Plans for the Future

As summer is starting to come to a close, we have to think about what we are going to do in the Fall and Winter. We want to keep growing vegetables to keep helping families that need food, but it is harder as the weather gets colder. We have started to plan out what we will do with the two garden plots that we have.

In the older garden, we are going to put back up the hoop house that we built last spring and grow mostly kale and collard greens. Those two plants are the two that will grow the best during the winter and not be as affected by the cold.

In the newer garden, we want to build a huge hoop house that will cover both of the beds that we have. In this plot, we will grow green kale, dinosaur kale, and collard greens. We will continue to have lots of leafy greens to give away to families in need! Here is a sketch made by Sabiha to show our ideas:

Farmer's Market

We grew a lot of vegetables and we are giving out limited amount of free vegetables at the Mystic Mobile Farmer's Market, every Saturday this summer! This summer, we have given out collard greens, green kale, and dinosaur kale. We have also given out basil, eggplant, peas, and beans. We are doing this because as part of our grant, we agreed to grow healthy foods, like vegetables, to give out in the community. Every time we give away food, it makes us feel good because we are giving out food to people that need it. Come check us out at the Mystic Mobile Farmer's Market!

Garden Club

Every Monday, we have Garden Club, led by Jim and the Eagle Eye team. Today, we worked hard in the garden doing watering and weeding. Then we picked some Lemon Balm in order to make Lemon Balm Sun Tea. We had to pick all of the leaves off of the stems and wash them to start brewing the tea.

 We also take some time to work on our blog! Keep checking back for updates. 

Summer Work

We have been working very hard on the garden over the summer. Every Monday workers from the Eagle Eye come and help us during Garden Club. During Garden Club, we have to help the younger kids to understand what we are doing.

We teach them how to garden and how to tell what are weeds and what are our plants. 

We had the younger workers help make labels for our garden!

We also teach them where to water the plants and how much water the plants need. 

 

We love the garden and we are an awesome team! 

The New Plot for Gardening

Our community garden has been around for 23 years. We got a new plot given to us because we told the Housing Authority that we would clean it and make it better. They told us that since we cleaned it, we could start using it this summer. Some workers from Eagle Eye Institute helped us clean out the plot and build the raised beds.

BEFORE: That thing was trashed!

DURING: Adults helped to clear the plot because there were a lot of rusty nails.  We couldn't help because we were in school and it was dangerous because we didn't really know what was in there.

AFTER: Go adults! Working hard. 

We (Darien and Sabiha) got to use power tools, and it was Sabiha's first time! Darien got to use a sledge hammer to place the stakes in, and Sabiha got to drill the wooden planks.  We also got to use a saw for this first time.

With the help of Eagle Eye, we got a donation from Home Depot of starter plants to begin the plants. In our new plot, we got kale, peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers. All of the flowering plants are in the first bed, and all of the leafy plants are in the second bed.

Pictures part 1

Our Garden!

Kale and Collard Greens 

Tomatoes, Peppers, Stevia, and Lettuce

Tons of Strawberries!

Sabiha, Darien, and the helpers

Lemon balm, Sage, Greek Basil, Peas, and Beans

The Garden Poem by Sabiha

The Garden

By Sabiha

The garden, the garden

It is green in the trees

The garden means so much to me

In the garden, I feel like a seed

I like to plant strawberries, carrots, and peas

The garden is filled with life

When the fruits and vegetables are ready, I cut them with a knife

It makes me happy, more than twice

I can see, I can smell, I can taste,

I can touch, I can hear

All the fruits and vegetables have sprouted and appeared

It’s like a rabbit in a hat, it reappears

It’s not a magic trick,

My fruits and vegetables are really here

When I go to the garden from time to time

I think of how I’m going to keep my plants alive

I built a greenhouse to keep them warm

So they can be alive and transform

The ground is dirty, and I like canaries

They are real birds, they’re not fairies

I love being in the garden, it makes my world

That’s what makes me an awesome girl!!!!