Garden Secrets: Garden Growth and Care

For a class gardening project, you are asked to plant, grow, and harvest fruits and vegetables. The
produce grown will be donated to your local food pantry. Before gardening, your teacher asked you to
write an informational article about planting, growing, and harvesting fruits and vegetables that you will
present to your class before beginning your gardening project. You found three sources for your research.
In your article, explain what you have learned about planting, growing, and harvesting fresh fruits and
vegetables.

Review each of the three sources and use the most important facts and details to develop a main idea
about gardening. Then, write a multi-paragraph informational article about planting, growing, and
harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables. Clearly organize your article and explain your ideas. Reference the
source title or number when quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing evidence from the sources.

Source One

Excerpt from "Gardening 101: How Much Time Will It Take?"

By W. Atlee Burpee & Co., provided courtesy of Burpee.com

How Much Time Will It Take?

How much time you spend in your garden depends on what you want to grow and how large an area
you want to cultivate. Gardening is a season-driven activity. The seasons requiring the most work
are spring and fall, with summer generally a time of maintenance and harvest and winter a time to
dream and plan and start your seeds indoors.

Start small, see how much time it takes for you to maintain the garden to your standards, and grow
from there!

What Type of Garden Do You Want?

● A vegetable garden requires full sun and plenty of water. You can often grow three seasons
of crops, changing cool-season spring crops for warm-season summer ones, then back to
cool in fall. You may need to fence in the garden if you have animals.
● A flower garden can be grown in sun or shade, depending on the plants you choose.
● Trees are a long-term investment, and you should always plan for their mature sizes when
choosing a location. They add structure to the garden and can define its boundaries. They
 work well in combination with flowering plants and shrubs as long as they have plenty of
room for their roots to grow.
● Shrubs are wonderfully versatile, long-lived woody plants that can form the backbone of a
flower garden.
● No space, no worries! Container gardening allows you to grow veggies, fruit, and flowers
right on your porch, patio, or deck.

What do Plants Need?

Plant Basic Requirements

Like all living things, plants have essential needs that must be met in order for them to grow. The
basic needs all plants share are:

● Soil
● Water
● Nutrients
● Sun
● The proper growing temperatures
● Time. Everything needs time to grow.

Each type of plant has its own specific needs within these categories. For example:

● Some plants can tolerate more shade and will burn in the sun, while others require full sun
and will be weak in shade.
● Some prefer very wet soils and will wilt if the soil is too dry, while others need a well-drained
soil and will rot if the soil is too wet.
● Every plant has a preferred soil pH range and will not grow well if the pH is too high or too
low.

What You Can and Cannot Control in the Garden:

We can control many of the basic needs of plants in our gardens, but it is important to always
remember, we cannot control everything. Environmental factors to consider are:

● Weather (storms, drought, excessive heat or cold will occur and these factors are beyond our
control)
● Insects (both good and bad) are a natural part of the garden
● Birds, rabbits, deer, groundhogs, squirrels and other animals in the garden can pose
challenges
● You cannot control the speed at which your plants will mature. All plants need time to grow.
Choosing Seeds or Plants:

Picking a Plant to Grow

Seed is the youngest and cheapest form of plant available. Many annual flowers and vegetables are
easy to grow from seed because the seed grows quickly and is easy to handle. Some varieties take
a long time to grow from seed or are challenging to grow from seed, and many gardeners prefer to
grow these products from plants. Many perennial and fruit plants are not produced from seed and
are therefore only available in plant form.

Source Two

Excerpt from "Planting Your School Garden: Planting Seeds Inside to

From the publication Gardens for Learning

By Alicia Dickerson of Life Lab and Debbie Delatour

To view the full publication Gardens for Learning, click here. The full chapter "Planting Your School
Garden" from Gardens for Learning, is on page 55.

Planting Seeds Inside to Transplant Outdoors

Starting seeds indoors extends the growing season, allows greater variety in plant choice, simplifies
care of newly germinated seeds, and produces a lot of plants for less money. Some vegetables,
such as beans, carrots, and squash, prefer to be sown directly in the garden. Others, such as basil
and lettuce, can be started indoors or direct seeded. Refer to planting guides or read the information
on seed packets for more information on growing time.

