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The Apple Crunch

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Friday, September 30th, join us in celebrating Georgia's apples!

Fall is often apple picking time in the North Georgia Mountains.  Most of Georgia’s apples are grown in Gilmer and Fannin Counties and the 2020 farm gate value of Georgia’s apple crop was $9,357,650.  The Mountain Research and Education Center in Blairsville grows almost 2,000 apple trees for research, assisting apple growers in Georgia and North Carolina. Most importantly, fresh apples are delicious.

On Friday, September 30th, the Georgia Department of Education School Nutrition Program and the Georgia Department of Agriculture are encouraging Georgians to celebrate apples with the BIG CRUNCH.  To participate, at noon on that date, crunch into a locally grown apple!  This collective crunch encourages healthy eating and supports farm to school initiatives and Georgia farmers.  Post your photos using #GeorgiaGrown.  We will be celebrating in North Georgia’s apple country!

For educators or families, the Georgia Department of Education has put together activities and resources for a true apple celebration.  If you are interested in growing your own apple trees, UGA Extension’s Home Garden Apple publication will be a useful resource.  

UGA’s Community & School Garden Coordinator, Becky Griffin, is ready for the BIG CRUNCH!

Spinach to Win It – 2022 Farm to School Campaign

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The 2022 October is Farm to School Month campaign Spinach to Win it is now live, meaning folks can start signing up to participate! Spinach to Win It is a state-wide celebration to get kids eating, growing, and participating in Spinach-themed activities. University of Georgia Extension is a proud partner of the Farm to School Alliance.

To participate in Spinach to Win it at your school, home, early care center, or in your community, visit bit.ly/spinachtowinit and sign up. Participants will receive free electronic resources to help plan and implement activities.  Resources include standards-based lesson plans, fact sheets, recipes, and more.

The first 300 people to sign-up will have the option to receive a free packet of spinach seeds, washable spinach tattoos, and a Georgia Planting and Harvest Calendar for school gardens.

Share your Spinach to Win it pictures and activities on social media with #spinachtowinit. Each week during October, anyone who uses this hashtag will be entered to win a prize and at the end of the month there will be a grand prize winner.
Questions? Visit https://farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/frequently-asked-questions or email kimberlykoogler@georgiaorganics.org. If you have questions about growing spinach in your school garden, contact your local UGA Extension Agent.

School Gardens are Back!

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After years of inattention, school gardens are back in focus. It may be a good time for a garden reboot!

Spend time rethinking your school garden purpose.

Is it solely a horticultural effort or is the garden really tied to the school curriculum?  Ensure that you are getting the most of the garden.  A well thought-out garden plan can be used to teach history, geography, math and English.  Planting a plot of Cherokee Trail of Tears beans can be a segue to history and geography.  Creating a Sarah, Plain and Tall garden is a refreshing way to teach literature.  Use your imagination and creative thinking to make the most out of your garden space.

Strengthen your volunteer core.

The work of the garden cannot be the responsibility of one or two teachers.  The weeding, watering and garden maintenance have to be shared work, hopefully with volunteers.  How do you recruit garden volunteers? Do you have a school garden committee as part of your PTA or PTO?  Can upper level students help?  Plan your garden size based on how much garden maintenance help you have.  A smaller, well maintained garden space is better than a larger unmaintained space.

Make a summer plan.

Summer is coming.  Make sure you have a plan for summer garden care.  Will you plant cover crops or put the garden to bed over the summer months?  Coming back to a garden mess is not an option.  

Have fun!

Most importantly, enjoy the garden.  Enjoy having the students learning outside.  It has been a hard couple of years.  Here are some resources that could be helpful:

Georgia’s 2021 Farm to School Month Planning

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Livin’ La Vida Okra

October is Farm to School Month and schools and early care centers across Georgia will be celebrating all things okra! Livin’ La Vida Okra is a state-wide celebration to get kids eating, growing, and participating in okra-themed activities.

To participate in Livin’ La Vida Okra at your school, home, early care center, or in your community, visit bit.ly/livinlavidaokra and sign up. Participants will receive free electronic resources to help you plan and implement your activities.  Resources include standards-based lesson plans, activities, recipes, videos, school garden planting and harvesting information, and more!

