emily Marrison.

“We often see people who are known for being great cooks in their home kitchen yet selling food products is really more like manufacturing. This webinar series will help food entrepreneurs learn the ins and outs of making quality and safe food while also navigating the business and legal considerations.”

“Starting a Food Business” webinars will run once a month in January, February, and March of 2023, with a different topic each month:

January 24: Start-Up Basics. Assess the food safety, licensing, legal, and economic considerations for selling your food product.
February 28: Selling Home-Based Foods. Learn about food product development, Ohio’s Cottage Food and Home Bakery laws, and requirements for selling canned foods.
March 28: Selling Meat and Poultry. A look at the economics, processing options, and labeling and licensing requirements for selling meat and poultry.

OSU’s teaching team for the webinar series includes:

Nicole Arnold, Professor and Food Safety Field Specialist for OSU Extension. Nicole supports food handlers, consumers, and other educators with food safety education and risk communication efforts.
Peggy Kirk Hall, Professor and Agricultural Law Field Specialist. Peggy directs OSU Extension’s Agricultural & Resource Law Program and regularly teaches and writes on food laws.
Emily Marrison, Extension Educator in Family and Consumer Sciences. Emily’s food science background provides expertise and insight on food safety, product development, and selling home-based foods.
Garth Ruff, Beef Cattle Field Specialist for OSU Extension. Garth has a background in animal science and specializes in livestock production and marketing, farm management, and meat science.

The “Starting a Food Business” webinar series is free, but registration for one or all of the webinars is necessary. Find details and the registration link at https://go.osu.edu/foodbusiness.

EQIP Update for 2021 including January 15th Cut Off.

November 30 2020

The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) 2021 application cutoff date has been set for January 15th 2021. If any producer would like to apply for this year’s EQIP, they will have until then to completed an application. Applications after the cutoff date will be consider for next year 2022.