ISABELLE’S GARDEN

PROFILE

I want to work at the garden because: I love to be outdoors but don’t often get the chance. Working at the garden will give me that chance and teach me new things along the way.

Two of my personal goals for working at the Dallas Youth Garden this summer are:

1. To grow a successful garden.

2. To come out of my comfort zone and meet new people.

Two things I hope to learn from working at the Dallas Youth Garden are:

1. To learn how to grow my own garden in the future.

2. How to take action as a leader.

I think my biggest challenge will be: Coming out of my comfort zone and managing my time during the school months.

My favorite vegetable or fruit is: Watermelon.

I hope to contribute this to the garden this year: To not only focus on my own plan but to encourage others too.

 GARDEN PLAN

Vegetables and Flowers Planted (list in order):

  1. Marigold

  2. Tomato

  3. Radish

  4. Carrots

  5. Carrots

  6. Cabbage

  7. Lettuce

  8. Zucchini

  9. Dill

  10. Butternut squash

  11. Beets

  12. Beans

  13. Yellow squash

  14. Zinnia

  15. Onion

  16. Pepper

  17. Yellow Squash

Rows of vegetables planted: 17

Number of different kinds of vegetables planted: 16

Planned Garden Yield: —295

Planned Biggest Producer: zucchini

GARDEN LOG

  • May 2-6: We went to the garden for the first time, and I began working on planning my garden on Thursday.

  • May 8-13: We reviewed the plans on Tuesday and had no work on Thursday. Saturday we went to help clean at the Master Gardeners sale.

  • May 15-20 I started planting my first few rows and got seven done by the end of the week.

  • May 22-27: I continued planting seeds and transplants, and by Saturday only had two more rows left to do.

  • May 30 - June 3: I planted my last two rows and began keeping up with watering everything.

  • June 6 - 10: Tuesday I did watering and we finally got my sign in the ground. Thursday I watered again and did some weeding. Saturday I didn’t need to do much watering so I focused on weeding and then got a little less than half the garden covered with hay.

  • June 13 - 17: Tuesday I fixed a section of hay and paper that had blown away, then watered and weeded. Thursday I watered aigan and decided i need to focus on weeding the back of my garden. Saturday I got most of the back weeding done and watered, then helped Jodi and Claire put hay in their gardens.

  • June 20-24: Tuesday we put down more hay and I realized i should start picking radishes. Thursday I harvest most of my row of radishes and weighed them. Saturday I watered and did a little weeding before helping the others with putting down hay.

  • June 27 - July 1: Tuesday I picked the last of the radishes then watered and weeded. Thursday I put down fertilizer and then watered and finished weeding.

  • July 4 - 8: I missed Tuesday due to the holiday. Thursday I watered and weeded and picked zucchini. Saturday I helped with hay, picked zucchini and cabbage then watered and weeded.

  • July 11 - 15: Tuesday I picked zucchini, cabbage and lettuce then watered. Thursday and Saturday I missed because I was on vacation.

  • July 18 - 22: Tuesday I harvested zucchini, lettuce, and beets then watered. Thursday I harvested zucchini, patty pans, and yellow squash then began weeding out my carrots. Saturday I harvested zucchini then watered and continued to weed out my carrots.

  • July 25 - 29: Tuesday I harvested zucchini, cabbage, and dill then watered. Thursday I harvested more zucchini and a patty pan, then watered and continued to weed. Saturday I harvested yellow squash and zucchini, watered and helped spread chips.

  • August 1 - 5: Tuesday I harvested zucchini, yellow squash and beans then watered. Thursday I watered then harvested zucchini and squash. Saturday I watered, weeded, and harvested zucchini, squash, and beans then gave tours of my garden to family for the Open House.

  • August 8 - 12: Tuesday I watered and harvested zucchini, squash, lettuce, onions, beats, beans, and dill. Thursday I harvested zucchini and squash and took home some zinnias then watered. Saturday I watered and harvested zucchini, patty pans, and beans.

  • August 15 - 19: Tuesday I watered and picked squash, onions, and beans. Thursday and Saturday I missed because I was in Pittsburg.

  • August 22 - 26: I also missed Tuesday. Thursday and Saturday I watered and picked squash and weeded.

  • August 29 - September 2: Tuesday I picked squash and onions, beats, peppers, and tomatoes. Thursday we had off. Saturday I harvested summer and winter squash then watered only the summer squash.

  • September 5 - 9: Tuesday I harvested onions, squash, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, then watered. Thursday I watered and harvested summer and winter squash. Saturday I watered and picked squash then helped cut tomatoes for the salsa for the party.

  • September 16: Saturday I came and watered then picked squash and beans, then chopped up my cabbages.

  • September 19 - 23 Tuesday I picked squash and peppers and tomatoes, then watered and pulled my peppers. Saturday I watered and picked tomatoes, beans, and squash.

  • September 30:

Final Thoughts:


My favorite garden vegetable was: Cabbage.
Because: I loved watching as the leaves grew bigger and started to curl into heads, ready to be harvested.
I harvested __239.2__ pounds of produce from my garden.
My favorite job was: harvesting
My least favorite job was: Putting down straw - my shoes would feel like cactuses on my feet.
I could have done better at: weeding
I did the best I could doing: watering
The two things I learned most at the garden this year were:
1. I learned about how to tell when different produce are ready to be harvested.
2. I learned about issues in Dallas at the food bank and how the garden helps provide fresh food.

GARDEN PROJECTS

1.Project One

Question/Problem(s) Proposed: Why do some plants in a row of vegetables grow less successfully than others?

Answer(s) I found: The reason for a plant to grow less or differently from the rest could by caused by several factors. Some examples are variation in soil like more clay in one spot, or how much water the plant received. It could also be due to whether or not the transplanted or seed was planted at the right depth.

URL Reference: crops.extension.iastate.edu - RexburgeStandardJournal.com

2. Resipe

Name: Radish bread

Vegetable Used: radishes

Ingredients: 2 cups flower, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 1/2 cup shredded radish (from garden)

Steps to Make it: 1) preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2) grease a 9X5 bread pan. 3) sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 4) whisk together applesauce, milk, egg, and sugar. 5) pour wet ingredients into dry and mix together. 5) Fold in shredded radishes and mix together. 6) Pour patter into pan. 7) Bake for 60 to 70 minutes.

Opinion: Surprisingly the bread tastes pretty good and even more surprisingly the whole family loved it. I would make it again and try it next with the full amount of shredded radishes instead of only half and reduce the amount of sugar.

Credit to the recipe: homespunseasonliving.com

3. Another Project

Problem/Question: What causes blossom-end rot in tomatoes?

Answers: Blossom-end rot is a physiological disorder or disease that is caused by a calcium deficiency. Usually, it is the result of fluctuations in the plant’s water supply. Drought or damage to the roots can be reasons for a plant to not receive enough calcium through their water supply, but it can also be caused by overwatering.

Reference: https://www.aces.edu

MONTHLY GARDEN SUMMARY

May: Days Worked __12___ Days Off ___0__ Extra Days Worked __1___ Days Late____0___ Total Produce(Pounds):____

June: Days Worked __11___ Days Off __0___ Extra Days Worked __0___ Days Late____0___ Total Produce(Pounds):__8.6__

July: Days Worked __10___ Days Off __2___ Extra Days Worked __0___ Days Late___0____ Total Produce(Pounds):__95.2__

August: Days Worked __10___ Days Off __3___ Extra Days Worked __1___ Days Late___0____ Total Produce(Pounds):_135.4___

September: Days Worked __7___ Days Off __0___ Extra Days Worked __0___ Days Late____0___ Total Produce(Pounds):____