The School Garden Educational Blog provides students with weekly garden lessons, Garden tips and encourages families to grow their own food. In addition we support Plant a Row for the Food Bank and Farm to School Education.
The time has arrived. We've held off long enough. The question I hear most from friends is...when can I start sowing my garden. Well Michelle, it is time!
Here is a GREAT video from Siskiyou Seeds, which is located Williams in Josephine County. I purchase their seeds at the Co-Op in Grants Pass. Don Tipping walks us through what we can sow now in Mid April. What Seeds can be planted in Mid-April in the Pacific Northwest To summarize: Root Crops - Carrots, radish, beets, onions Greens - Lettuce, arugula, Chinese cabbage, mesculin mix, kale, chard and spinach Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower Herbs like Basil and Cilantro Peas love the cool spring weather. Sow indoors: tomatoes, Peppers, Zucchini and cucumbers. If you're adventurous, try a first sowing of beans. If they fail you have time to sow again in May. Happy sowing....comment below if you have questions.
I knew a man who lived in Crescent City. He would make seed balls, let them dry and keep a bin full in his truck. When he drove around town he would toss one out the window into the grassy/weed areas or vacant lots. He single handedly sowed wildflower seeds one summer in Del Norte County. Here at the Chetco Seed Library I have a cardboard box full of flower seeds. I'm looking for students to use them up by making seed balls. ‘Seed balls are small bundles of seeds, clay, and soil or compost. Although seed balls have been around since ancient times, they were rediscovered in the 1930s by the Guerilla Gardening movement as a way to covertly introduce vegetation by simply tossing the seed balls (or, on a large scale, dropping them from an airplane). They are still used today to re-vegetate areas burned by wildfires. On a small scale, seed balls are fun to make and offer an inexpensive way to sow native plants and flowers’ Here is an article from Oregon Ag in the Classroom, Growing Minds, that outlines the process. https://oregonaitc.org/growingminds/seed-balls-from-me-to-you/ Getting back to the gentleman I mentioned above. All was going well until he was pulled over by the CCPD for 'littering'. Though he didn't get cited they did ask him to refrain from sowing non native seeds from his truck window. So word to the wise. Finally, here is the link to the PDF complete lesson on Seed Balls. Comment below if you would like packets of flower seeds to get your started. Enjoy!
The key to healthy eating is to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods from
each of the five food groups. In return, our bodies will be provided
with the nutrients and vitamins needed to function properly.
Identifying the five food groups:
Fruits: may be fresh, canned, frozen or dried. They can be whole, cut up, pureed or juiced.
Vegetables: may be fresh, canned, frozen or dried. They can be whole, cut up, pureed or juiced.
Grains: any food made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal,
barley, or another cereal grain is a grain product. Examples include
bread, pasta, oatmeal, tortillas and grits.
Protein: all foods made from meat, poultry, seafood, beans and peas, eggs, soy, nuts and seeds.
Dairy:all fluid milk products and many foods made
from milk are considered a part of this food group. Foods that are made
from milk retain their calcium content, however, foods made from milk
that have little to know calcium, such as cream cheese, cream and
butter, are not part of this group. Calcium-fortified plant based
"milks" are also part of this group.
Fruits Vs. Vegetables:
Fruits and Vegetables provide us with many options for healthy meals.
Fruits and vegetables are an excellent source of the nutrients needed for healthy growth and development.
How do you know if a plant is a fruit of a vegetable?
If there are seeds it is a fruit!
Tomato: fruit or vegetable? Many might say vegetable but it really is a fruit!
In
order to get the recommended daily value of fruits and vegetables the
USDA recommends that children between the ages of 4-8 consume
approximately 1-1.5 cups of fruit and 1-1.5 cups of vegetables per day.
For children between the ages of 9 and 13, the USDA recommends 1.5 cups
of fruit and 2-2.5 cups of vegetables per day.
An easy way to remember how many fruits and veggies we need is:
Eating healthy makes us feel good and gives us energy to grow, learn and play.
We eat many different parts of plants, including the fruit, leaves, stems, flowers, seeds and roots.
The following list provides some examples of edible plant parts:
Food
groups are collections of foods with similar nutritional benefits. In
Oregon, farmers and ranchers grow over 220 different types of crops and
many of them may be your favorite foods.
In the comments below, or in your notebook at home, please answer the following questions:
a. What are the five food groups?
b. Why is eating healthy food so important?
c. What is your favorite food?
d. Where does food come from?
