Garden-in-a-Box - Planting the Gardens

This is the second year that we are doing the Garden-in-a-Box program through the Minnesota State Horticultural Society. Last year, our club received ten kits from the MSHS which included:
- 4'x3' bag
- 10 bags of soil per garden
- 1 bag of organic fertilizer per garden
- variety of plants - vegetables, herbs, and flowers
- tomato cage
- fencing (which we didn't use)
- spray nozzle for a hose for watering the garden
- support from the MSHS

Olivia planting her garden.

Three of the kits went to families who wanted to make a three-year commitment to the program. The other seven kits are at our farm for youth from our club to work on. Whoever works on the gardens can harvest and keep the produce.

Sophia planting her garden.

This year our club received four more kits for new families who expressed an interest in being part of the project. They each received the same things we did last year, although the garden is a bit smaller: 3'x3' and uses a different bag.

Olivia deciding where to place the plants.

For the kits at the farm that are in the second year, we received:
- 2 bags of compost per garden
- 1 bag of organic fertilizer
- variety of plants - vegetables, herbs, and flowers
- tomato stake
- support from the MSHS

Sophia planting strawberries.

At the farm, Sophia and Olivia each planted a garden; my sister planted two; and I planted the remaining three gardens.

Sophia wanted to customize her garden with two rows of strawberries.

Gardens 1-4.

Olivia had some extra room in her garden, so she tried planting some seeds of vegetables that she had never eaten before - like beets; and some vegetables that she doesn't care for, but wanted to see what they looked like growing in her garden (like mesclun).

Garden 1 is Olivia's garden.

What is interesting to see is that we each had the same core vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Yet, each one of gardens is so different in terms of the way we arranged the plants and seeds.

Garden 2 is Sophia's garden.

In some of the gardens we did both onion transplants (that were grown by seeds) and onion sets. It will be interesting to see and taste the difference between the two types.

This is Garden 4 - one of the gardens I planted.

We had some extra seeds for herbs this year and planted it around some of the plants we received from the MSHS. For example, around the cilantro and basil, we planted the seeds in a circle.

Gardens 5-7.

Again, it was not only a way to use up the seeds, but to see the difference between growing herbs from seeds or transplants.

Garden 5 is one I planted.

The other interesting thing we will be watching this year is the amount of sun and shade each of the gardens receive. We are wanting to know how this will affect the quantity of produce harvested from each garden.

Garden 7 is another I planted. This one has 4 rhubarb plants in it.

One is a transplant from another garden and

three are from ones I ordered from Jung's and

Chisago County Master Gardeners.

I was happy to see the chives come up this year again - both from a planting I did many years ago and also in a container garden we did last year.

Chive blossoms on the plants that are several years old.

We added some seeds for basil, dill, and cilantro to the container garden and hopefully we'll have a lot of fragrant herbs to enjoy this summer.

Top 10 Spring/Summer Chores: #7 - Plant Seeds and Transplants

Each year, there are things that we need to do in the spring and early summer. These are both chores that make getting through these seasons much easier; and things that will help the wildlife and/or flora.

1. Spring cleaning and purging - inside the home as well as outdoor (hobby shed, barn, and tractor shed).

2. Muck out the barn.

3. Repair the mailbox and post after having it damaged by the snow plow.

4. Tune up/service the lawn tractor.

5. Repair and/or replace the pasture fence.

6. Prepare the garden beds - create new ones and build new raised beds.

7. Plant seeds and transplants.

Flowers, vegetables, and herbs ready to be transplanted.

8. Build a chicken coop and introduce chicks to their new home.

9. Make repairs to any buildings damaged during the winter; and then paint them.

10. Start splitting and stacking wood.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

This week, I'm focusing on planting seeds and transplants. Through our 4-H Club, we received ten Garden-in-a-Box kits. Three of the kits were given to families to manage at their own homes, and seven were kept at our farm to use as demonstration gardens, be used to harvest and share produce for those who participate in the summer gardening program; and to donate the surplus produce to the food shelf (our goal is 30 pounds).

Loading 35 bags of dirt into a pick-up before realizing that we didn't have enough vehicles with a significant amount of carrying capacity to carry 75 more bags of dirt.

Thus, we rented a U-Haul to transport 110 bags - or 2.2 tons - of soil to the farm.

The raised beds are different from the ones I've used in the past.

Friends/fellow 4-H parents help set up the 3'x4' bags for raised beds.

These are heavy-duty bags that "pop up" into a 3'x4' garden.

Each garden required 11 bags of soil. 

Once the 440 pounds of soil was put in the gardens,

they weren't going anywhere. 

We added 11 bags of soil (or 440 pounds) and two cups of fertilizer.

Olivia and Sophia work with fellow 4-Hers to set up the gardens.

It was so easy to set up the gardens compared to building raised beds from wood.

Bailey and Hoss supervise the work of 4-Hers.

The hardest work was behind us once the gardens were established.

About six days later, we put the transplants in the gardens. (It's amazing how quickly six days can go by.)

Olivia transplanting a tomato plant.

We are using the posts as a temporary way to mark off 12"x12" squares. We have 7 plants per raised bed or 49 plants total.

