BOOK REVIEWS ~ Robin Hill School ~ "The Garden Project" By: Margaret McNamara

Since our garden is growing fast and furiously (thanks to abundant rains lately), Isobel especially enjoyed the book, "The Garden Project" from the Robin Hill School "Ready-to-Read" series (Level 1), written by Margaret McNamara.

In the book, the teacher, Mrs. Connor, decides to turn on old sandbox into a garden plot.  "Parents filled the sandbox with dark brown dirt." After dividing the garden into four smaller plots, four students were assigned to planting seeds in each "square." 

"Nick, Katie, Emma and Eigen planted radish seeds.  Nick made holes in the dirt with his fingers.  Emma dropped one seed in each hole.  Eigen covered them up."

Some of our radish crop...

At this point, Isobel told me about her own experiences, poking her finger into the dirt and helping her stepdad, John, planting seeds.

Another foursome planted sunflower seeds.  "Sunflowers are big.  'And they need a lot of sun!' said Jamie."  (We have a few sunflower plants in our garden, too!)

Some other students planted pea pods while "Neil, Nia, James and Megan planted lettuce."

When Neil begins complaining about disliking vegetables, Mrs. Connor takes it in stride and says, "We shall see." 

"Every day the first graders tended their garden.  They watered.  They waited.  After one week tiny green sprouts came up.  The class picked weeds.  They kept birds away.  They watered some more.  They waited some more.  After three weeks, little lettuces were growing."

The sunflowers started to grow taller -- even taller than some of the children!  When the garden produce was ready to harvest, "Mrs. Connor made a lettuce and radish salad, with pea pods on top."

'Yummy!' said Neil. "Yes," said Becky.  She bit into a pea pod.  "It tastes just like sunshine."

Reading this little book to your child will help encourage them to try gardening for themselves. 

***

Alisdair and I were only gone to Victoria for six short days but the growth of the garden over that brief period was remarkable!  We took a few photos of our plants to show Grandma and Grandpa.  The potatoes are almost waist high ... it's unlikely we'll be able to rotovate between the rows again this season!  We thought we'd post a few photos of our radish crop (and the other plants) to accompany this book review.  I know Isobel will be very busy helping out, once harvest time arrives in Saskatchewan!

The potato patch ... plants are up to Alisdair's waist!

Tomato plants ... Isobel's already eating cherry tomatoes from the garden!

Giant sunflowers and squash ...

GARDENING ~ Planting Purple Potatoes . . .

We spent most of the day outside -- getting the garden ready and planting various things (beets, cucumbers, carrots, chard, radishes, lettuce, etc.)  We were also trying to weed out the quackgrass, which was a very nasty job!  After John rototilled the plot, Alisdair and I spent a long time picking up the biggest bits of the green weeds from the dirt.  Then he rototilled for a second time before we began planting the potatoes.

We had a 10 pound bag of "Red Pontiacs" and a 5 gallon pail of purple potatoes (the flesh inside is white) a friend had given us.  And so the planting began.

Alisdair helped lay the sprouted seed potatoes on the ground and then John came by later with a shovel and dug up some dirt to cover them.  Alisdair was having a lot of trouble trying to accurately space the potatoes 12 to 14 inches apart.  Finally, John came up with an idea and told him to go inside the house and to get one of his shoes and a measuring tape!

When Alisdair returned, they measured John's shoe and discovered it was 13 inches long.  Now Alisdair could place a potato beside the string in the designated row and then put the heel of the shoe next to it.  The next potato was placed at the toe-end of the shoe. Then the heel of the shoe was set down next to the last potato, continuing with this sequence until he got to the stake at the end of the row.

"Everybody should get one of these fancy gadgets for their gardening projects," Alisdair exclaimed.  "Home Depot, and other department stores, could make millions off this nifty measuring device.  Best of all, it is easy to use and it is fairly accurate.  Why hasn't anyone else thought of this?"

You've got to admit, it is a good question!  Alisdair thought it was a lot more fun planting potatoes using the "shoe method."  I'm just glad it didn't "defeet" the purpose of our gardening! 

POETRY ~ "And Spring arose on the garden fair..." ~ By: Percy Bysshe Shelley

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

~Percy Bysshe Shelley

GARDENING ~ Our Nasturtiums are FINALLY Growing!!

It's so exciting!  We replanted the Nasturtium seeds in Alisdair's little red "Pail of Posies" on Sunday, April 10th and yesterday (just a week later), we have progress!  Six little seedlings are reaching upwards to the sunlight.

Seedlings

I know we planted more than six seeds, so it will be interesting to watch and see if any more tiny shoots poke out of the soil.  Since the pot is so small, after a while we will have to get a bigger container to transplant them in.  It's encouraging to see signs of Spring indoors ~ especially with the recent snow we had over the weekend.  It makes you feel like Spring and Summer will never fully be here... and so a little greenery is an encouragement that all is right with the world and eventually we will enjoy sunshine and greenery on our lawns, and in our gardens and flowerbeds.

GARDENING ~ Nasturtiums Update ~ Replanting!

Perhaps our loyal readers have been wondering what happened with the little red "Pail of Posies" that Alisdair posted about way back on February 11th?

