Cherrybelle Radish

Cherry belle is a round crunchy crispy bright red radish with an outstanding flavor. (20-30 days) a tasty, round, brilliant, red radish with crisp white flesh. Tolerant of poor soils and resists pithiness even in dry, hot weather. May be planted and harvested all summer long. They grow in the spring and fall. The radish is an edible fruit vegetable. They are grown and consumed throughout the world. Radishes have numerous varieties, varying in size, and color. A salad garden, this tasty d radish is tolerant of poor soils. It also resistant to pithiness, even in hot weather. 100% organic radish seed offers a healthier alternative to chemically treated and genetically modified seed. It can grow up to 2.5-3 inches.

Crimson Giant Radish

The Crimson Giant is a larger and rounder type of radish and the radish part can grow as big as an apple! There flavor is a sweeter yet mild taste compared to most radishes and there real name is raphanus sativus. The crimson giant can grow to 4-6 inches tall and need need full sunlight. It takes about 30 days to grow. It spreads so you probably will have a lot of them in your garden. They taste best in sandwiches and salads. They're color could be red or white so don't be surprised if you get a white radish. These radishes are a harder type of radish so they give you a good crunch in your dishes. The crimson giant is rich in vitamin C and is a fairly healthy type of radish. One good feature about the crimson radish is that it can grow well inside but it won't be as big as usual.

Purple Top White Globe Turnip

 The turnip is a root vegetable and is white with a bulbous taproot. In north of Scotland and England the turnip is called neep. The word turnip came from neep. Neep is usually refers to the rutabaga. The rutabaga is a root vegetable known as swede. Turnip leaves are eaten as turnip greens. Turnip tops are called mustered greens in the United Kingdom. Verities of B.rapa have been developed for the use of leaves called Chinese cabbage. Turnip roots weigh about 1 kilogram. The root is rough and cone shaped but is occasionally global. It is about 5-20cm in diameter, and lacks side roots. 

Russian Kale

The dark green leaves of the Russian kale is two to three inches wide. The  actual plant is about ten inches long. It is sweet, thick, chewy ,and juicy. It has a sweet flavor after it freezes. This plant is very popular in central Italy in soups and stews and even pastas. It is a very winter hardy plant. The plant is a member of brassica which is shared by hardy winter plant such as mustard and cabbage. In till the end of the Middle Ages kale was one of the  most common green vegetable. Caterpillars love to eat Russian kale that, is why we have to protect our kale.

Dinosaur Kale

Dinosaur Kale also known as Tuscan Kale, Lacinato kale, Black kale, or Cavolo kale. Dinosaur kale is planted as a winter crop, it can be harvested continuously throughout the winter season. Dinosaur kale is known for its winter hardy resilience. Interestingly once it survives a frost it is even more sweet and tender. Dinosaur kale is a very hardy cooking green with dark dark green leaves and lots of earthy, and nutty flavor. The leaves are so hardy that even when well cooked they retain a wonderful firm texture. If you look for the biggest bunches with the widest leaves you could tell it was Dinosaur Kale.

Arugula

Arugula looks like a longer leaf cabbage,  the open lettuce and is eaten raw in salads with oil and vinegar or in a garnish. It is rich in vitamin C and potassium. It is grown as an eatable herb in the Mediterranean area since roman times. Arugula is traditionally collected in the wild. In west Asia and northern India arugula seeds are pressed to make   taramira oil. In Italy arugula is often added to pizza. It is a herb and  can grow to 24"-36" tall (60-90 cm tall). It is known as aruca salad rocket and is possibly a type of cabbage. It can be eaten raw. It takes up to 12"-18" of space (30-45cm). It has a inflorescence and young fruit for Rucola. Before the 80's arugula was not well known to the English. It is a sweet and peppery digestive alcohol called Arucolino, made on the island of Ishcia, in the gulf of Naples, Florida. The liqueur is a local specialty enjoyed in small quantities.

Chinese Cabbage

Chinese cabbage is a loose and softer kind of cabbage. It tastes more watery better tasting and very crisp. It has flat white ribs wrapped around by dark green leafs.  The Chinese cabbage Has been around for more than 1,000 years. It was first found in the 5 century. The Harvesting time is 8-10 weeks. It is better for growing in the winter, and Can grow When it has a lot  of sun in a cool climate. It would work in warmer weather but you need a lot of shade. If you wanted to grow It you would Need rich soil to grow it and needs to be in the middle of the U.S.A or below It can grow all year. If you try to move it it will probably die. It tastes best in salad cole slaw stir-fry and pasta dishes   It is shaped more like a cylinder with up right leafs. And tastes delicious!!

Blooms Dale Spinach

Blooms dale spinach is thick and a dark plant and are sweet in salads. The plant is very savored also meant as crumbled. The blooms-dale spinach great food source it is nutritious and keeps you strong. Spinach grows  well in the winer and  late spring. It mostly grows in Northern Europe. It need to have full sun or part of the sun. The hight is eight to ten inches it also takes forty to forty-eight to mature. The steam has a sweet flavor and succulent texture. Spinach is a very popular veggie and it lives for at least a year. It can stand the cold but not the heat. 

