Cool Weather Planting

Despite my fears that I will fail miserably at this whole gardening endeavor, the cool weather seeds were planted yesterday! With the support of the community and the Edible Gardens group here in Highland Park, the library garden now has lettuce, radish, and pea seeds in the ground.

Now I just have to remember to water it...

The Black Thumb

Warning: From now on, all posts are being authored by me...Karen, the new young adult librarian. And unlike Michelle, I am not skilled in the art of making things grow. In fact...

...I have a confession to make: I have managed to kill almost every single plant I have ever owned. NOT because I did not try, but because my family is cursed with The Black Thumb. For those of you out there who are unfamiliar with this terminology, The Black Thumb is the exact opposite of The Green Thumb. Rather than making plants flourish, the loving care given to plants by people with The Black Thumb generally results in their failure to thrive and ultimately in their death.

The only thing that makes me feel okay is the fact that everyone in my immediate family suffers from the same curse. Here are some examples:

• My sister used to have a plant graveyard on her balcony--a lonely place littered with various pots of dirt and the shriveled remains of once living foliage. It was really quite depressing.
  
• In my lifetime, my dad has accidentally mowed down a variety of once perfectly healthy bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc. (The accidental nature of these incidents is still under question.)
  
• The dry branches of my mom's miniature rose became the new residence of a friendly spider and was soon covered in cobwebs, but at least something was living in the pot.
  
• I even once "broke" a baby pine tree while sledding. It is amazing how quickly a snow saucer, an innocent child's plaything, can transform into a device not quite dissimilar to a circular saw.
  

Here is my most recent foray into the world of gardening:


(Please note the sad decaying top. You would think that even I could keep a cactus alive, but alas, it is dead.)


Now that you are most likely horrified, let me assure you that I love plants. I am excited to have inherited the HPPL Green Teens garden from Michelle. But also keep in mind that I will need the help and support of all you green thumbed community members out there!

Please do not hesitate to stop by if you have any suggestions, questions, comments, etc. Even if you are not green thumbed, you should still come by and introduce yourself!

I am so excited to be a part of your community, and I hope to get to know as many of you as I can!

Su-su-su-sunflower time!

Ours are the largest sunflowers I have ever seen! I was beginning to think they were magic beans planted by Jack! The flowers are just starting to pop out - you can see them at the top.

Look at the giant leaves....


And last but not least our edible harvest this week....2 cucumbers. I gave the tomatoes to one of my favorite "library" families. They are at home putting them in their salad as I write this :) Herbs are still going strong, too.


Alas, our zucchini never got pollinated so there are no fruits from that labor of love. Still hope for the beans....check back in a week or 2.

Peas,

Michelle

Our beds overfloweth!

Wow - please take a look at our last post and see how far we've come!

We harvested all the peas and they were sweet and delicious!
Our herbs and nasturtiums went to Elijah's Promise. Yay, us.

Now, like Thoreau, we are determined to know beans..and carrots.
A few bean sprouts have sprung and the carrot seeds just went in.
I would love to make a carrot!

The squash and cucumber plants are full of flowers so the veggies can't be far behind. Tomatoes also have an abundance of gorgeous yellow flowers just waiting to become tomatoes.

Stop by and admire the beautiful work of Mother Nature!

Peas

A peas teepee and a bed of lettuce so far.

Keep your eyes out for May planting date. Probably one day after school.

Thanks to our volunteers who helped shovel and plant!

Thanks to Sustainable HP and Edible Gardens Project for letting us in on their
fun.

Watch us grow!

Earth Day - Upside Down Planters!

Our plan for Earth Day Fair:

We will be making our own upside down planters.
Picture tomorrow of what ours will look like but here is a link to something similar

http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/2009/04/make-your-own-upside-down-tomato.html

Ours will be a little different.
Tomatoes on bottom, basil and/or other herbs on top.

We need:
plastic quart containers
coffee filters
twine
duct tape

We'll buy cherry tomato plants and I am growing basil and other herbs from seed that we can use.

Let me know if you can save containers for us or have other supplies.

Meeting April 12th to make samples and discuss Earth Day setup.

Peas, Michelle

The Best Fertilizer

is the gardener's shadow. ~ Author unknown




We have big plans for a bigger more beautiful garden this year.
I hope you will want to come out and help.

Saturday April 10 - Building the raised bed.
Saturday April 17 - Dirt delivery

Planting Day TBD.

Contact me if you are interested in shadowing the garden with me :)

Peas,

Michelle