Grow Organic

I included this page because I want people to know that when they grow their food you are the farmer and you know where the food comes from and the growing practices. A great reason to grow you own food is that you will be able to control the amount of pesticides and fertilizers that you consume and because you know how you grew it. I think people should grow fruits and vegtables that are most likely to be sprayed with pesticides and fertilizers. All of the fruits and vegtables on the Dirty Dozen list are very easy to grow here in Ontario. Where I live, it's really easy for most people to grow their own apples, strawberries, and potatoes. If you aren't able to grow them, you can try to find them at a Farmer's Market.

Below is a video that is very fun and you will see how easy it is to grow potatoes in a bucket!

Also, the book "An Illustrated Guide to Growing Food on your Balcony" written by Lara Lucretia Mrosovsky has some great tips on growing you own food, such as carrots and strawberries, if you live in an apartment or somesort.

Kids Growing

This book is inspiring me to create my own garden at home and at school. To create the garden here at school, I'm going to need a plan, supplies, and some helpers. Stay tuned, see what happens!

Here is a link to Organic Gardening, it has the steps on growing your own organic strawberries at home.

How to Grow Organic Strawberries





Growing Organic Strawberrries

I wanted to plant strawberries because strawberries are my favourite fruit and I wanted to see the progress of their growth from a seed to a solid fruit from my own eyes. The seeds will grow and then I will be able to eat the strawberries, I have always wanted to grow my own food. Jo helped me through the steps of creating the pots for the strawberries and planting the seeds into the pots. i thought the pots were really interesting to make since they are made of newspaper, I have only seen pots made of peat. Just in case you would like to grow organic strawberries yourself at home, here are the steps.

Making a pot with newpaper:

Step 1:  Rip a sheet of newspaper in half

Step 2: Fold the sheet in half

Step 3: Fold in half again

Step 4: Use the wooden pot maker, tin can, or a toilet paper roll and roll the newspaper around it

Step 5: Grab the end of the newspaper and fold it along the edge of the wooden pot maker, tin can, or toilet paper roller (make sure there is no holes)

Step 6: Press the pot into the base of the wooden pot maker



Step 7: Tape the side of your pot accross

Step 8: Tape the bottom of your pot

Step 9: Take off the wooden pot maker leaving you with a pot

Step 10: Your pot is now ready for planting!

Planting of Organic Strawberries:

I hand picked the strawberry seeds of an organic strawberry and I decided to plant them. (look how small the seeds are compared to the pencil!) (I took the seeds from one of the strawbrries I ate from my Food Investigation on April 3rd, go check it out!)

I poured the soil to the top of each pot. (after, I watered the soil before planting the seeds) (We used triple mix soil which includes compost, manure, and soil, strawberries love compost!)



In go the seeds! (I scattered 5-7 seeds in each pot so they wouldn't grow squished, strawberry seedlings are small)

I sealed the two pots into a plastic bag to keep in moisture and heat. (like a greenhouse) 

Now I have to wait. According to Jo, germination for strawberries is low (only about 25% will turn into plants) and long (it can take up to 6 weeks for the little green sprout to show up).

Growing of Strawberries:

Week 3 (Thursday, May 9th, 2013): The plants still haven't sprouted, they are on the windowsill of the classroom full of sunshine, they are nice and moist and still sealed in the baggie.

Week 3 (Tuesday, May 14, 2013): The strawberries have finally started to grow!!! They have a little green stem with leaves, they look adorable, they are growing each day!

Week 4 (Thursday, May 23, 2013): Every pot has some small plants in them! The 13 seedlings now have a third toothed leaf along with the stem and the other two round ones, like strawberries! I have opened up the baggies so they so get moldy. Here the are: