Kids Gardening Tips

Our Top Tomato Tips

For our Spring and Summer crops, tomatoes are always favorite to grow in our Katie’s Krops’ gardens. Below, you will find great tips that will help you have a sucessful growing season in your garden.

Tomato Basics

Soil should be well drained, high in organic matter, and have an optimum soil pH of 6.2 to 6.5.
Planting times for Spring are March 25 – April 10 and for Fall are July 25 – 30. Optimum temperatures for planting are 70-80° F during the day and 60-70° F during the night.
Tomato plants need 1-1.5 gallons per day, which is the equivalent of 1-1.5 inches of rain per week. Adequate moisture aids in the nutrient uptake of the plant. Soils rich in organic matter hold more water than soils that have not been amended.
When fertilizing, apply Nitrogen monthly, because the plant uses it to make new foliage and fruit. When selecting a tomato plant, choose disease resistant varieties and purchase healthy transplants. If starting tomato plants from seed, use the recommended practices to avoid spindly growth and diseased seedlings.

There are two types of tomato plants – determinate and indeterminate.

Determinate tomato plants grow, flower, set fruit, and die early in the season.
Indeterminate tomato plants grow, flower, and produce fruit over a longer period. Most heirlooms are indeterminate. Indeterminate tomatoes must be staked and pruned.

Four amazing reasons to prune and stake your tomato plants.

It will maximize the photosynthesis efficiency of the plant.
It reduces disease.
It redirects carbohydrates to the fruit and away from the foliage of the plant.
Staking leads to earlier and larger fruiting. On indeterminate plants, staking will yield fruit 2-3 weeks earlier.

All of the above information is provided by the South Carolina Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service. For additional information on tomatoes, please visit the HGIC 1323 Tomato fact sheet at the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service Home and Garden Information Center website at: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/plants/vegetables/crops/hgic1323.html.

Embrace the Fall Season

The mission at Katie’s Krops is to feed as many people as necessary, but that mission cannot end when the summer tomatoes stop producing fruits. The families we help still need healthy meals after the summer harvest is over. Many people overlook the possibility of fall gardening but at Katie’s Krops we embrace the fall season!

When planning a fall garden there are several things to remember.

- Broccoli, Cabbage, lettuce, and other leafy greens are staples for every fall garden!

- Plant carrot seeds in mid-summer for a fall crop.

- Determining your growing season is very important. 12-14 weeks before your average first fall frost, start your seeds indoors in seed trays 8-10 weeks before the first frost, transplant your seeds to your garden!

- Just like a summer garden, fall gardens will need lot of sunlight. Because the temperature is cooler, direct sunlight is very important, make sure you choose your garden location carefully!

- To protect young plants, mulch them with hay or straw immediately after planting, and shade them - especially in the afternoon - with a shade cloth. The mulch keeps the soil cool and keeps weeds from taking over your garden.

- Cold weather plants love fertile soil, so work some compost into your soil before you plant your seedlings.

- Water is essential, and these crops like cool, moist soil. One inch of water per week is the suggested amount.

Grow What You Love!

Every gardener wants to grow the best crops, but sometimes that means growing things you don’t always love. It is good to try new things, and trust me; gardening has made me do that! I have tried so many new things with gardening! And now, I grow those veggies in my gardens! But it is really important to have fun in gardening. Sometimes if you spend a lot of time caring for veggies you don’t like the taste of it takes away the fun. That’s why you should grow what YOU love!

If you have a favorite fruit or veggie then plant some of that in your garden too! That way you have something to look forward to. My little brother loves watermelon. Sometimes that is almost all he eats. And every time he finishes a piece he will take out the seeds and plant them outside. It is so cute.

Do you love strawberry shortcakes? Spaghetti with marinara sauce? Eggplant Parmesan? Why not grow some of the ingredients! Food always tastes better when you use fresh produce, especially when you have grown it!

