Checking on our transplants

It's still a bit early for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers to be outside, so we'll have them growing inside in pots for a while longer.  They are next to a window facing south with no trees in the way so they get the most of the sunlight.

Jyaln and Makhi give the transplants water. 

Planting beans and sweet potatoes

It's a warm and sunny day outside!  Late spring is here, and planting is kicking into high gear.

Sweet potatoes are a tropical vine, and aren't related to regular potatoes or yams.  When we order them from the seed catalog, they ship us "slips," or rooted vine segments.  The leaves are a little wilted from their trip, but this is normal.  Today, we buried them in the soil and now we will wait for the fall to dig them up.

Terrence and Ms. Lucy dig holes for sweet potatoes. 

Cecil is adding compost to the soil to add nutrients and beneficial soil organisms (like our friends the worms), and improve drainage.  This year, we planted one bean beneath each fence post.  The beans will use the fence as a trellis.

Transplanting potatoes and eggplants

We started seeds indoors a few weeks ago.  We planted in coconut coir, which is good for holding water, so it's good for germinating seeds, but it doesn't have a lot of nutrients.  The seedlings are mature enough now that they have to be moved to a more hearty potting mix.  They will stay there until it's warm enough for them outside, which won't be for another couple weeks.

Javion fills his pot with potting mix.

Cecil and Javion carefully remove seedlings from their tray, being very careful to disturb the roots as little as possible.

Cutting seed potatoes

Every potato can grow a new plant from each of its eyes, as long as there's enough potato attached to supply energy to make the plant grow.  Today we cut seed potatoes that we will plant on Thursday.  Each piece will produce a new plant, which will give us multiple potatoes.

Jamari slices one evenly.

Cecil uses knife techniques he learned while visiting Gourmet Gorilla's kitchen.

We've got a lot of exciting things going on in our garden

We've got students watering the plants.

We've got garlic doing awesome. 

We've got spinach showing its leaves. 

We've got Chinese cabbage seedlings glistening in the morning dew.

We've got chickens laying lovely eggs. 

We've got happy, healthy students. 

Seeds are sprouting

The seeds we started indoors are doing great!

April is Earth Month

CJA will celebrate Earth Day on Friday, April 25th.  In preparation, the agriculture group discussed some of the problems our planet faces, and we made posters to publicize the event.