The first 300 people to sign-up will be able to choose whether or not to be mailed a free packet of okra seeds, washable okra tattoos, and a Georgia Planting and Harvest Calendar for school gardens. Share your Livin’ La Vida Okra pictures and activities on social media with #livinlavidaokra. Each week during October, anyone who uses this hashtag will be entered to win a gift card and at the end of the month, there will be a grand prize winner. Questions? Visit https://farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/frequently-asked-questions  or email kimberlykoogler@georgiaorganics.org.

UGA Extension has a fantastic publication on growing okra that could be useful for those gardeners new to the crop or for those who want to improve their harvest!

Happy Gardening!

Georgia Ag Awareness Week 2021

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It is almost that time of year!   March 22nd – March 26th is Georgia Ag Awareness Week.  This is the week to celebrate all things Georgia Agriculture.

Happily, Monday of that week is Hands-on Garden Day!  Traditionally, that has meant celebrating our school gardens.  This year is a bit different and the Georgia Department of Agriculture is asking us to celebrating any work in any garden.  So the question is how will you celebrate?

How about spending some time as a family in the garden?  Maybe plan what types of food crops you want to grow this year in your home garden.  It could be a good time to get some cool-season crops in the ground.  Think of what menus you want on the summer dinner table.  Take that cue and plan your plantings.  

Are you challenged with no garden space?  How about a container garden.  There are food crops specially bred for small gardens.  Also, most herbs grow well in pots.

If your local school has a garden, do they need volunteers?  Could you safely arrange to help out in those gardens?  I am sure they could use the help and the labor would be much appreciated. 

Your local UGA Extension office has information on crops grown in your area. Whatever you decide, take some time to appreciate all the wonderful ag products that Georgia offers.  I am dreaming of watermelon, green peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn, blueberries….


 

 

 

 

Using Seed Catalogs In the Classroom

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The seed catalogs keep arriving. In my household that is cause for excitement. I save them until I have time to properly enjoy looking through them. What do you do with your seed catalogs after you have looked through them and placed your orders? If you throw them into the recycling bin you are missing out as these gems are full of useful information.

If you are a school gardener, or a community gardener that works with youth, the seed catalogs can be used throughout the year! To start with you can laminate the beautiful photos to use as plant markers.

You can use the information provided in the catalog for lessons:

Seed spacing guides can be used for students to create a garden bed design.

Days to harvest information can be used for students to determine the planting dates of their garden design so that all the produce is ready at the same time.

Seed package cost can be used to calculate the total cost of the garden design.

All of this information can be used to determine how much produce can be grown per square foot (inch, meter).

Marketing plans can be created to sell resulting produce at a Farmers Market.  How much money can be made given the input costs?

Aspiring artists can design artistic seed packets using the information given.

English classes can pick vegetables and re-write the plant descriptions.

Of couse, students can look through the catalog and pick a vegetable they have never tried before and make a plan to grow it.

Happy browsing!

Efficiency is the Ticket in the School Garden this Year

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Many school gardens have suffering this year. Maybe your school does not allow volunteers on school property right now. Maybe your teachers are overwhelmed with teaching in 2020 and do not have time for the garden. Maybe your garden is just a mess. Spring is coming and with some forethought maybe you can have a successful garden program this school year after all.

The key for a successful spring garden program during COVID is going to be efficiency.  This is not the time to try crops you are unfamiliar with.  Stick to basics like lettuce, spinach, bush beans, etc.  Better yet, think about putting some garlic or short-day onions in this fall for harvesting in the spring.

If you have a large school garden, consider planting cover crops on some of the garden and concentrate your efforts on a smaller area that is easily managed.  Can your students help with garden maintenance?

Make sure that the crops you plant are ones that are easily tied to as much of the school curriculum as possible.  Can the crop be used in history classes as well as science classes?  With some creative thought, crops like beans and peas can be used in these disciplines:

Geography – Map the movement of these crops as people moved across the globe

History – How was this crop used in the past, dishes made, cultural significance

Writing – I am a big fan of haiku!  Maybe  “Ode to the Bean!”

Math – How many beans/peas in a pod?  How many pods per plant?

Language Arts – Did grandparents grow these crops?  Think about an oral history project.

Physical Education –  How about bean stretches?  These from Community Seed Network are fun for everyone!

The most important thing to remember is to be kind to yourself and the school garden program.  This is a challenging year and we are all doing the very best we can!

Happy Gardening!

Turnip the Volume- Farm to School Month is Coming!

