Twenty-Fourth Meeting 5/4/23
IT'S THE END OF THE YEAR BUT WE FINALLY GOT OUR MERCHHHH!!! This year we got super cute green hoodies with a lil' pocket sized frog logo <3. We continued with the usual art and garden maintenance activities. We can't really do much planting or harvesting right now so bear with us!
Twenty-Third Meeting 4/27/23
We're finally back after two weeks! With AP tests and finals rounding the corner, we decided to have a little snack party to wind down and destress. Our dear president Jasmine brought some homemade nacho cheese, pickled radish, and baked potatoes :))) Everything was so yummy that we finished both family sized bags of chips and all the potatoes. Afterwards, the art team finished the base layer of the night sky while the rest of us chilled indoors. You guys are hella good dancers .o.
Twenty-First Meeting 4/6/23
Today's fun was exactly the same as our nineteenth meeting, except it wasn't raining and we had some karaoke! After singing our hearts out to Christmas songs (yes, in April) and trendy new hits, we shuffled out into the garden, picked our radishes, and finished painting the base coat of the mural. Also we really need to bring in some mosquito fish ASAP.
Twentieth Meeting 3/30/23
We got a three-day weekend thanks to Cesar Chavez Day! However, that meant a trade off on our block days, and therefore, our after school meeting. But as members of the garden club, we learn to be resourceful and adaptable in order to grow crops with what we have. We used that adaptability to swap out our planned meeting with a quick and fun mushroom activity during lunch.
Nineteenth Meeting 3/23/23
Today was a little rainy so we kept things chill and cozy indoors with some arts and crafts. We painted some leftover cans donated by CSF and practiced painting trees for our upcoming mural.
Eighteenth Meeting 3/16/23
Throwback to first semester! We shoveled horse manure out of Jasmine's truck again :) Before that, we also voted on merch designs and sketched part of the mural. I don't have pictures because I was part of the mural team and there wasn't much to update.
Seventeenth Meeting 3/10/23
To start the meeting, we had a fun little ice breaker. We made a one sentence story by saying one word per person. They were kind of questionable like "Peanuts are terrible so I don't eat vegetables because they are terrible for dating." Today was a rainy day, so we couldn't continue painting the mural. Instead, a small group of us practiced painting trees to prepare for painting the tree of life. We also went out the the student parking lot to steal some mulch from the piles sitting back there >:) Mulch serves to protect the soil from frost, encourages a healthy environment and microbiome, and prevents weeds from sprouting. After that, we headed out into the garden and transplanted pepper plants that had grown a little to big for their current pots.
Sixteenth Meeting 3/2/23
This time we learned about pest control and the cultures of past civilizations that were closer to the Earth than we are today. Pests like aphids and earwigs can wreak havoc on young sprouts and mid sized plants in large numbers. We used an environment-safe option to control their numbers: neem oil. We sprayed a diluted mixture on the dill, cilantro, catnip, and pretty much every plant in the garden to keep them safe. We also made some smelly oil traps in the bok choy bed to hopefully reduce the number of earwigs. Inside, a few of us put brainstormed for a future mural! We hope to include some Norse and Native American figures/symbols such as the Green Man, Beltane, and harmony.
Fifteenth Meeting 2/16/23
This was probably our busiest meeting yet! Our two hour meeting was jam packed with a fun little ice breaker, composting, pond repairing, and even more transplanting. We split into a couple different groups to get things done more efficiently. One group headed over to the Pirate Cove by the social workers' offices and transplanted some peas by our radishes. Another focused on finally trimming that succulent in the corner!!! We chopped up the cuttings into smaller pieces and tossed them into the compost along with the expired pumpkin puree left over from CSF. Our compost is looking refreshed :D After that, we regrouped and patched up the pond since there was leak that caused the water level to drop by half. Now it's all patched up and looks better than ever! Good work y'all :)) Also, shoutout to Sophia for making beautiful sign after sign!
Fourteenth Meeting 2/9/23
During this meeting, we continued with our transplanting activities from last week which we didn't have time to finish. We moved spinach seedlings into the the raised beds besides the lettuce to grow together. We also dug a giant hole for a pond filled with duckweed that floats on the surface. To go along with the pond, we painted some rainbow posts and scattered wildflower seeds. This will hopefully attract some bees to pollinate our other crops as well. Afterwards, we all stood likes sims to admire our hard work.
Thirteenth Meeting 2/2/23
After going over a short lesson about transplanting, we separated the cabbage sprouts and put them in their own pots to grow bigger with enough space. At the same time, we had a painting activity to make signs for the different plants around the garden. Finally, we tried some of the ripe peas. Y'all are cuties btw! <3 One of them got old and wrinkly though. We'll save that to plant new pea plants next year.
Twelfth Meeting 1/26/23
Tom Boehme came to our club and taught us about the benefits of vermicomposting. Red wigglers are different from the typical earthworm: they eat more and tend to live near the surface of the soil. Their waste is some of the best fertilizer because their digestive process increases the bioavailability of nutrients, making it easier for plants to use them. Afterwards, Mr. B gave us a bunch of red wigglers to start our own worm bin! We're incredibly thankful for this opportunity and will cherish our new worm babies :)
Seventh Meeting 11/17/22
After having an informational session about water propagation, we brought compost that had been sourced from a local farm into our garden. It had been loaded onto a truck, which was then brought using one of the custodian's carts and plenty of excited members. It was mixed into our garden soil and spread across the D-building beds. For those who didn't want to get themselves dirty, there was a painting activity... which allowed us to finally put up our rainbow fencing!! In addition to bringing more attention to our garden spaces, we hope that this will bring more inclusivity and kindness in our school.
Sixth Meeting 11/03/22
After contacting the social workers, we collected piles of leaves in the Pirate Cove to use for our compost. We also planted kale, peas, radishes, and beets in the small garden beds. This beautiful area had been completely covered in leaves and insects, making it impossible to be enjoyed by students. One of our main goals with this club is to make the school a better place, and we were more than happy to help out our social workers!
Fifth Meeting 10/27/22
Get ready to paint! We all headed over to the senior glen to paint fencing for the D-buildings and pots to decorate our garden.
Fourth Meeting 10/20/22
For this meeting, we announced our planting plans for the fall/winter season. We had voted on the crops that we wanted to grow, and arranged them based on companion planting. This is where crops are planted in close proximity to help benefit either plant, by encouraging growth, keeping pests away, and minimizing garden space while increasing yield. We also had an informational session on bok choy and cucumbers, which were then planted in metal trays. Once the seedlings reach a larger size, they will be moved to our main garden beds. Then, we finished the meeting by cleaning up the D-building beds.
Third Meeting 10/06/22
We split up into groups to research and created plant labels for each herb(information on the backs). We also planted our pinto beans!
Second Meeting 9/22/22
After watching a few informational videos about gardening, we voted on the crops that will be planted this fall/winter season. We also went out to the garden and planted seven types of herbs: Cilantro, Basil, Thyme, Peppermint, Garden Chives, Catnip, and Dill.
First Meeting! 9/15/22
This week, we introduced what Greenfingers is about and cleaned-up our garden! It was Covered in weeds and trash.