Transplanting your seedlings

I am on schedule here at my home garden and it’s time to start transplanting my seedlings which have been growing in Sheldon’s Greenhouse.   I’ve had my seedling trays sitting on work benches because, as you can see from the photo below, Sheldon (our class pet) would graze though them if he could get to them.

Yesterday I was chatting with  Erin Maidlow, Nutrition Educator at OSU Douglas County. She heard about our blog from a web conference and directed me to Food Hero.  She also informed me OSU Food Hero has been posting garden lessons online too!  

How do you know if it’s time to transplant your seedlings?  Follow the link below to a lesson on seedling transplanting from Food Hero.  Happy Gardening!

VIDEO ON SEED TRANSPLANTING

Earth as an Apple

Do you know how much of the Earth is water and how much is land?

We are slicing an apple to find out...

The activity in this video makes it clear that only a small fraction of the planet is available for growing food.  We discuss the importance of preserving top soil for growing food, and soils vital role in life on earth.

Grades 3-12
Time: 15 Minutes
Materials: one apple, knife, cutting board



 
Math: NF.3.1
CCSS: RI.3.7
NGSS: 5-LS@-1, 4-ESS2-2, MS-ESS2-1, HS-ESS2-1
Essential Skills: 5, 8

Yes Virginia, we CAN grow tomatoes on the Oregon Coast

Welcome to tomato growing 101.  I’ve embedded a video in this blog post that gives you a step by step lesson on how to grow tomatoes from seed to harvest.  

Growing tomatoes on the Oregon Coast can be a challenge.  After growing a kitchen garden in our Crescent City/Brookings area for the past 30 years, here are my suggestions.

1.  Choose a variety which will grow in cooler weather if you’re on the coast.  Glacier, Willamette, Rutgers, cherry tomatoes.  Read the seed packets and do some online research before buying seeds.

2.  You can grow tomatoes pretty much anywhere that receives enough light and doesn't have direct wind from the ocean.  Check out the screen shot from the following video.  YES he is growing his tomatoes in bagged soil sitting on his greenhouse bench!  For this method I would use a ‘determinate’ variety which means they only grow about 3’ tall.

Enjoy this video and comment below if you have additional suggestions on growing tomatoes in our region.  Happy gardening!

video here