Best Practices

I am in the Garden Layout group with Alexis, Kaory and Ruthie.

Our best practices include:
-Figuring out what plants go where; organize the beds by height
-Make sure the plants are near best companions
-Create a logbook:
-Record date of planting/time; first harvest
-What bed/plant

Our experiment will be:
-Plant Comparisons: Organic vs. Industrial/Pesticides and the difference of the plants
-Which one will flourish?
-Take pictures once a week
-We will plant the seeds in two separate pots


The materials:
-Two pots
-Camera
-One non-organic seed
-One organic seed


Hypothesis: If we plant _____ seeds, one with the pesticides and one organic, the non-organic on will thrive, though not the healthiest choice.

Stop Motion Plant Project-What We're Growing

My partner Lyric and I are going to plant bush beans. We are going to put our plant in a round pot. Hopefully our bush bean plant will be successful!

Nutrition: Green beans have low calorie content and are packed with vitamins and nutrients including, vitamin C, vitamin A manganese, vitamin K, potassium, dietary fiber, and iron. They are filled with magnesium, phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids, copper, protein, and calcium.

Origin: In 1654 green beans were introduced to Japan when a Zen Priest brought them over from China.

Fun fact: China is the world leader in the production of green beans.

3 Annotated Bibliographies

"Improving Nutrition through Home Gardening". Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department. September 16 2009 .

This article talks about how home gardens have lots of potential for success. It also talks about how home gardens can benefit families with low income. It gives a brief overview of what foods are the most nutrient rich. It states that roots and tubers are very rich in energy and legumes can be a good source of fat, iron, protein, and vitamins. Green leafy vegetables provide vitamin A, E, and C. Overall fruits and vegetables are highly important in striving for a healthy lifestyle.




"Garden Market Research". National Gardening Association. September 16 2009 .

Within this article, a survey was taken and showed that food gardening in the United States is increasing and becoming more popular. Around seven million or more families plan to start their own gardens in 2009 than in 2008, which is a 19% increase! In the article, they state that more United States citizens are realizing the benefits of growing their own food. It comes with better quality and taste. The survey showed that tomatoes are the most popular vegetable and cucumbers at second most popular vegetable to grow at home.




"Southern California Food Shed". Madison St. Produce. September 16 2009 .

This webpage is a list of some of the food sheds in Southern California and what products each food shed have. One of them is Temecula Berry Co. in Temecula, California, which has honey, blueberries, and more. There is Bates Nut farm in Valley Center, California and they have a variety of nuts and dried fruit. And the Baiamonte Floral & Gourd Farm in Escondido, California where they have avocados, orange trees and other citrus trees.

Senior Project Entry: Waste

I was blown away when the presentation was given about waste on Friday. I had no idea that there are over 8 billion tons of waste accumulated per year in the United States. Just in the United States alone! Regarding food, Americans throw away on average 1.3 pounds of food a day, which is around 474.5 pounds a year. This is a major issue because all this waste takes up space, can harm animals and humans, and makes our water unclean.

I believe that there are many ways in which we can change our lifestyles to be more sustainable. Starting with picking up your trash and other people's trash as well, including dog droppings. Bringing your own reusable grocery bags to the store when you shop can help to reduce the production of plastic bags. Taking home leftovers can help you reduce your, on average, 1.3 pounds of wasted food per day.

Initial Plant Research

Initial Plant Research

My plants: mint and green beans

A little bit about our Climate Zone here in San Diego from Sunset Magazine Online: “ZONE 24. Marine-dominated Southern California Coast 
Growing season: all year, but periodic freezes have dramatic effects (record lows are 33 degrees to 20 degrees F/1 degree to -7 degrees C). Climate here is oceanic (but warmer than oceanic Zone 17), with cool summers, mild winters. Subtropical plants thrive.”

Mint (Mentha): This herb is a native to the Mediterranean and grows like weeds because of their underground stems. They can be grown in pots or planter boxes. Mint will grow almost anywhere but will do the best with lots of full to partial sun, moist, medium-rich soil, and of course water. Mint might disappear in the winter, so replant about every 3 years.

-Grown from seeds

Green beans (snap bean): Being a vegetable, green beans are “frost-sensitive heat lovers”.

-Grown from seeds

-Soil temp. 65-70 degrees F, fresh and fertile soil

To grow-

Step 1: Moisten soil a lot before planting and don’t water again till seedlings have emerged from the soil.

Step 2: Once you see growth, keep the soil very moist and make sure to fertilize the soil after the plants start to grow and again when pods start to form.

These may grow as “self-supporting bushes (bush beans) or as climbing vines (pole beans).” Vines seem to be more productive. For pole beans,

set three or four 8-ft. poles in the ground and tie together at top; or set single poles 3-4 ft. apart and sow six or eight beans around each, thinning to three or four strongest seedlings; or insert poles 1-2 ft. apart in rows and sow seeds as you would bush beans; or sow along sunny wall, fence, or trellis and train vines on web of light string supported by wire or heavy twine. Pods are ready in 50 to 70 days, depending on variety. Pick every 3 to 5 days; if pods mature, plants will stop bearing.

*All research from: Sunset Magazine Online and Green Beans N’ More

http://www.greenbeansnmore.com/how-to-grow-green-beans.html http://www.sunset.com/garden/