We placed different transplants into each section depending on their height. The plants that will grow the tallest are in the back row (the north side) and the shortest plants are in the front row (the south side). In this way, all the plants will receive the maximum amount of sunlight.

The plants are all in the garden and ready to start growing.

We have five spaces per garden (35 spaces total) to fill with other transplants or seeds. Some of the seeds we have and others we still need to purchase. We also need to purchase a few more transplants for this gardens as well as others that we want to establish this year. Our goal is to have everything in planted by end of the first week of June.

This past Sunday, we put down newspapers and then bark chips on top of that. It finishes of the gardens nicely. We still need to trim around the gardens and cut back some of the wild black raspberries that are growing on the north side of the 4 raised beds.

It will be interesting to see if our challenges with weeding are not as great as in past years since we are not planning to add any compost from our farm to the raised beds. We will be planting other gardens in which we do use compost from our farm (from the horses), and will see if there is a difference in terms of the number of weeds.

Other than that, it is such a sense of satisfaction to have gardens again. In a couple of months we should be enjoying fresh vegetables!

Colored Carnations - Junior Master Gardener Activity

Sophia and Olivia belong to a 4-H club that I'm leading for homeschoolers; and one of our major activities is doing the Junior Master Gardener program. 

The first chapter of the book focuses on "Plant Growth and Development" and has a variety of activities for youth to do as a group as well as individually at home.

One of the activities to do at home focused on turning a white carnation different colors. The book suggested doing a red, white, and blue carnation. Since it was close to  Christmas, Sophia chose to do a green and red carnation; and Olivia chose to do a green and white carnation.

The first step was to cut the stem in half using a knife or scissors. (Had we tried to do a tri-color carnation, we would have had to split the stem into thirds which would have been quite difficult.)

The girls filled two different cups up with water and then added food dye to each one. 

They placed their carnations into the water and realized that they would need to affix the stems to the side of the cups if the flower was to stand upright. (Otherwise, the flower fell to the side and the bottom of the stem came out of colored water.)

Sophia hypothesized that the leaves would start changing colors the same day, while Olivia thought that it would take until the following day when her flower would change colors.

Within a few hours, the tips of the carnations were changing from white to either green or red. 

We all thought that the the flowers would have an all-over color change. However, we left the flowers in the colored water for well over 1 1/2 weeks, but there was still white on all of the petals. (Thus, the flowers also look a bit wilted since we were curious to see how much the petals would change in color.)

What we did notice, in Sophia's carnation in particular, was that the petals had a deeper color around the edges and had rows of coloration as one looked from the edge to center of the flower.

It was an interesting experiment to do, and showed us all how the stems transport the water from the glasses to the petals. 

Aloe - The Medicine Plant - Junior Master Gardener Activity

At the December 4-H meeting, Sophia and Olivia participated in a Junior Master Gardener activity that focused on aloe vera. This activity is from the first chapter in the curriculum that is focused on plant growth and development.

The group lesson looks at the aloe vera plant and its medicinal properties.

Aloe vera is a succulent plant that has been used for thousands of years to heal a variety of conditions, most notably burns, wounds, and skin irritations.

It is grown in subtropical and tropical locations, including Latin America, South Africa, and the Caribbean.

Aloe was one of the most frequently prescribed medicines throughout most of the 18th and 19th centuries and it remains one of the most commonly used herbs in the United States today.

Extracts from aloe vera are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having healing, rejuvenating, or soothing properties.

In pots, aloe vera requires well-drained, sandy potting soil and bright, sunny conditions. However, aloe vera plants can burn under too much sun or shrivel when the pot does not drain the rain.

The use of a good-quality commercial propagation mix or packaged "cacti and succulent mix" is recommended, as they allow good drainage.

Terra cotta pots are preferable as they are porous.

Potted plants should be allowed to completely dry prior to re-watering.

When potted, aloe vera can become crowded with "pups" growing from the sides of the "mother plant." If this is the case, they should be divided and re-potted so the pups can further grow.  This also helps prevent pest infestations.

At the 4-H meeting, the youth had heard about using aloe vera for its soothing, moisturizing, and healing properties.  Many of the youth had aloe vera plants at home and used them for burns - especially ones from cooking or baking.

We had examples of products containing aloe vera, and most were for sunburns and moisturizers. There were also products for hand sanitizing that contained aloe vera.

When one of the leaves were cut from the plant, the youth squeezed a bit out and noticed that the gel was a pale yellow and sticky.

When the leaf is cut open and the gel removed from the inside, it is clear and sticky. This plant gel was mixed with a commercially-purchased aloe vera gel for moisturizing purposes. Mixed together, it would seem that it would be even more effective since there is a higher concentration of gel in the product.

Interestingly, aloe vera contains active compounds that may reduce pain and inflammation and stimulate skin growth and repair. For this reason, is has gained popularity for relief of burns. In one study, burn sites treated with aloe vera healed completely in less than 16 days compared to 19 days for sites treated with silver sulfadiazine.

In a review of scientific literature, researchers found that patients who were treated with aloe vera healed an average of almost nine days sooner than those who weren't treated with the medicinal plant.

Aloe vera is best used for minor burns and skin irritations and should never be applied to an open wound.