Salad Bowl Red Lettuce

Red bowl lettuce is the main ingredient to salad. It has red or green leaves and grows well in all seasons. It is slow to grow, and it can grow up to 15 inches. It also needs little water. It has sweet flavored leaves it releases up to 100 seeds at a time used to make soup.It is loose leaf non heading. It is a member of the sunflower family.The Romans are credited with finding it It can spread 6 inches. Red salad bowl has oak in tossed salad. Plants make large rosettes. Long-standing, slow to bolt, can be harvested over period of time. Harvest in about 50 day. We produce over 40 million lbs. of lettuce over 1 month. An average a,Erica's consumes 26 lbs. of lettuce every year. Over twenty million servings of salad are consumed every week. Red salad bowl lettuce is a great addition to any garden. It produces sweet flavored, tender, deep red and finely divided leaves. Is variety will no go bitter and is heat tolerant. Red lettuce seeds can be started indoors four weeks before the last frost date. For a continual harvest sow new seeds every 2 weeks. Red salad bowl lettuce is ready to eat in twenty eight days for the baby leaves, or for the full size leaves it takes around fifty one to fifty eight days. 

Salad Bowl Lettuce

This vegetable takes 28 days to become a baby takes 50 days to become full size the cakleaf type full to part sun good soil steady water and feeding cool season vegetable for salads, slow to bolt. The nutritional value of lettuce varies with the variety. In general, lettuce has small amounts of dietary fibers and some carbohydrates, a little protein and a trace of fat. Iceberg is a head lettuce that is very low in nutritional value and flavor. The most abundant nutrient in iceberg lettuce is water. Dark green lettuce leaves always indicate higher fiber, flavor and nutritional value. The most important nutrients in lettuce are vitaminA and potassium. The vitaminA comes from beta carotene (beta carotene is converted to vitaminA in the body). Scientists are constantly breeding different types of lettuce. The chief diseases of lettuce include bottom rot, doyny, mildew, and lettuce drop. Crop rotation and chemical treatment of the soil help prevent these diseases.Another disease, tip burn, may be caused by too much heat or humidity. Scientests have developed types of lettuce that resist tip burn. These types include minetto and Fulton.

Growing!!

The garden looks great. We have been watering also everyday. The plants are liking the cool mornings but not the sunny afternoons. The kale especially is wilting in the full sun after school. Hopefully the cool weather this weekend will make the plants more happy. We have noticed the leaves in ALL of our plants having many little holes. Mrs. Reichele did some research and found our problem. We have flea beetles!! She bought some spray that is safe, and it is doing the trick.

Planting Complete!!

 Our plants are in!! The hard work is completed, and now we only need to watch the garden grow. Actually, we will need to keep watering. We planted Kale (Dinasour and Red Russian), Chinese cabbage, Spinach, Arougula and Salad Bowl Lettuce (Regular and Red). From seed, we planted Purple Top White Globe Turnips, Cherrybelle Radishes and Crimson Giant Radishes. The fifth graders are so excited and have worked very hard. They can't wait to eat the fruits of their labor.

Rotation 1 Prepping

Rotation 1 began the day with having to correct the erosion issue. With the help of Austin's dad, we were able to take every rock on the perimeter and bring them to the top of the soil so they will stop the erosion from occuring in the futre. Lexi's grandfather also helped with weeding the rows of our garden. We now have weed-free rows thanks to his hard work and guideance.

Rotation 2 Prepping

Rotation 2 had the task of laying newspapers and covering them with line needles. We would like to thank Abigail's mother for coming out and helping us.

 

Rotation 3 Prepping

Rotation 3 did a great job of mixing the turkey compost with the soil. Because there were over 50 students and we had limited number of tools to work the soil, students used their own hands to help get the job completed.

Prepping

 Everyone did a fabulous job of prepping our garden. We were able to "fix" the borders by pulling the rocks out of the erosion and placing them on top of the soil. We also covered the perimeter with newspaper and pine needles. The rows got weeded as well, and we turned turkey compost in all 5 rows so that they will be ready for planting next week.

"De-weeded"

 

We would like to give a big thanks to Mike Beuerlein. He came to school this weekend and went above and beyond our expectations. He only needed to knock the weeds down, but he also raked the weeds AND pulled some as well. The garden is now ready for the students. We can't thank Mike enough for a job well done. Everyone is excited about what we can do now.

The Garden!!

The fifth grade is happy to announce that it has inherited the Eanes Elementary Garden. Our first step is to find a volunteer to come to school this weekend and weedeat the weeds. We will collect the fallen weeds and will cover the edges with newspaper and hay or pine needles next week as our first task in making our garden grow. We are very excited but rushed about getting a winter crops grow.