We have seedlings!

Cantaloupe, corn, and cucumber seedlings are appearing. No sign of the onions, peppers, or tomatoes yet. Hopefully tomorrow we will have the soil for the second box.

Mixing our Soil & Planting Seeds

This week we put 8 bags of manure and 8 bags of potting soil in our boxes. We mixed it with the native soil. This was enough for one box.

We planted cantaloupe, peppers, onions, cucumber, tomatoes and corn.

We use a soaker hose to water the garden.

Making our Boxes

We made two 4 X 8 foot boxes. The lumber was 90% off at Lowes and was a little twisted so they were not perfect. I pre-measured and cut the lumber at home on my chop saw and brought it to school.

While a few of us were putting the boxes together the others were digging holes for the 4 X 4's.

Each box required:
6- 8 foot 2 X 6
1- 8 foot 4 X 4
1lb of deck screws or twisted nails used for decks

Preparing the Soil

The soil in our garden area is extremely hard and is about like modeling clay. We have been wetting it down and digging it up. We will mix soil and manure in soon. Our raised garden beds will be 4 X 8. So far digging the holes for the bed posts has been a challenge. Not only did the ground feel like concrete, we actually had to break some up and remove it!

Gardening 101

Maricopa Wells will be offering a new class for the after school program titled "Gardening 101". We will be researching desert and organic gardening methods. There will be a garden to take care of on campus and hopefully you will be motivated enough to start one at home! The class will be offered on Mon & Thurs. There will only be about 20 spots so if you are interested sign up asap. If you are already in the after school program you can request a schedule change. If you are not signed up you can get an application in the front office. I hope to see you there- Mr. Baker