The Tomatoes

The tomatoes plant is green. Its shape is long and it is hanging down. This plant has 14 tomatoes, but the tomatoes are not ready because their color is green. The tomatoes are ready when the color is red. The texture of the tomatoes is smooth. The size of the plant is very big, the texture of the leaves is rough, the smell is sour.

Spicy Civics Salsa

Ingredients:
2 tomatoes
4 jalapenos
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. In a skillet, warm tomatoes and jalapenos.  Remove from heat. 
2. Put tomatoes and jalapenos in a plastic bag for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, peel the tomatoes and jalapenos by hand.
4. Blend all ingredients together for 3 minutes.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Serve salsa in a bowl.

Everything Is Coming Along!

Garden of the Literacy Council

This week was my turn to water the garden. I saw the tomatoes are too big.  One plant has 8 tomatoes and the other has only 5 tomatoes.  I saw 2 tomatoes on the ground, I think they are ready for cooking.  Also, I saw the onion has flowers and the cauliflower had a hole.  The cilantro needed cutting but I forgot the scissors.  Also, I saw the eggplant has beautiful flowers.  I'm worried because I think the tomatoes needed more space.  I feel so happy because all the students of the Literacy Council pass by to see the garden. -Ana Dorado

Garden Update

Keeping Squirrels Out Of Our Garden

Today we learned about the squirrel.  One squirrel came and picked up the mint, tomatoes, jalapenos, beans, and onions.  He took the food to his home.  Today, we're learning about how to keep the squirrels out of our garden.  We searched on the Internet.  We found some solutions.  We can annoy them with motion sensor sounds or lights and a sprinkler system.  We could put a fence in the garden for protection from the animals.  We could plant some garlic or hot peppers to keep the squirrels away.  We could trick the squirrel by putting a scarecrow in the garden.  We could bring in dogs and cats to scare the squirrels.  We could put sunflower seeds on the other side of the yard because they like the seeds.  He will eat the seeds and will not eat the garden.  Information found at HGTV Gardens.

When Are Vegetables Ripe?

The tomatoes are ripe when the color is red.  The tomatoes are not ripe because they are small and green.  The onions are ripe when the stem is 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. the onion is not ready because it is still growing.  Beans are ripe when the pod snaps easily and the tip is flexible.  We need more time for the beans to be ready.  Eggplants are ready when the fruit is half-grown; just before the color dulls.  We don't see any eggplants yet but we see flowers.  A pepper is ripe when firm and shiny.  The pepper is not ripe because it's too small.  Cauliflower is ripe before the rice texture discolors or blemishes.  There is no cauliflower in the garden yet.

The students found this information at Washington State University's Master Gardener Program webpage.

Can you guess what plant this purple flower belongs to?

 

Planning and Planting!

We went to the greenhouse.  Everybody was walking and looking at the place.  The lady explained the greenhouse. The sunshine made the greenhouse hot.  The plants we saw were beautiful colors.  The group went looking for different kinds of plants.  We found tomatoes, peppers, onions, cauliflower, cilantro, mint, and eggplant.  We bought the plants, soil, manure, mulch, and bean seeds.  The lady explained the blue print because it's a little space.  We came back and planted the garden.  We wore gloves because we mixed the soil and the manure.  The garden looks beautiful. 
Thank you for all the help Anton's Greenhouse.

The Garden Season Has Started!

Starting our garden took more than just buying dirt and plants. First we researched the different plants that we would be able to fit into our garden. Then we came up with recipes we could make using those vegetables. Finally, we put together our garden.