 | You can follow these instructions to successfully start your own sweet potatoes at home. There are two ways to start them. Here is the first and the only method I have tried. |
 | 1) Poke three toothpicks into the sweet potato to hold it in a container. We used sweet potatoes we had stored over the winter. |
 | 2) Place the sweet potato into a jar or container of water with a narrow top and place it near a sunny window. It should look like the picture on the left. |
 | 3) After the roots form, you will probably need to add some more water, and then the slips will start to form. |
 | 4) Remove the slips off the sweet potato and plant them in wet potting soil. Keep them watered very well. Over a period of time, they will root out. |
 | 5) You are now able to transplant them out doors after the danger of frost is over and watch them grow! |
 | 6) Just before the first frost is the best time to harvest sweet potatoes. |
Method 2, which I have never personally tried, is to take the sweet potato and bury half of it in dirt. If left in an area with sun, it will sprout and you would follow the same procedure described above.
| |
 | Josiah’s Tips: • I would use black plastic versus fabric just from my experience with the fabric. • If you use any plastic or fabric, it will attract mice. • I recommend using the sweet potato variety Beauregard. Happy Growing! Josiah |
Author: Advyon
One Girl’s Mission to Fight Hunger Now Six Years Strong
NBC NEWS
At age 9, Katie Stagliano planted a garden to feed the hungry. Six years later, what began as an idea hatched in her backyard has spread nationwide.
Published October 24th 2014,
Join Us for Our Holiday Dinner
Come join us on Thursday, December 18th for the Katie’s Krops Holiday Dinner. Our dinner will be served at 6pm, at Summerville Baptist Church located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina. The garden to table dinner is always hot, healthy, and free. Everyone is welcome at our dinner table. We do not accept reservations and recommend that you arrive before 6pm to ensure a seat. The dinner is limited to 200 people. Happy Holidays!
This 14-Year-Old’s Homework Assignment Sparked A Mission to Feed America’s Hungry
When she was in the third grade, Katie Stagliano received a homework assignment that changed her life: To grow a cabbage from a single seedling. Hers grew to about 40 pounds. She took the cabbage to the local soup kitchen, where it was served with ham and rice to around 275 people.
“When I looked at the people in line I thought ‘wow, they’re just like my family,’” Katie says of her experience handing out food that day. “For all I know, they could have been my family who had fallen on hard times.” Six years later, Katie’s Krops supports 75 youth-run gardens in 27 states and has raised over $200,000.
Watch Katie’s remarkable story here, and check out the feature film The Starfish Throwers where she is featured alongside two others whose individual efforts to feed the poor are igniting a movement in the fight against hunger.
Read more: http://nationswell.com/katie-stagliano-feeds-hungry-through-katies-krops/#ixzz3Hv5zu9my
“Katie’s Cabbage” The Story of How One Cabbage Inspired a Young Girl’s Dream to End Hunger
“Katie’s Cabbage is the inspirational true story of how Katie Stagliano, a third grader from Summerville, South Carolina, grew a forty-pound cabbage in her backyard and donated it to help feed 275 people at a local soup kitchen. In her own words, Katie shares the story of the little cabbage seedling and the big ideas of generosity and service that motivated her to turn this experience into Katie’s Krops, a national youth movement aimed at ending hunger one vegetable garden at a time. Katie’s Cabbage reminds us of how small things can grow and thrive when nurtured with tender loving and care and of how one person, with the support of family, friends, and community, can help make a powerful difference in the lives of so many.”
Katie’s Cabage is the winner of the 2015 Carol D. Resier Children’s Book Award. The Award is given annually to the children’s book or books published the preceding year that most effectively inspires community service and volunteerism in children. This award was established by the Corporate Volunteer Council of Atlanta, where Carol was co-founder and past president, and is a living tribute to Carol Reiser’s lifelong commitment to community. Judges are national level experts in children’s literature and in volunteerism.
http://www.amazon.com/Katies-
A big thank you to our friends at University of South Carolina Press, Bonnie Plants and First Fruits Marketing of Washington for making this book possible.
A Guest Blog from Our Grower Josie
My name is Josie and I am lucky to be a Katie Krops Grower in more ways than I could have ever imagined!
I have always loved to be outside and gardening with my family. While my Dad was listening to the “In the Garden with Ron Wilson” radio show, he heard the story about Katie Stagliano. Katie was helping people in need by growing vegetable gardens and donating the produce to help feed her community. He knew that this would be something that I would love to do. Little did I know that it would end up helping me as much as helping others!
My Grandpa was also really excited to hear about Katie Krops and could not wait to start his own Katie Krops Garden with me at his house…the gardens were literally starting to grow! With our three raised beds and his raised bed we had four Katie Krops Gardens to grow. Everyone was excited to get our crops growing so we could start donating to the Mid-Ohio Food bank! My Dad has always loved to start seeds indoors, my Grandpa had his heirloom tomato seeds ready to go, and my Mom, Anna (my sister), and my Grandma were all pitching in to get the gardens ready to plant. I learned so much from my Grandpa and Dad from how to plan out a garden to gathering seeds.
My first donation was fresh lettuce, onions, and radishes. The lady who took my donation said, “Our first fresh out of the garden donation of the season….someone is going to love having this on their table tonight! Most of our families don’t get food this fresh.” It was hard for me to think about how many people in my community could not afford to buy fresh food. On our table there was always a fresh veggie to eat. Even in the winter, I was fortunate that we could still buy fruit and veggies from our grocery. I was so excited about knowing that I helped give someone fresh food that they would not have had. Our garden made this possible. Throughout the summer, we donated tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers, corn, and zucchini. This summer, we added strawberries, beans, snow-peas, eggplant, broccoli, and cauliflower.
