What is the time commitment involved with starting a garden?
As little as 30 minutes a week. But with Curriculum Bytes – there are pages of fun, integrated activities – your child’s experience will be enhanced with additional science, outdoor, literacy, gardening, technology and healthy eating activities that can be incorporated on a daily basis. It’s up to you… you can spend as much or as little time as you’d like.
What plants can I grow in my climate?
To find out what plants will grow in your climate please refer to the USDA hardiness zone to locate your climate zone. What sun exposure is best? Plants will grow best in 6–10 hours of sunlight per day depending on the vegetable. If you have fewer than six hours of sun available, then you might consider growing mostly herbs, greens (like lettuces and spinach) and partial-shade-loving flowers.
How much do I water my garden
Overall this is one of the main questions that I am asked. You want the soil to be moist but not spongy (or you might get root rot).
If you are planting SeedPops, you have to initially use about a cup of water. Water in the water holes next to your place marker stick. Make sure your SeedPops pops open. Then water the same you would for any other sprout.
If your garden is outside, and you live in an area that is not too dry, rain should take care of it. If you are in a dry area, you may have to water through a drip irrigation or with the hose or a watering can. A general rule of thumb is to water your garden about 2 inches once a week. Watering more often but shallower can lead to weaker root growth due to evaporation. However, gardens and plants vary widely in their water needs.
If you are growing in containers, stick your hand or finger six inches or so into the soil to find out if the soil is too dry or too wet. Then water according. In the summer, if the temperature are high and your containers are outside, you will probably need to water them every day. Here is a good site for watering advice. Gardening Know How.
What are the Garden Extras and how can they be incorporated into the program?
The Garden Extras include additional items that can enhance your child’s Bloomers! experience. The goal of Bloomers! is to get kids excited about gardening and being outside, and to do so we have ‘gamified’ the experience of learning. This includes things such as beautifully embroidered Character Guild Patches – reflecting your child’s chosen avatar that can sewn on a jacket or backpack. We sell illustrated storybooks, stickers, posters, Bloomers! gardening aprons, environment patches that can be awarded to children as they finish the different environments on Bloomers Island, additional seeds and even gardening tools such as a watering can and trowel.