Kids Garden Club - Second Saturdays

Thanks for coming out to the Kids Garden Club this past Saturday!

We all had a great time finding new uses for our Christmas Trees and making our glitter globes!

Hope to see you next time on Jan 10th.

Go forth and grow!

To see the complete project guide click here.

Give Peas a Chance

To grow, that is. 

We were out on a beautiful Sunday morning at the FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) walk to help spread awareness about food allergies.  We figured, if you really want to know what's in your food, then grow it yourself! With food allergies becoming so prevalent in recent years, it's such a challenge to make sure that our families are getting safe food to eat. Getting back to basics with growing and eating nutritious whole fruits and veggies could be the answer for a lot of families. Not only is it fresher, healthier and more economical, it's also a lot of fun!

As we sat amongst our display of rainbow chard, mustard greens and cabbage, we gave away lots of information of growing veggies out here in our desert as well as a pea growing starter kit.

Just put the biodegradable square into the ground or a pot and water. 

Peas are such an easy and rewarding vegetable to grow. Not only do they give you those sweet sweet pods to eat, but they are a beautiful cool weather vine that delivers a delicate white bloom just before developing the pea pod. For best results, plant 20 to 30 pea seeds per person that will eat them in your household. You can plant very close together (2" apart) but make sure to give them a structure to vine onto. Maybe a trellis or some old sticks and yarn that you have lying around. Get creative and get growing!

Happy Birthday Nevada

We gave a few scares but it didn't stop us from handing out lots of candy at Old Nevada Days at Tule Springs Floyd Lamb Park. This inaugural Horses for Heroes Harvest Festival was complete with a pumpkin patch and wagon rides, a costume contest and Floyd Lamb's historic landmark buildings. This Birthday/Halloween party was a fantastic way to celebrate Nevada, 150 years strong.

Too Much Fruit?

Come Join us for a fruit filled afternoon!

Community Garden Sunday

Made a visit to our plot over at the Master Gardeners of Southern Nevada's Community Garden at Floyd Lamb Park. I planted this plot near the end of August and was able to harvest a bunch of the basil that I'd planted. Actually I HAD to harvest because it was getting so crowded that there wasn't enough sunlight getting to the tomato plants that are growing right next to them. Now that I've thinned out the basil bushes, we should start to see some more sun bathed ripe tomatoes!

When life gives me way too much basil, I make basil pesto.

What you'll need:

• Food Processor
• Basil (leaves only)
• Sea salt
• Garlic cloves
• Pine nuts
• Olive oil

Combine all ingredients into the food processor and process until desired consistency. Add more olive oil for use on pastas or potatoes. Use as a paste on pizza, appetizers or sandwiches. Yum!

Pancakes are Delicious

And these tiny syrup jars can house more than the maple-y goodness that dons your Sunday morning indulgence.

This little planting pleasure started with a cup of coffee and a fantastic breakfast at Eat, the downtown breakfast and lunch spot that's been featured on The Cooking Channel's show, Road Trip with G. Garvin.
After a few weeks and more than a few stacks of pancakes, I finally worked up the nerve to ask Natalie, the restaurant owner, if I could come pick up some of her jars for a project.

Succulents are a good pick for this small of a growing space. Since there's no way for the water to drain out of the soil in these jars, you really can't water very much or very often. Succulents are so drought-friendly that you can get away with watering only once a month and still have a nice green addition to your space.

What you'll need:

• small glass jars for planting (jam, jelly, syrup or pretty much anything that strikes your fancy)
• cactus and succulent soil mix
• a tiny cactus or succulent (cuttings from other succulents would work wonderfully)
• ribbon or twine for decoration (optional)

How to:

Make sure to thoroughly clean your jars to avoid growing something that you did not intend to. 

If you're growing from a cutting, let the piece that you've cut dry out on the bottom for at least a day before putting it into the soil. 

Fill up your jar to a half inch from the top (maybe a couple tablespoons of soil). Place your cutting, cut side down, into the soil and use a couple pinches of additional soil to help fill in around the cutting. 

Water in with about 2-3 tablespoons of water and mark your calendar to water again one month from the day.

If you'll be planting a new succulent or cactus make sure to purchase as small of a container as possible. A 2" size is usually the smallest you can find. Pull the plant out and lightly tap some of the soil away from the root ball. You'll have to do a little squeezing into the jar but you probably won't have to add any additional soil. Again, be careful not to water more than once a month indoors or twice a month outdoors in an area sheltered from too much wind or sun. (Avoid afternoon sun entirely)

Get creative and jazz up your jars with ribbon or twine to add your own touch. These also make great gifts!

Happy Planting!

Seed Bombs Away!

We had a great time making burlap seed bombs with the kids at the Southern Highlands Fall Festival on Saturday! The weather was perfect for a day in the park with lots of candy, games, bouncy houses, and music.

Star Nursery was there spreading the word about our Kids Garden Club and getting everyone revved up for the Fall Planting season.

Inspired by a group of Guerrila gardeners in San Diego , we decided that this would be a great time of year to try our hands at our own Las Vegas version of a seed bomb. Faced with a few more challenges than southern California, we have to tweak our strategy to improve the chances of germination. Here's what we came up with!

Burlap Seed Bombs:

• 6"x6" piece of burlap
• handful of potting soil
• pinch of wildflower seeds
• natural twine (to tie)

Place a small handfull of soil directly in the center of the burlap.

Put just a tiny pinch of seeds into the center of the soil.

Fold in the corners of the burlap so that the soil doesn't fall out.

Tie the twine around the top to secure.

Plant your bomb into the ground or into a pot, bottom side up making sure to cover it with a thin layer of soil.

Water everyday to keep the soil evenly moist.

Look out for flower bombs exploding in a space near you!

Kay Carl, Meet Oakie.

Spent a super sunny day out at Kay Carl Elementary School to plant a Southern Live Oak Tree (which the students enthusiastically named Oakie) in the parking lot in front of the school as part of a collaborative effort to teach our children more about trees. 

 

Tommy Mac of PBS's "Rough Cut" in conjunction with the Hardwood Forest Foundation and Truth About Trees are traveling the nation educating our youth on the facts about growing and responsibly harvesting hardwood trees for a multitude of uses. They led the students in activities to recognize things that are made from trees that we use everyday and a simulation of what happens to old trees in a densely populated forest.  They concluded the day's presentation with a sing along song to help them remember what they'd learned.