I was 12 when I started my first Katie Krops Gardens and now, being 14, I want a career that I love and that means a career were I am helping others. Being a Katie Krops Grower gave me an inside peek as to how it truly feels to give back. Donating is so rewarding. But even more than that, it is knowing that the hard work and having family and friends come together to help each other for a cause could not only change what is put on a hungry family’s dinner table, but that it could also shape my future.
When I found out that I was selected to attend the Katie Krops Camp, I was sooooo excited!! This was a chance for me to learn more about how I could help my community with hunger and meet other growers and Katie! Since my Grandpa and Dad have been my gardening mentors, one of them would get to come with me. My Grandpa won out! We were off to South Carolina! It was hard work, but it was amazing and fun. In one and a half days, we built community gardens, hosted a dinner for the community after picking and cooking the food to be served, and worked in the gardens. We learned so much from the W.P. Rawls family. My Grandpa, usually a quiet guy, was taking non- stop with the Rawls family about gardening techniques! He was having the best time! I was glad that he was having fun as a camper too! Being around other young people who wanted to make a difference in their world was exciting! It made me want to work harder and do more…I loved that!
When we got back from the camp, we decided that we were going to build a couple of bean tee-pees and also grow strawberries using the Thomas Jefferson garden ideas that W.P. Rawls taught us. We were both excited to get back to our gardens! This trip was wonderful in so many ways, but the best part was getting to spend that experience with my Grandpa.
As I continue to be a grower for Katie’s Krops, I am rewarded in so many other ways than knowing that I am helping others and just growing a garden. Gardening has brought me closer to my family and my community, and it has also taught me a lot about myself and that makes me happy!
Thanks Dad, for listening to radio shows about gardening!
Josie
The Katie’s Krops e-Cookbook is now available!!
The Katie’s Krops e-Cookbook is now available!! Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for their support and for enabling us to continue to grow our dream of ending hunger one garden at a time!!!
Click here to download your copy!
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Join Us as We Celebrate the 4th Anniversary of the Katie’s Krops Dinner
Four years ago, our Founder, Katie, who at the time was only 12-years-old, attempted to make a delivery of fresh produce from her Katie’s Krops Gardens to the only full-time soup kitchen in Summerville. She found a note on the door which read that due to financial issues, the soup kitchen had shut down. Knowing how many people in our community needed access to free, healthy meals, Katie, along with the support of her friends, teachers, parents, and the head of food services at her school, created ‘The Katie’s Krops Dinner,’ a garden to table dinner for anyone in need of a healthy meal.
Over the course of four years, our dedicated young volunteers, who themselves prepare, cook, and serve every meal under the direction of Head Chef Herman McNeill and Cory Miller, have provided a healthy and free meal to thousands of individuals in need in our community. Every Katie’s Krops Dinner is based on the harvest from the gardens and is healthy, well balanced, and free. Everyone is always welcome at the Katie’s Krops Dinner table!
On Monday, October 27, at 6:00 p.m. at Summerville Baptist Church, we will be celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Katie’s Krops Dinner. Summerville Baptist Church is located at 417 Central Avenue in Summerville, South Carolina. We anticipate a large number of guests to join us for this dinner celebration. To secure a seat, please arrive prior to 6pm. Our doors will open at 5:30pm.
Please join us as we celebrate how youth in our community have come together to create a positive change through one garden, one harvest, and one dinner at a time!
Try it! And WIN!
We are truly blessed to have the support of BI-LO, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets! Now through October 7th, join BI-LO SuperSaver, Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket in a fun scavenger hunt throughout their produce departments and have a chance to win a vacation package to New York City. For every purchase of select produce items, BI-LO, Harveys, and Winn-Dixie will donate a percentage to support Katie’s Krops and our mission of empowering kids to grow an end to hunger, one vegetable garden at a time. So head over to the produce department today and get kids excited about fruits and vegetables!
Congratulations to our Katie’s Krops Growers & Volunteer of the Year
For 2014, it is our honor to officially announce the Katie’s Krops Growers of the Year and the Katie’s Krops Volunteer of the Year. These outstanding young ladies have gone above and beyond to help end hunger in their communities. We are extremely proud to have them as part of our growing family. In addition to the title of ‘Grower of the Year’ and ‘Volunteer of the Year,’ they will receive a scholarship for their higher education.
Katie’s Krops Growers of the Year
Erika and Shawna Hettick from Washington State have been growing with Katie’s Krops for the past three years. Together, these sisters are a powerful team that have been actively growing an end to hunger in their community and positively growing the footprint of Katie’s Krops by expanding their efforts and the impact that they could make outside of the garden. After Shawna attended the inaugural Katie’s Krops Camp, she was empowered to help Katie’s Krops beyond her community. The sisters traveled to meet one of our wonderful sponsors, First Fruits Marketing of Washington, in their home state. In addition to reaching out to personally thank the wonderful people who are helping us grow, they have also helped us secure new grant funding and encouraged our Founder, Katie, to apply for the Prudential Community of Spirit Awards, which she went on to win. Their passion for Katie’s Krops has truly helped us grow!
Katie’s Krops Volunteer of the Year
Arden McNeill volunteered at our very first Katie’s Krops Dinner almost four years ago. Little did we know that night how our dinner model would grow, reaching on average 150 people per dinner. From the moment we served our first hot and healthy meal to the people in need in the Lowcountry, Arden has rarely missed the opportunity to help at a dinner. When a family vacation conflicted with a Katie’s Krops Dinner, she persuaded her father to postpone their vacation so that she could attend and help at the dinner. Arden is a valuable volunteer in the kitchen and in the dining room. For her dedication to feeding the Lowcountry, Arden is our volunteer of the year!
