August - a very hot month

The garden box between the school wings is really blooming. The zinnia are full of flowers. The carrots are growing taller and the mystery gourds on the north side of the box have been identified as pumpkin plants. Due to the extreme heat and some irregular watering, some plants are showing signs of stress. One cabbage plant in this bed is covered in small bugs. Can you identify them in the picture? Click on the photo to enlarge it.Many of the plants are also showing signs of powdery mildew. This is caused from watering the leaf of the plant late in the day or from frequent rain. The pea pods that were removed this month were covered in powdery mildew. The squash and pumpkin leaves are also showing signs of this disease. Check out the photo below.


Crops harvested this month included cucumber, squash, radishes, cabbage, strawberries, beans and tomatoes. The herbs are really healthy and ready for picking. These include: chives, tarragon, and oregano. The beautiful nasturtiums from July are now under attack from aphids. Look closely at the leaves and stems on your next visit to the garden. The black specks are the aphids. We will begin treatment with mild soapy water to see if the plants can be saved. Stay tuned. . .

As plants have been harvested in planter box 1 and 2, some new crops are being introduced. Additional carrot seeds were planted in early August and lettuce plants were also started.

Thank You Watering Team

When we started the garden project this spring, we had no idea how dry our summer would be. In late June, a group of Lakeridge families volunteered to help water the garden this summer. We would like to thank everyone who came to the garden this summer, toted watering cans, untangled hoses, and was sprayed by the water when shutting off the hose connection! The gardens would have withered without you.
Thank you to:
Christien and family, Annie and family, Brennan, Devon and family, Michelle, Heather, Mia, Carolyn and all your children who helped.

July - An Unusually Dry, Hot Month

The month of July has been exceptionally dry and hot which has made watering the number one priority. Thanks to a team of families who stepped up to water, the gardens are starting to produce. The strawberries are turning red and I've noticed the birds keeping a close watch on them!

The peas were harvested this month and will likely start to die back. Only one cabbage head remains. The brussel sprouts have slowed down in growth due to irregular watering, which may cause them to bolt. The third crop of radishes are ready to pick. Carrots are producing some nice greens, but are not ready to pick.

The warm weather crops really took off with the warm dry weather. The corn is about 2 feet high and the beans are to the top of the netting. Both are looking healthy. The summer squash in the front of planter box 2 has a nice yellow squash on it.

The bed along the fence is filled with sunflowers towering over the blueberry plants that were in the center. They are not yet blooming although there are plenty of buds.

Last week of June

During the last full week of June, the gardens were cultivated, weeded, watered and poles were added for the beans. The plants continue to grow from the great weather; sunshine and moderate temperatures. A watering team has been recruited to look after the gardens this summer. If you wish to help out, post a comment on this site and we will contact you. The peas, which were bent over a few weeks ago when the netting was added, have grabbed onto the netting and are now producing pods. Look carefully for crisp, green peapods! The strawberries are flowering so berry production will soon follow. The spinach and lettuce are abundant and ready to eat.

The nasturtium in planter box 1 are beautiful.

Planter box 2 which has mostly warm weather crops is filling in nicely. My attempts to photograph the baseball-size green tomato were a failure, so you will have to trust me. There are a few radishes ready to pick, and the cucumber plant is starting to show some small cucumbers. One zucchini plant is taking over the front of the planter, and the corn and beans are about 10 inches tall. The forecasted warmer weather should give these plants a burst of energy!

The new bed needed the most weeding, but is now looking well. Some sunflowers are knee-high. The blueberry plants are looking very healthy, though it is not likely they will produce berries this first year.

Compare the following photo with the same shot posted earlier in June of a sunflower planted by Ms. Teres 5th grade students.

Finally, the bed planted between the two wings of the school is finally responding to extra watering and the added compost. The sunflowers are over a foot tall. There appears to be some new shoots that are from the onion family. It is uncertain if these are leeks or chives. The seeds were dormant for the full month of May and finally sprouted when watering was stepped up in June. The carrots are starting to produce greens and the mystery gourd plants at the northend are getting bigger. Several packets of seeds were planted as part of Science Friday and someone forgot to label the bed. Now it is a science project to guess what is growing! The Children's Garden team has identified the plant families, but we are waiting for more clues.

Summer Vacation Starts Next Week

Box 1 was planted in late April and has filled in considerably. The cabbage heads are rounding up and the lettuce and spinach have been harvested several times. A new crop of radishes has been planted and the strawberries are starting to form small fruits. A squash and pumpkin plant were added this week to provide some late summer activity for this box. The brussel sprouts are getting taller and the peas have been staked. The netting was added also, though not visible in the adjacent photo.

Box 2 which was planted in late May by the third graders is now showing many sprouts. Check out the corn and beans which have really grown with the warm weather. If you click on the picture, you can see an enlarged version which really shows what's growing! The tomatoes are so tall they are ready to be staked too.

Kindergartners Adopt Science Friday Garden Box

In late April, Lakeridge students planted seeds in the planter box that is located between the two wings of the school during recess time as part of Science Friday. A few starter plants left over from the Service club project day were also planted at this time.

As May progressed and the weather became drier, Ms Millsap's kindergarten students adopted this box and took on the task of watering. The seeds finally sprouted!

In June, this box was amended by Mrs. Lambe who added the remaining pumpkins started by Ms. Olson's students, squash, eggplant and some mulch.

Third Graders in the Garden- Late May

The rainy month of April created a plethora of lettuce and spinach which was harvested by Mr. Aguilera's third grade students on May 27th. Some radishes were also pulled. The class enjoyed a salad snack the following day prepared by a children's garden adult. On this day, the warm weather crops were planted into the second planter box. These crops included: nasturtium, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, corn, squash, pumpkins, and eggplant. Again, both seeds and starter plants were used. Many of the starter plants were begun by Ms. Olson's 4th grade students earlier in the spring.