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October is Farm to School Month and schools and early care centers across Georgia are celebrating all things turnip!  Turnip the Volume (Can you Dig it?) is a state-wide celebration to get kids eating, growing, and participating in turnip-themed activities. To participate in Turnip the Volume at your school, early care center, or in your community, visit https://farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/turnip-the-volume and sign up. Participants will receive free electronic resources to help you plan and implement your activities.  Resources include standards-based lesson plans, quick activities, recipes, videos, school garden planting and harvesting information, and more!  UGA Extension has been a partner in Farm to School Month celebrations and your local UGA Extension office can answer questions about growing turnips or using them in recipes.

The first 300 people to sign-up for the program will be mailed a free packet of turnip seeds, washable turnip tattoos, and a Georgia Planting and Harvest Calendar for school gardens. This information is great for educators making plans for going back to school.

Share your Turnip the Volume pictures and activities on social media with #turnipthevolume. Each week during October, anyone who uses this hashtag will be entered to win a gift card and at the end of the month and we will have a grand prize winner at the end of the month! Questions? Visit https://farmtoschool.georgiaorganics.org/october-f2s-month or email kimberlykoogler@georgiaorganics.org.

Summer 2020 School Garden Training

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Extension has designed a creative approach to school garden education this summer.  On June 16th a no-cost, symposium consisting of four webinars will be conducted through a Zoom classroom.

10 AM Adding Fruit Plant to Your School Garden with Ashley Hoppers, Gilmer and Fannin County ANR agent

11 AM Seed Saving in the School Garden with Rosann Kent with University of North Georgia

Noon – 1 PM Lunch Break

1 PM Vermiculture (worm composting) with Josh Fuder, Cherokee County ANR Agents

2 PM Using the Great Georgia Pollinator Census in Your School Garden with Becky Griffin, the census coordinator

The lunch break, from noon until 1 PM, will be a chance to ask any questions about your school garden and to network with other gardens while we have our lunch.

Additional at-home activities will be available for those who want to put their new skills to immediate use.  For those who complete all four webinars and all four at-home activities a Certificate of Completion will be issued.  This can be presented to your school administration for proof of course completion.

You will be ready to get results from your school garden before school starts back in the fall.  This is open to anyone who works with school gardens – Master Gardeners, volunteers, and educators of all types.

To register for the free symposium visit https://schoolgardenwebinar0616.eventbrite.com. For more information contact Becky Griffin at beckygri@uga.edu.  The details of the day are listed below:

Adding Milkweed to Your School or Community Garden

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Leading up to the Great Pollinator Census we will be looking at the benefits of adding pollinator habitat to your school or community garden.  Today we will look at milkweed.

Common milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa, has a beautiful orange blossom.

Attracting Monarch butterflies to your garden involves including their larval host plant, milkweed or Asclepias, in your garden.  Common milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a popular milkweed with orange blossoms that frequently appears along roadsides.  The beautiful plant also provides nectar to bees and other pollinators.  Many gardeners feel that growing milkweed from seed is challenging and it can be.  However, there are a few tips and tricks that can help you find success.

Common milkweed seeds need to be stratified before they will germinate.  This means that they need a period of moist cold.  In nature, it is easy to see how this is accomplished.  Our winters provide the chill and the rain provides the moisture.  You can mimic this process at home with a few easy steps.

  • First, purchase some clean sand from your local hardware or craft store. Craft or playground sand will work.  Moisten the sand with water until you have a paste.  You want damp sand, not wet sand.
  • Add your milkweed seeds and mix them in the moistened sand.
  • Put all of this in a plastic baggie or jar and label it with the date.
  • Place this in your refrigerator for thirty days. Mark on your calendar the date the seeds will be ready so that you don’t forget them.   Once they have stratified they are ready for planting.
  • Lay the seeds across planting soil, not covering them.  They need light to germinate.  Use your greenhouse or home light set-up.
The rewards of growing milkweed are Monarch caterpillars!

For more information on milkweed join us on the Georgia Pollinator Census Facebook group or on @gapollinators Instagram.  This week we will be exploring milkweed types, ways to grow it, and how it benefits our pollinators.  Leading up to the Great Georgia Pollinator Census we will be exploring all types of pollinators and pollinator habitats in our social media groups.  This year’s Great Georgia Pollinator Census will be on August 21st and 22nd.  You can find out more at the project website:  GGaPC.org.

Happy Garden Planning!

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