When to Plant. The best time to start seedlings depends on the crop and the climate. Generally,
seeds should be started three to eight weeks before the typical last frost date for your area, or so
that plants mature before excessive heat arrives.

Containers. Any container at least 3 inches deep will work for seed starting. Students can collect
plastic yogurt containers, milk cartons, and plastic milk jugs and poke holes in the bottom for
drainage. Commercial peat and plastic containers come in standard sizes, and some are reusable.

Potting Mix. Use a soilless seed-starting mix, available at any garden center. These contain a blend
of finely ground materials that provide adequate moisture retention and aeration. Many also include
a small amount of fertilizer to help seedlings get off to a good start.
Temperature and Light. Indoors, most seeds germinate best at soil temperatures between 70 and
75 degrees and air temperatures between 65 and 70 degrees. Once they're up, seedlings need lots
of light, or they'll grow tall and weak. Relying on sunlight may limit seed options; grow lights and
fluorescent lights provide more control over light availability. If you use grow lights, keep the tops of
the seedlings within a few inches of the bulbs and leave the lights on for 12 to 16 hours a day. Check
seedlings daily and raise the lights as they grow taller.

Water and Fertilizer. Until seeds germinate, keep the soil moist by spraying it with a pump sprayer
or mister. Cover the pots with clear plastic to preserve moisture. Once the first seedlings germinate,
remove the plastic and place the container under lights. Consistent moisture is very important, but
be careful that soil doesn't get too wet because excess moisture can cause rot. Begin fertilizing the
seedlings when they have their second set of true leaves. (The first leaves that emerge upon
germination are seed leaves, also called cotyledons; they do not have veins as the true leaves do.)
Use a mild fertilizer diluted for seedlings as directed on the product label. Some seed-starting mixes
contain fertilizer, but your seedlings may use it up before you are ready to transplant them. Always
follow the warnings on fertilizer products and store them in a secure location.

Transplanting. A week before transplanting seedlings into the garden, begin to acclimate them to
the outdoors (a process known as hardening off). Place containers outside each day that week,
gradually increasing the number of hours they spend outside. Start by placing them in a partly shady
spot sheltered from the wind; each day, expose them to more sun and wind. By the end of the
hardening-off period, they should be able to withstand full sun and stay outdoors overnight. When it's
time to transplant, water the seedlings well beforehand. Dig a hole for each transplant, as noted on
the seed packet. As they plant, you may want to incorporate compost or fertilizer beside the plant to
add to soil fertility (if using liquid fertilizer, read the label carefully; seedlings require a weaker
solution than established plants). Then, firm the soil around the root ball, water it well, and mark the
bed. To reduce transplant shock, avoid transplanting in the midday heat.

Source Three

How Does A Seed Become A Plant? | Backyard Science | SciShow Kids

*The sources provided herein were modified to meet Lexile, word count, and content
requirements.

Work Cited

W. Atlee Burpee & Co. "Gardening 101: How Much Time Will It Take?" Burpee | Burpee Seeds and
Plants Home | Garden Advice Center | Flower Gardening | Gardening 101, W. Atlee Burpee & Co.,
2018,
www.burpee.com/gardenadvicecenter/areas-of-interest/flower-gardening/gardening-101/gard
ening_101.html. Online article. Accessed on 29 June 2018 by Vantage Learning.

Dickerson, Alicia, and Debbie Delatour. "Planting Your School Garden: Planting Seeds Inside to
Transplant Outdoors." Gardens for Learning, 2nd ed. Edited by Sarah Pounders, Collective School
Garden Network, California School Garden Network, 2010,
https://www.calameo.com/read/0016599915062d3328992. Online article and in print article.
Accessed on 25 June 2018.

How Does A Seed Become A Plant? | Backyard Science | SciShow Kids Published on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkFPyue5X3Q .