There has been no updated post because, for some strange reason, the seeds did not germinate, much to our disappointment!  After the 14-day germination period indicated on the packaging had elapsed, we kept watching and hoping that they were just slow to start growing.

We have now officially given up on the original seeds.  After the Lloydminster Homeschool Association meeting on Friday night, I was in Wal-Mart and found another packet of Nasturtium seeds.  So we are going to try again.  Hopefully we will have more success this time round and can post pictures, in a couple weeks, of the shoots emerging from the peat moss.  If this doesn't work, we'll have to plant the remainder of the seeds outdoors in our flowerbed.  After all, if you don't succeed at first TRY TRY again!!

Wish us luck!

GARDENING ~ NASTURTIUMS ~ Growing A Pail of Posies!

Although there is still a blanket of deep snow on the ground in our part of Saskatchewan, Alisdair is trying his hand at gardening! 

We were in the pharmacy, earlier this week, as he needed antibiotics to combat his upper respiratory chest infection.  While we were waiting for the prescription to be filled, Alisdair spied this cute little "Pail of Posies."  Since he has a deep affection for Nasturtiums and has tried to grow them outdoors, in the garden, with little success, we couldn't resist trying to cultivate them once more.  (I think we planted the seeds too late in the season, so although we got a lot of green foliage, we never got any blooms).  Apparently Alisdair's great-grandmother, Evelyn Sloan, always used to grow Nasturtiums and so he wants to carry on the family tradition.

Pail of Posies Kit

The kit contained the following items:

Contents: Instructions, plastic liner, red tin pail,
two dehydrated peat pellets, Nasturtium JEWEL MIX seeds,
 and a lid to cover until germination occurs

On Tuesday, February 8th, Alisdair followed the directions to the letter.  Measuring the water and even setting a timer to calculate how long to leave the pellets soaking prior to planting!

One pellet in 2/3rd cup of hot water

First pellet has expanded.
 Adding second pellet but no additional water.

After 3 hours fluffing up the peat with a fork.

Adding rehydrated peat to the plastic liner 

Adding Nasturtium seeds

Partially covered Nasturtium seeds in plastic liner

Plastic liner replaced in pail. 
Seeds have been watered and lid replaced
 to assist with the germination process.  Now to wait for 10 - 14 days!

When we see green sprouts, we can throw away the lid and expose the plants to the sunlight.  Later, when they get bigger, the flowers will need to be transplanted into a larger pot.  Watch for further posts on our greenhouse experiment!

Nasturtiums look like this when they are in bloom:

Aren't they pretty??

According to the About.com Gardening website, "Nasturtiums are loved for their rich, saturated jewel-toned colors. They are fast and easy to grow and, in fact, do best with a little neglect. There are varieties for almost every gardening purpose: bushy plants for borders and edges, trailing plants for walls and containers and climbers to add dramatic height in a garden. The leaves and flowers are edible, with a peppery tang, and even the seed pods are used as a substitute for capers."

Latin Name: Tropaeolum

Common Name(s): Nasturtium

USDA Zone: Annuals. Some varieties are perennial in USDA Zones 9 - 11.

Size: Varies with variety.
Bushy plants can get to about 12" H - 18" W.
Trailing types grow about 3-4' H.
Climbers can get to 10'+ H.

Exposure: Full sun to partial shade

Bloom Period:  Early summer through fall in cooler climates.
Fall through spring in milder climates.

Description: Nasturtiums plants grow very full, with spots of brightly colored blossoms poking out of masses of foliage. Leaves are rounded, like a water lily. The flowers are an open funnel shape with a curious little claw or spur on the underside. They are most often seen in rich shades of yellow, orange, pink, red and mahogany but there are also varieties in subdued shades of butter yellow and cream. The ‘Alaska’ Series and the climbing ‘Jewel of Africa’ have variegated leaves.

Design Tips: Nasturtiums will spill beautifully over walls and onto pavers, when used as edging plants. They also hold up very well in containers. Climbing varieties, such as ‘Canary Creeper’ will amble up and through shrubs. Bushy, ground hugging plants will fill in blooming gaps among complementary colored day lilies and roses. And you can use clusters to brighten up the vegetable garden.

Cultural Notes:  Nasturtiums are usually started from seed, so you won’t often find them available as plants, at nurseries. However, the seed germinate quickly and the plants will be up and blooming in little time. Seeds can be sown directly in the garden, when the soil has warmed, or started indoors about 2-4 weeks earlier. Nasturtiums don’t especially like being transplanted, so starting indoor seedlings in peat pots will reduce transplant shock. Once planted, they tend to take care of themselves.

Maintenance: Nasturtiums like regular weekly waterings. They will survive some drought conditions, but flowering will diminish and the foliage can begin to look ratty.

• Deadheading is not usually necessary, unless a plant has been stressed and is holding on to spent blooms.
• They do, however, thrive in lean soil. Don’t feed nasturtium plants at all during the growing season. Fertilizer causes them to put out more foliage and less flowers.
• Pests & Diseases: Nasturtiums are very prone to aphids and are sometimes used as a trap crop in vegetable gardens. A strong blast of water is usually enough to get rid of the aphids. They can also be prone to flea beetles, slugs and the caterpillars of cabbage white butterflies.