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Natural Pest Control in your Edible Schoolyard Garden

Chemicals are toxic and abound everywhere. People apply pesticides and herbicides often without thinking about the consequences. The purpose of your organic edible schoolyard garden is to connect students with both nature and their food supply. It is also a place for thoughtful contemplation for the students. Commit to using natural means to control pests. Most insects in your garden are beneficial, so you want to isolate the unwanted pest rather than blanket spraying everything. Not every pe...

Edible School Garden Grants and Donations

Looking for some extra money to finance your schoolyard garden project? Try to unearth a grant to pay for your expenses. Begin your search at KidsGardening.org or the National Gardening Association. Both maintain a database of current grants available for schoolyard garden projects. There is also your local farm bureau. A county farm bureau may provide seed donations for projects.  As a Master Gardener Volunteer, I was lucky enough to receive seeds and a small cash grant  from the Broward F...

Companion Planting-With A Little Help From Our Friends

In nature, many plants have synergistic relationships. Our ancestors saw this and practiced companion planting in ancient times. Native Americans engaged in companion planting by organizing the crops of maize, squash and beans close together and called them the Three Sisters . Some plants exude chemicals from their roots or aerial parts that repel pests and protect their neighbors. Others attract pests and are used to distract them from the main crop. This is known as trap cropping. Some plan...

Vegetable Planting Guide by Month for South Florida Gardeners

Gardens can be planted year-round in Florida, but fall is the preferred seed-planting season. Below is a planting guide published by the University of Florida/IFAS with recommendations for vegetable planting by month. Many factors influence the productivity of a garden -including; soil quality, water, drainage, amount of available sunlight, nutrients and integrated pest management. We'll explore some of these in later posts. Happy Planting! January February March April...

Worms – Nature’s Greatest Recyclers

Testing Out Our New Worm Factory The latest addition to our garden is this composting worm bin system by The Worm Factory. We purchased ours locally at Donna's Garden Gate and she even included the worms, free. The Worm Factory Worm Composter unit comes with a helpful guide that tells you how to set it up, some interesting facts on vermicomposting, the anatomy of worms and a troubleshooting section. It also includes all the bedding that you need to get started. This makes it an ideal unit fo...

James Hansen on Cap-and-Trade, Tipping Points and Where We Go From Here

In a recent interview, post- the COP15 Conference, the nation's top climate scientist and director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, James Hansen discussed his views on cap and trade, tipping points and how we can move forward in the aftermath of Copenhagen. Hansen also has a new book, Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity where he discusses these issues at length. The entire interview with A...