Subject: ☼ This week in your center's garden...

Hi Friend.

Here are some tips that might come in handy this week as your garden begins to blossom :)
Cage Peppers and Tomatoes

As your peppers and tomatoes begin to grow, you may want to put a cage around each plant to support its growth and to keep the plant from sagging or rotting in the dirt. 

When placing the cage around the plant, make sure that the cage is stable and sturdy in the ground so that it doesn't topple over.  
Thin Carrots

For those centers planting carrots, it may be time to thin your plants. Sixteen (16) carrot plants can be grown in a single square foot.  However, multiple seeds are generally planted in each hole to ensure that at least 1 plant grows in each of the 16 spots.  As the seeds begin to germinate, it won't be feasible for all of the seedlings to grow in that space, so thinning will be necessary.  

As an example, in the center image below there are 4 carrot plants that have germinated in one location.  Simply (and gently) remove all but the one biggest and healthiest plant as shown in the far right image to allow it to fully grow and develop.
   
The other plants removed can be thrown away, transplanted into another location, or sent home with the children in a small container.  
Prune Tomatoes

As your tomatoes begin to grow you will likely notice little shoots that begin to branch off from the stem. These little shoots are called "suckers" because they take the energy from the rest of the plant and can cause the plant to bear fewer fruits. Simply pinch them off and discard when you can. They won't hurt your tomatoes. You'll simply find that your tomato plants bear a lot more fruit if you remove them.

If the shoot has grown for a while and is now thicker than a pencil, just let it go as removing it could harm the plant. 
Lessons in the Garden
Tops and Bottoms is a great activity to help children better understand how garden vegetables grow and what part of the vegetable they can eat.  This lesson can be as simple as drawing pictures on a board as shown below. A supplemental image could be included showing a radish that grows "from the bottom" and is ready to harvest.  
If you have any questions about your garden, send us a picture or email us. We'll be happy to guide you through thinning, pruning, harvesting, or just cheering the kiddos along as they grow veggies :)

We'll be back in touch with more information next week.  

Have a great week. 

Mandy Curry
Start A Garden & Healthy Kids Inc.
mandy@healthykidsinc.com
LikeTwitterForward
[[internal_footer]]

    This is an online snapshot of a newsletter created by the owner of Start A Garden (Start A Garden, PO Box 1265, 26330 Bridgeport, United States) and sent via GetResponse on 2017-06-12. Report abuse