helena Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I'm itching to garden. :) Are there any interesting plants, bulbs, or seeds we should look for? Any neat growing techniques? We have a siding glass door in our classroom. It doesn't open so I have planters all along it. Right now I have a halved wine barrel with potatoes growing in it. I love this barrel!! So convenient. We also have a Milkweed plant going, which is what Monarch butterflies live on. I highly recommend growing this plant. It's been so cool watching the monarch cycle repeat over and over again. The best part is that we can sit in class and be right up close to everything. We can't figure out where they're building their cocoons... that's driving me nuts. :tongue_smilie: Our paper whites are dying now. I love those because their full proof. I need a project for inside too. I have this vase: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=17600941&parentid=SEARCH+RESULTS I thought I'd put some Creeping Charlie and Spider Ferns in it tomorrow. So what have you or your kids grown lately that's interesting or unusual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubiac Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 What a great topic! OK, not sure if this counts but going to share anyway: Last year I bought two hanging strawberry pots. Hung them on the front porch, got some strawberries, and then eventually got lazy about watering them (they're so high up there, man, and I'm both short and lazy) and they basically died. Well, that was apparently just fine with a pair of mourning doves. They turned the pot into a nest and raised two sets of chicks in it! According to Wikipedia, mourning doves have as many as six nests a year, so we're really hoping they come back this year and do it all over again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 What a great topic! OK, not sure if this counts but going to share anyway: Last year I bought two hanging strawberry pots. Hung them on the front porch, got some strawberries, and then eventually got lazy about watering them (they're so high up there, man, and I'm both short and lazy) and they basically died. Well, that was apparently just fine with a pair of mourning doves. They turned the pot into a nest and raised two sets of chicks in it! According to Wikipedia, mourning doves have as many as six nests a year, so we're really hoping they come back this year and do it all over again. That's so cool! We'd love to have something like that. I once bought a bird house that attaches to a window. We thought it was going to be amazing, but it just kept falling off the glass. I used to hang finch seed bags outside our classroom window. It's great for bird watching. But once we started growing the Milkweed I was afraid they'd sweep down and eat our caterpillars as well. :tongue_smilie: Mourning Doves are beautiful. :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 None. I feel like I'm barely about to feed and water the kids, much less houseplants, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 When dc were studying habitats in elementary, we made a terrarium and a desert garden. Both were easy to care for and lasted a long time. We also enjoyed growing seeds of monocots (corn) and dicots (beans) in a root view planter. And bulb forcing in winter is always fun. If we had more light, I would add a few pots of herbs and/or mini scented geraniums. When I was a child, I had some bonsai, not really old or expensive, but still captivating. I still have a bonsai pruning kit in a brocade case. It was a nice introduction to another culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 None. I feel like I'm barely about to feed and water the kids, much less houseplants, lol. I wish I knew how to post pictures! I have one house plant, and it has exactly one leaf. :lol: But... It's far from the classroom, so that's probably why. When it's for school it becomes science-y and much more important. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAR Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Gardening is a favorite in our household too. Right now, we have purple violas on the worktable, which are also a great fit for our Herb Fairy book club. On our counter space we have 3 glass bulb vases with hyacinths - 2 started blowing today and our entire living space smells like spring. We also have lucky bamboo in a glass vase filled with shells from last beach adventure. Common herbs have a place just outside (and inside) the classroom area as well: oregano, chives, lemon balm, lavender, tarragon, peppermint and spearmint. We use the herbs for all kinds of things...most recently a ton of herb infused honey. Oh, I forgot about our pineapple plant on the patio. It is 2 years old and we're hopeful for some fruit one of these days. Patience.... Orchids are amazing plants. We are also fond of our milkweed plants and will use our bio-bubble containers to watch the monarchs develop. With the Florida heat, we haven't been dedicated enough time for a vegetable garden. So most of our time is spent with perennials. In fact, the tea olive shrubs/trees are blooming and the smells carries from the front door throughout the house. I don't know the zone for the tea olive, sorry. I'm excited to see more posts!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 When dc were studying habitats in elementary, we made a terrarium and a desert garden. Both were easy to care for and lasted a long time. We also enjoyed growing seeds of monocots (corn) and dicots (beans) in a root view planter. And bulb forcing in winter is always fun. If we had more light, I would add a few pots of herbs and/or mini scented geraniums. When I was a child, I had some bonsai, not really old or expensive, but still captivating. I still have a bonsai pruning kit in a brocade case. It was a nice introduction to another culture. I've been wanting to do a terrarium for a long time. We have a move coming soon and the kids want something like that to be a feature of the classroom. A kind of botany, lab, old library vibe. I'm on the hunt for an old terrarium at the antique shops. A desert garden sounds neat. Was it in a terrarium? I've been having good luck with succulents. I could use those in it. I love this look: http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/terrarium-craft-book-review.html I've got just about everything to do that project! My 14yo is about to have a birthday, I think a bonsai would be an awesome gift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I've been wanting to do a terrarium for a long time. We have a move coming soon and the kids want something like that to be a feature of the classroom. A kind of botany, lab, old library vibe. I'm on the hunt for an old terrarium at the antique shops. A desert garden sounds neat. Was it in a terrarium? I've been having good luck with succulents. I could use those