As you watch your veggie grow, you get even more excited about eating it! Grow what you love and love what you grow!!

My brother planting the seeds from the watermelon he just ate!

And like every good gardener he makes sure his seeds are well watered!

The Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program Growing Dreams.

If it were not for the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program my life would be so different. The giant cabbage I grew from Bonnie Plants transformed my life and opened my eyes to hunger in my community and in the world. I am so greatful that my 3rd grade teacher signed up for the free program. A few days ago I saw the flat of Bonnie Plant cabbages at my school just waiting for the 3rd graders to bring them home. I remember the day I brought home my cabbage and how excited I was to plant it in my backyard. If you are in the 3rd grade or it you are a 3rd grade teacher or a parent of a 3rd grader please make sure that your class is signed up for the free, fun, life changing program. I am so glad my teacher did! Thanks Mrs. Every-Andrew and a HUGE thanks to Bonnie Plants from growing my dream!

http://www.bonnieplants.com/CabbageProgram/RegisterYour3rdGradeClass/tabid/163/Default.aspx

Copy and past this link to connect to the Bonnie Plants 3rd Grade Cabbage Program SIgn Up Page

How to Start a Vegetable Garden

How to Start a Vegetable Garden
By Katie Stagliano, age 11

Starting a vegetable garden can be great fun and full of surprise such as the 40 pound cabbage that I grew that changed my life! I am 11 years old and I have several vegetable gardens that I started after I grew my forty pound cabbage. What makes my vegetable gardens a little bit different is that I donate everything I harvest from my gardens to soup kitchens to help feed people in need.

If you want to start a vegetable garden for your family to enjoy or if you too want to plant a garden to feed families who need help putting food on their table, getting started is easier than you think. First, decide what type of garden you would like. You can choose from a few plants in pots, a raise bed garden or a garden planted directly in the ground. Selecting which one can depend on how much space you have. If you live in an apartment or have a small yard, plants in a pot maybe your best choice. If you have a large yard, a raised bed garden or in the ground garden is a great choice, you can even reuse an old sandbox and turn it into a raised bed garden. Keep in mind plants need sunlight to grow, so plan your garden in a sunny spot.

Your next step after selecting where you will have your garden is making sure you have good soil. When planting in pots, purchasing potting soil in bags is a good choice. For a raised bed garden made in an old sandbox (make sure it doesn’t have a bottom) you can also fill it in with bags of potting mix. If you want to plant your garden in the ground remove all of the grass and rocks before you start. Tilling or breaking up the soil will help when you are putting the plants in the ground.

What is the next step? Planning what you would like to grow! There are so many choices. You can pick your favorite vegetable to grow or try something new like okra. I prefer to plant with seedlings, a young plant. You can buy seedlings at Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Lowes and if you are in the 3rd grade you can get a free cabbage seedling through the Bonnie Plants 3rd Grade Cabbage Program by asking your teacher to sign up at http://www.bonnieplants.com/CabbageProgram/tabid/81/Default.aspx. Bonnie plants use peat pot that make planting fun and easy with less waste. The tag that comes with the plants is very helpful. It teaches you how to plant and when to harvest. Dig a hole for your plant be sure to make it larger than the plant. Gently place your plant in the hole, fill in dirt around it and be sure to water it often enough, but don’t flood it. Also, if your plants don’t look quite right, try fertilizing them. Fertilizer is a great way to help your plants thrive.

It's important to plant your garden at the right time, and the key is knowing when your area will see its last spring frost. You may lose your warm weather crops if you put them in the ground too soon. You can check the Old Farmer’s Almanac freeze chart by clicking here- http://www.almanac.com/content/frost-chart-united-states#chart.

The next part is amazing! Water, fertilize, keep the weeds away and watch your plant grow. Before you know it you will have vegetables to pick. You will be amazed at how delicious the vegetables you grow are. It’s that simple! And fun!

To learn more about what I do, go to www.katieskrops.com.