Gardening 101 by Delani

I am growing radishes, tomatoes, peas, beats, potatoes, strawberries, and trelease.  The most important part of keeping these alive is water and moist soil.  Two of the best things about my garden is the compost and Lucy the owl.  The reason I like the compost is because it has pretty flowers mixed in with it.  The reason I like Lucy the owl is because she watches over my garden and scares away dangerous animals.  I have been gardening for over two months and hope to garden next school year.

Thanks to Mr. Casey, a Global Gardens volunteer, for helping write this blog as dictated by Delani, 2nd grade.

Cucumber Experiment by Bhadri Verduzco (Global Gardens Educator)

So, I did this experiment with one of my classes and the results are interesting and may help you keep your plants hydrated this hot summer.

We asked the question: "Will cucumber seeds germinate better if they are planted in a mound with a punctured coffee can full of water on top of the mound?" So we planted one mound like normal and for the second mound we punctured 4 very small holes in the bottom sides of a large coffee can and filled it with water. The water in the can drip-irrigated the mound. We watered both mounds daily and also filled the can daily. The mound with the coffee can germinated much quicker than the one without. I read that cucumbers do not germinate as well and can have their yield cut by as much as half if they don't have even watering as a seed. And the first claim so far seems to be true. Happy gardening!