Ms. Palo's Class Plants in the Pizza Garden

Last week Ms. Palo's 4th graders added some basil seedlings and some arugula seeds to the 4th grade pizza garden. There is already basil and onions growing that Ms. Chaides' class planted as well as tomatoes and kale.

The students also planted seeds in pots make from recycled cardboard that they will take home and then transplant into gardens or pots. The pots will decompose or decay with the moisture. The children placed seedling mix in the pots.

Care for the seedlings: keep pots and soil moist, place pot on plate or in bowl to keep soil moist from the bottom up, if pot is dry  that will wick away moisture from the soil. If you want to speed up germination, cover the pot with saran wrap for a hothouse effect until the seeds germinate.  When the seeds have three sets of leaves, harden off before transplanting outside. That means, for about 3 days, keep outside in shade for increasing amounts of time for the plant to get used to the new environment. (This obviously isn't necessary if you're keeping the plant inside. You'll want to plant it in another pot, though). Before transplanting, take off or tear the bottom of the pot so the roots will grow down.