Planting Mix and Mosaic Stepping Stones–May 16, 2013

Anna brought three seed trays and talked about why and how the soilless planting mix in the compartments was different from the dirt in the garden. They noticed how light and fluffy it felt as they loosened the mix which contained humus and small white balls called perlite which help make air pockets. Ella said it needed to be light so the seedlings could break through and Nico said the water wouldn’t soak in if it was packed down too much.

Anna gave each child a packet of seeds (donated by the 4-H Cooperative Extension) to plant and were encouraged to determine if the seeds were going to be big or tiny. These included cantaloupe, pumpkin, cucumber, radish, tomato, cherry tomato and lemon cucumber – YUM!

Then everyone helped dig some mosaic stepping stones into the garden walkways. They were made in 2006 when Curt and Kelli Smith led a workshop for children and donated the beautiful stones to the library. Next came watering the new seedlings in the garden and a game of tag.