Students at Hillcrest Christian in Overland Park, KS harvested sweet peas out of the garden.  This was their first time tasting anything out of their garden since becoming Schoolyard Garden members last February. There was a lot of excitement from everyone, and one student remarked that he wanted to “eat all of the sweet peas” and he “loved being outside in the garden”!

After harvesting the remaining sweet peas, we pulled the plants out to make room for the tomato transplants and bean seeds.  Once we finished planting we went over how to water our delicate seeds and seedlings and why it’s so important to water the garden once a day, especially in these hot, sunny summer days!

Watering Seeds and Seedlings

A newly planted garden should be watered everyday so that the seeds germinate and seedlings and transplants start to grow becoming more established.  Using a mist or gentle spray setting because a harsh water spray will damage seedlings and wash away seeds. Shallow watering will prevent drowning the delicate seeds and seedlings.

At Hillcrest, students each took turns watering the new tomatoes and bean seeds using a gentle spray, being mindful to evenly spray the water back and forth.

Watering Established Plants

Moving onto watering the carrots and broccoli, I mentioned that these more established spring plants should be watered every other day. Rather than watering these shallowly, the established plants got a deep, thorough watering!