More fun with the seeds in your summer mailing.

Cool CUCUMBERS

Cucumber plants have shallow roots so they do well in raised beds or pots but they do need ample soil moisture at all stages of growth. When you start to see t, adequate he actual cukes after the the blossoms fade, moisture becomes especially important.So make sure you have compost and other moisture-holding ingredients mixed in with your soil...like peat moss or even orchid bark.

ACTIVITY: Be a Garden Detective. There are three different sized seeds in the cucumber seed bag. The longest are the Armenian cucumbers; the smallest are the Lemon cucumbers; and the middle-sized ones are most likely the Tendergreen seeds. It gets a little confusing because seds are like people....they come in different sizes! Separate them, count them and then mark them when you pllant them to see how they grow.

Watching cucumbers grow...

Out of this World CARROTS!!!!

 Atomic Red, Solar Yellow, Cosmic Purple, Lunar White and earthly orange... You'll never figure out which carrot seed is which until they grow big enough to see their color.

How many ways can you prepare carrots? Send us your ideas and pictures and we willl post them for everyone to see.

Watching carrots grow...

Pumpkins are a fruit, not a vegetable. It is related to gourds, melons, cucumbers, gherkins and squash. The Master Gardeners tell us that Pumpkins have been grown in America for over 5,000 years. They were completely unknown in Europe before the time of Columbus. Pumpkins and other forms of squash were part of the basic diet of the native people of Native Americans who dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. They also roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The origin of pumpkin pie occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes.” (University of Illinois Extension).

Watching pumpkins grow...

 ACTIVITY: Keep a Garden Journal or Garden Notes. 

Decorate a notebook or a pad of paper and start to write down daily entries describing how your seeds are doing. There are many different things you can record:

List planting dates for seeds and plants.
Write down where you gout your seeds and plants.
Record weather information such as frost dates and rainfall.
Record the dates when first leaves appeared; when flowers appeared: when you harvested your crop.
Did you plants attract any wildlife?
Tape your seed packets or other pictures you find in magazines into your journal.
Add photographs.

Or, if you have less time, just download the Summer Garden Notes page and keep track of the main events that happen as your seeds grow. The pictures will guide you to what things are important.