Can you guess what time of year it is?
Would you like a hint? It’s our favorite season as gardeners.
It’s Fall planting season!
We are gardeners! Woohoo!
There are four seasons in all, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, although in Florida we seem to have just two: hot and less hot 🙂
We can’t just plant any seeds in any season of the year because seeds are like babies; they’re cute, smart, and very fickle. They like their environment to be just right, then they grow and grow and grow! Seeds want their temperature, moisture, and even how far deep in the ground they’re planted to be perfect. If we get it right, they sprout beautifully from the soil.
Since some of the marigolds we planted ended up dying, we wanted to make sure that we mixed more compost into our soil. Compost is full of nutrients and will help our seeds grow into strong plants.
Wheelbarrow full of the good stuff.
Luckily, the school had a compost pile with plenty of decaying yard waste we could use to enrich the soil.
After shoveling up compost, we cleared up some of the marigold plants and mixed them in with the soil.
Some marigolds we shoveled up.
We had fun and mixed everything up!
All mixed up!
We waited until next week and started the really fun part. The student gardeners learned all about the seeds we are planting and how to plant them.
Got veggies?
We left some healthy marigold bushes intact because they grow well next to tomato plants. They actually ward off pesky bugs. Marigold, you’re my hero!
Here’s a look at some of the seeds we planted:
The seeds we seeded.
We only planted the beans, lettuce and spinach seeds directly into the garden. The kale, cherry tomato and broccoli were planted in small pots, and we will transplant them later when they get big and strong enough. Seeds are so sensitive, that not all of them can survive being transplanted—that’s why some are planted directly in the garden, and others aren’t. “Oh woe is me, dear, finicky seed.”
And they’re off!
We had so much fun learning about gardening and planting delicious and healthy veggies.
Enrichment, gratitude, sharing, and fun—that’s what gardening is all about!
Make sure to check out our next post and you’ll get updates on all the sprouts! Humanity is Family. Thank you and God bless.