Truro Public Library

We followed Anna’s plan:

• played a game of Tag You’re Fit
• recapped last week: we placed the garden stones, planted seeds (which ones? anyone remember? Answer: filled in radishes & lettuce, planted carrots)
• walked through the garden and looked at progress. Beans are up now, as well as potatoes, radishes, lettuce and peas.
• Francie showed how to thin the radishes carefully! Choosing the smaller plants and making room for the bigger ones.
• everyone tried the radish sprouts (a tiny bit spicy) after picking them and rinsing them in two buckets of water and draining.
• pulled the rotting kale stalks and cleared out the rest of the center bed.
• found an Oak tree seedling in the center bed. Probably buried by a squirrel who forgot where it was stashed.
• watered carefully, no puddles!

The seedling trays are coming along nicely in Anna’s greenhouse. A few things should be ready to go in in the next few weeks!

We took pictures to thank our supporters:

Bayberry Gardens; Cape Air; Cape Cod 5;

Seamen’s Bank; Truro Non-Resident Taxpayers Association

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.

After playing a game of tag and posing with a giant sign to thank all our terrific supporters, first grader Olivia and second grader Nico volunteered to be the record keepers. They recorded a 62°, partly sunny/cloudy day.

Everyone helped pull weeds and lots of grubs, ladybugs and two luna moth pupae were discovered. Carrots, garden beans and yard-long beans were planted in the third bed. The radishes and lettuces we planted last week have come up already as well as potatoes we left in the ground last year! Lots more watering happened since there wasn’t much rain last week.

We had 3 visiting chicks: a Buff Orpington, named Amelia Earhart, because she likes to fly up to the hand that feeds her; a Plymouth Barred Rock, named Nadia Comaneci, because she likes to practice gymnastics on her roosting pole; and a Silver Laced Wyandotte, named Bobby’s Red Fire Truck, because a grandson likes that name. Chickens are great for gardens because they produce a lot of manure for the soil and they eat a lot of grubs and other insects that might eat plants. Each child could hold out their hand of special chicken food for the birds to peck.

Next Anna and Francie asked the kids to choose a packet of seeds and put them in the Spring, Summer or Fall pile and we found out there needs to be some in-between piles and sometimes certain seeds can be planted at different times of the year.

Next, the kids made rows to plant red lettuce, spinach and radishes. Then they carefully scattered the seeds, covered them lightly with soil and gently watered.

Today we remembered summer vegetables and the garden. We looked at books and the works of various artists who have painted still life and Francie discussed their techniques. After making a list of all the food that was grown in the garden, each child chose a plant to paint.

First grader, Dylan and fourth grader, Robin worked together and noted a 54° day. It felt cold, windy and sunny. After a session of Tag You’re Fit we picked and ate some Fall kale. We found peas blooming and the radishes and spinach were growing taller (we’ll hoop them soon). We picked late red runner beans and ate them – yum!

We went inside the library and saw pictures of the summer garden and remembered summer vegetables and fruits we grew: strawberries, peas, radishes, carrots, sunflowers, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, watermelons, cucumbers, zucchini and beans. We talked about summer garden paintings for next week.

• play Tag You’re Fit
• harvest and eat beans and kale
• recall fruits and vegetables grown last summer