in it. I love this look: http://dangergarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/terrarium-craft-book-review.html I've got just about everything to do that project! My 14yo is about to have a birthday, I think a bonsai would be an awesome gift! An old terrarium sounds amazing. We used a round fishbowl type from RR, but in hindsight, I would have use a standard aquarium and covered the top with a piece of glass. It was too hard to reach into the fishbowl container. For terrarium plants, it was hard for me to find small ones locally. YMMV, but it might be helpful to order miniature plants from a specialist. Otherwise, it can be a bit of a fight keeping everything in check, as plants can grow very well in a terrarium. For the desert, you absolutely would not put them in a terrarium, as desert plants need light, air circulation and good soil drainage. We used a 14" or 16" bulb pan, standard flower pot clay. I was going to try all Sonoran desert plants, but ended up choosing plants for looks and included old world plants as well. We didn't invest in any super expensive dwarf varieties, as the regular ones grew slowly enough that they lasted for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Is it hard to start milkweed from seed? I have some seeds, but I haven't looked up when to start them for our zone. I just realized that it might need to be soon if I want it to be big. I don't know whether to start it indoors or just sow it outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 I went to the nursery this weekend and picked out a butterfly bush. We're wondering if butterflies other than Monarchs will come. We also bought cat grass seeds. I guess we can grow it inside, so the kitties will love that. The lady there said it's too early for Venus Fly Trap and the sensitive plant... not sure what it's called. It reacts to touch. Here's a neat video showing how it reacts: We'll be going back for those in a few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Gardening is a favorite in our household too. Right now, we have purple violas on the worktable, which are also a great fit for our Herb Fairy book club. On our counter space we have 3 glass bulb vases with hyacinths - 2 started blowing today and our entire living space smells like spring. We also have lucky bamboo in a glass vase filled with shells from last beach adventure. Common herbs have a place just outside (and inside) the classroom area as well: oregano, chives, lemon balm, lavender, tarragon, peppermint and spearmint. We use the herbs for all kinds of things...most recently a ton of herb infused honey. Oh, I forgot about our pineapple plant on the patio. It is 2 years old and we're hopeful for some fruit one of these days. Patience.... Orchids are amazing plants. We are also fond of our milkweed plants and will use our bio-bubble containers to watch the monarchs develop. With the Florida heat, we haven't been dedicated enough time for a vegetable garden. So most of our time is spent with perennials. In fact, the tea olive shrubs/trees are blooming and the smells carries from the front door throughout the house. I don't know the zone for the tea olive, sorry. I'm excited to see more posts!!! I've never seen the Herb Fairy Book Club. It looks amazing!! You wouldn't happen to know of any resources for the slightly older set? I've always wanted to do a year of medicinal herb studies. Great ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAR Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 No....I've looked for something for the older students and no luck. The Herb Fairies Book Club is definitely on the younger side and IMO couldn't be adapted for older students. Both girls love it, but I pull additional information from online sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dory Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 You guys all seem to grow so much more interesting things than us. All we have right now is three carrots in a pot that I am waiting to go to seed. I start them inside so that they don't cross pollinate with the weeds around here. Not nearly as neat as these ideas, I might have to grow a few new things around here. If it counts at all, we keep bird feeders hanging from the porch eves just outside the window. Right now the birds are pretty cautious though because the snow is as high as the roof and the dogs can almost reach the feeders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAR Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Check out Family Fun magazine this month. There is an amazing article on growing vegetables indoors "Plant an Odds and Ends Garden." We bought our yam, celery and beets today, and have a fun afternoon planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecclecticmum Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Um..... - A tomato plant that died when my youngest tried to turn the spalings environment to soup. - A sweet potato currently growing roots and leaves in the windowsill. I can imagine people going by just thinking "wow, maybe I should tell that person she forgot about a sweet potato in her window" no, its meant to be there. Soon I'll remove the cuts and let them grow roots, then plant them. - In reality, I don't try to grow anything. The kids bring in cuts and put them in vases, and if real plants are brought in, my cats eat, gnaw, rub against, sit on and generally destroy the thing. - I think the last thing before the above stuff we grew was the nile grass in the baking dish (ala SOTW activity book), and after it grew to a lovely height, my cat found the hiding place, and sat his fat bum on it. Grass Destroyed (nile did overflow and wet him, which did amuse me greatly in return). I finally caved into the "lifestyle" of plants in our house and went Martha Stewart-y for a few minutes, in which I went round the yard grabbing some branches, stuffed them "artistically" into a white metal pail, poured "nice" dirt in (i.e. the empty dirt from the tomato disaster), and its now the centrepiece on our table. The kids also hang barbie clothes and keys from it, so decorative and fuctional. :blushing: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 That's so cool! We'd love to have something like that. I once bought a bird house that attaches to a window. We thought it was going to be amazing, but it just kept falling off the glass. I used to hang finch seed bags outside our classroom window. It's great for bird watching. But once we started growing the Milkweed I was afraid they'd sweep down and eat our caterpillars as well. :tongue_smilie: Mourning Doves are beautiful. :001_wub: I don't think most birds will eat monarch caterpillars, all that milkweed makes them taste bitter. We have a couple of small olive trees in pots that I bring inside for the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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