Capitol School Project Implementation

Our group has officially “broken ground” at the Capitol School! We have begun our gardening project by first performing a soil test; we took samples from both the wooded area beside the playground and the ground directly in front of the playground fence, where we plan to grow sunflowers and marigolds. Our results were very promising, showing adequate amounts of Nitrogen, Potassium, all trace elements, and a balanced pH level. There was a reported overabundance of Phosphorus, so the soil test recommended adding bone meal for nitrogenous material without Phosphorous. Instead of purchasing this amendment, we opted for mixing the soil found on-site with Arboretum compost provided by our old pal Carol.

So about two weeks ago, in the two 36” diameter terracotta pots given to us by Justinn’s mother, we began with a layer of gravel at the bottom, in order to aid in water drainage, then alternated layers of soil and compost, mixing them until full. In each of these filled pots, we transplanted some of the seedlings that had been started and grown over a matter of weeks. In one pot, lettuces were put into place; we are waiting to transplant the tomatoes for seasonal reasons, and the basil has only just been started out at the greenhouse, and was originally going to be direct seeded into the pots. Radishes and carrots were transplanted into the other (the radishes were originally meant to be direct seeded as well). In the pot with radishes and carrots, we also opted to direct seed cucumbers, a change from our original plan to transplant them along with the others. Another more major change of plans is the use of the shutters found onsite for trellising for the tomatoes and cucumbers, as they are massive relative to the pot size, and we are thinking that the staircase by the pots will provide adequate support when the plants eventually start to vine.

That same day, we filled three of the six planned hanging containers with a similarly constructed mix of soil and compost, and transplanted some of the purple beans that were started out at Carol’s. Originally we had planned to grow sugar snap peas along with strawberries in these hanging containers, but decided to make use of the seeds that were available from Carol. The next week, three strawberry plants from the Community Organic Garden at the Arboretum went into their respective hanging pots.

Our planting schedule has been slightly altered, including the differences in plans to direct seed versus transplant the basil, cucumbers, and radishes. There was an issue with the sunflowers seedlings; mice found their way to the plants and ate the tops and the seeds. We have started some more as of two weeks ago, and will apply a plastic cover until they sprout in order to prevent a mouse invasion.

The composting project is also underway by about five weeks. One thousand worms have been placed into the bottom layer of an eventual two-layer bin, which was donated by a friend. A classmate found a large amount of shredded office paper, which has been soaked and utilized as a bedding material along with a smaller amount of soil. Kitchen scraps have been periodically added, and the first signs of usable compost are starting to appear! Some obstacles that have been encounter during the composting run have been mold and bug infestations. They have each been taken care of on a daily basis, by manual removal. In the future, I plan to chop the kitchen mass more finely, so as to allow for faster processing by the worms.