SOPHIA’S GARDEN

PROFILE

I want to work at the garden because it is a great opportunity to make new friends and a nice way to help out in the community.

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

  1. Be able to talk in front of groups of people.

  2. Grow a lot of new things that I’ve never grown before.

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

  1. How to take care of a larger garden.

  2. Job experience

I think my biggest challenge will be: The flowering on my squashes because of bugs.

My favorite fruit is strawberries because they are very tasty and you can make a lot of delicious things out of them.

I hope to contribute this to the garden this year: a hard worker and a helpful coworker when asked to work together.

 GARDEN PLAN

Vegetables and Flowers Planted (list in order):

  1. Marigold

  2. Tomatoes

  3. Carrot

  4. Onion

  5. Cabbage

  6. Marigold

  7. Squash Crookneck

  8. Squash Yellow

  9. Beans

  10. Cabbage

  11. Tomatoes

  12. Peppers

  13. Beets

  14. Lettuce

  15. Pumpkin

  16. Butternut Squash

Rows of vegetables planted: 16

Number of different kinds of vegetables planted: 12

Planned Garden Yield: — 347 lbs

Planned Biggest Producer: Cabbages with 80lbs

Changes in my plan during planting: I was gonna put radishes in my garden but switched it out for carrots.

GARDEN LOG


  • May 2-4: Everyone met at the garden and we went over job description and we pulled tarps, folded them up, and stacked them.

  • May 7-12: We met through a Zoom call this week and went over the garden plan.

  • May 14-19: I finished my plan a little late due to not having the paper, and started planting a bit late. I planted my Marigolds!!

  • May 21-28: This week I planted my tomatoes, carrots, onions, and cabbages. (The onions were probably my favorite!!)

  • June 1-8: This week I planted my second row of marigold and then I got my squash crookneck and squash yellow in the ground. I also got to plant my beans which was really fun, then started on my row of cabbage, 2 were purple!

  • June 11-18: I finished my cabbage row, and did my second row of tomatoes, and planted two spicy peppers, and the rest bell peppers. Then I planted my beats and lettuce. We put straw and paper down.

  • June 20-29: With lots of help from Donell and Sheila, I finished planting my pumpkins and butternut squash and got to weed and watered my straw down again.

  • July 2-9: I was gone the 4th and 6th for camping but I picked zucchini and watered when I got back

  • July 11-18: We got new straw and it was thinner and darker than the other straw and we put that down as well as bark for walk ways. This week was very hot.

  • July 20-30: I was gone for a week for church camp but when I got back I watered, weeded, and picked more veggies.

  • August 1-8: I watered, picked, and Saturday we did group weeding and I found a huge head of purple lettuce. My carrots were thinned and I got to take the decent sized ones home.

  • August 10-17: I watered, picked lots of beans, and weeded my peppers this week and there was thunder and lightning. I also saw a lot less bees which was cool. I missed Tuesday for soccer tryouts.

  • August 20-24: This week I watered, weeded, and picked only a little bit of beans, and noticed yellowing starting to happen on the leaves of my beans. I have 2 cabbages left to harvest.

  • August 27-31: I harvested lots of tomatoes this week and had some help from my friend Robert who came in. We watered and picked quickly to make it to soccer practice.

  • September 3-7: This week has been super hot and we really have only watered and picked what we needed to because of the heat.

Final Thoughts:


My favorite garden vegetable was: Carrots
Because: They were really fun to weed and I liked thinning them and feeding my dog the good ones I got to keep.
I harvested 114.6 pounds of produce from my garden.
My favorite job was: Weeding my carrots and onions.
My least favorite job was: Watering and weeding my squashes
I could have done better at: Watering my zucchini.
I did the best I could doing: Watering my beans
The two things I learned most at the garden this year were:
1. Consistency is key
2. The straw is good for the soil.

i’m GARDEN PROJECTS

1.Project One

Question/Problem(s) Proposed: Why do cucumber bugs appear, and how to deal with them?

Answer(s) I found: I found that cucumber bugs eat the leaves and the roots of squash. As well as feeding off of the leaves, they lay eggs in the soil near plants like cucumbers and other squash. The eggs hatch after a few weeks, and the larvae eat the plant roots and underground stems. The larvae then become pupae in the soil and then come back as adults in the summer to feed on more leaves and roots of squash. Ways to prevent cucumber bugs are looking for cucumber beetles early in the season, especially when plants are young. Removing weeds and planting debris to avoid attracting beetles. Applying mulch around plants to discourage beetles from laying eggs. If a plant shows signs of disease, remove it. Use row covers to protect plants until they start to flower.

URL Reference: https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden-insects/cucumber-beetles

2. Recipe

Name: Butternut Squash Soup

Vegetable Used: Butternut Squash

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 white onion

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 2 cups vegetable broth

  • 1 carrot

  • 1 Granny Smith apple

  • 1 medium butternut squash

  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne

  • pinch of ground cinnamon and nutmeg

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

  • fine sea salt and black pepper

Steps to Make it: Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add vegetable broth, carrot, apple, butternut squash, cayenne, cinnamon, and nutmeg, then simmer until vegetables are tender. Remove sage and stir in coconut milk. Purée the soup until smooth, season with salt and pepper, and serve warm.

Opinion: It is very delicious and it’s great as a winter soup. My dad made it a lot when he was vegan and I think it is amazing. It’s very creamy and has a great taste.

3. Another Project

Question: Why do my tomatoes split?

Answer: Tomatoes crack or split because of water. This happens when they get a lot of water suddenly, causing them to grow faster than their skins can stretch. The most common reason is heavy rain after a dry period, but uneven watering can also cause splitting.

URL Reference: https://www.southernliving.com/garden/edible/why-do-tomatoes-split

MONTHLY GARDEN SUMMARY

May: Days Worked 11 Days Off 2 Extra Days Worked 0 Days Late 0 Total Produce(Pounds): 0

June: Days Worked 8 Days Off 5 Extra Days Worked 1 Days Late 0 Total Produce(Pounds):10.2

July: Days Worked 11 Days Off 3 Extra Days Worked 1 Days Late 0 Total Produce(Pounds):24.9

August: Days Worked 12 Days Off 2 Extra Days Worked 0 Days Late 0 Total Produce(Pounds): 58.1

September: Days Worked 3 Days Off 0 Extra Days Worked 0 Days Late 0 Total Produce(Pounds): 21.4