A gardening Adventure!

Thanks to our fabulous public library, we had another field trip yesterday! I have always wanted to be more involved in the home school programs that the Southeast branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library offers, but they are always at 2:00 in the afternoon and I've always had someone napping at that time, so we skipped them. But now...we get to go! We attended our second one yesterday called "Square-foot Gardening" based on the book and it was just wonderful! So much information and very hands-on.

We talked about how to mix our own soil according to Mel (the author) and how to lay out our garden so that we never have to step on the soil which compacts it and then plants can't poke through as easily. We learned how to plant plants that can be close together and ones that need more space. Check out Mel's website for more info.

The gist of it is that you chose a size based on the space you have and the size of the person taking care of the plot. The average sizes where a 3'X3' plot for a child or a 4'X4' plot for an adult. That way you can reach the middle from all sides without stepping in the soil. You can change this around some if needed depending on your space, for instance a 1'X8' plot close to the house or along a fence or a 2'x8' if you have a little more width. Just play around with what you like. Then, if you are planting say a large plant you would just plant one plant in the middle, for a slightly smaller plant, you would draw a "t" in the dirt so you would have 4 equal smaller squares then plant a seed or two in each smaller square. She went on down the line telling how to section off each square foot of your garden. It was so easy! She also suggested building 1'X1' boxes to put on steps of a deck and for planting. Using the square foot method and how to plant the seeds or plants just takes alot of the guess work out of the actual planting part. She also suggested using recycled materials which may save some money. She goes to construction sites and asks for the scraps. The wood is 1"X6" and however long you are planning to build your garden. She also talked about the benefits to putting a bottom on your box, but it isn't necessary.

At the end, the kids could fill a take out container with the special soil and choose a plant to plant from seed. Brandon chose basil which he could plant four different sections in his container; Megan chose cucumbers so she could only plant one.

Choosing our vegetables:
Laying out our garden:
Getting the containers ready for our take-home plants:
Making a hole for the seeds:
Brandon makes a hole in each of his four sections:

At the end of the program there were door prizes which were a big hit :) All in all it was a successful field trip. We hope to make it to many more next school year!