Stella's Garden
Intern Profile
I want to work at the garden because:
Being a garden intern allows me to learn new skills and work around others who enjoy gardening too!
I've got a lot of love for plants! I think having my own garden to manage will be super fun and give me new challenges.
Two of my personal goals for working at the Dallas Youth Garden this summer are:
1. To not miss any days at the garden
2. To be really creative on my leadership projects
Two things I hope to learn for working at the Dallas Youth Garden are:
1. Knowing how to properly harvest/cut my vegetables
2. How to treat plants for garden pests
I think my biggest challenge will be:
I think my biggest challenge will be dealing with any garden pests.
My favorite vegetable or fruit is:
Carrots - Carrots are my favorite because I love eating them cooked. Of all vegetables cooked I like carrots
the most. I've never grown carrots before so I'm very excited to try growing them in the garden!
I think a leader is:
I think a leader is someone who helps, encourages, and motivates others. A leader is someone who pushes
people to achieve their goals and is sympathetic.
I hope to contribute this leadership skill to the garden this season:
I hope to be resourceful and encouraging to others in the garden this season!
Garden Plan:
Vegetables and Flowers Planted:
*Tomatoes *Cucumbers
*Leeks *Golden Zucchini
*Beans *Onions
*Beets *California Wonder Peppers
*Radishes *Red Cabbage
*Carrots *Green Cabbage
*Marigolds *Butternut squash
*Zinnia
Rows of vegetables planted: 14 vegetable rows, 2 flower rows
Number of different kinds of vegetables planted: 14
Planned Garden Yield: 320 lbs
Planned Biggest Producer: Cabbages at 80 lbs.
Time Sheet:
May Days Off: 2
Extra Days: 0
Days Late: 0
June Days Off: 0
Extra Days: 0
Days Late: 0
July Days Off: 2
Extra Days: 1
Days Late:
August Days Off: 4
Extra Days: 2
Days Late: 0
September Days Off:
Extra Days:
Days Late:
Total Days Off:
Final Thoughts:
My favorite vegetable was carrots
Because: because they harvested the best of all my plants.
My most productive vegetable was yellow squash and I harvested 113.3 Pounds.
My least productive vegetable was onions and I harvested 1.5 Pounds.
My total harvest for the year was 277.4 Pounds.
My favorite job was: getting to help donate our produce to people who needed/wanted it.
My least favorite job was: Lying down straw in the wind and rain.
I could have done better at: Weeding some of my rows, I tried to get every weed at first which took way too long.
I did the best I could doing: Watering, I wanted all my plants to be watered well.
The two things I learned most at the garden this year were:
1. Cucumber beetles are a pain in the butt.
2. Not to spend too much time weeding one thing because the other weeds grow fast!
Garden Log:
May 9: Finished garden plan and started planting in my garden.
May 16:Continued planting our gardens.
May 23: (on vacation)
May 28: Finished planting garden, watered, and made my sign.
June 2: Weeded my zinnias
June 13: Worked in teams to lay down paper and hay for a few rows in each garden, and after I
worked on weeding/thinning my radishes
June 20: Picked radishes, Continued to lay straw and paper down in gardens
June 27: Watered, weeded and prepped in more rows to lay down paper and straw, almost finished
all rows in everyone's gardens
July 4: Weeded more rows and picked squash
July 11: Continued weeding, filmed our garden tours, thinned my beets and started to thin my carrots,
and I got to pick my cabbages!
July 18: Picked any squash bigger than 6 inches, fertilized our tomato and squash plants, and weeded
July 25: Picked squash, watered, put lime on my squash plants, weeded, and re filled the bee bath
August 1: (on vacation)
August 8: (on vacation)
August 15: Got to harvest beets, beans, onions and peppers for the first time! also picked more squash.
Weeded a bunch, and filled my bee bath.
August 22: Picked lots of peppers, some beans, a few squash, and weeded.
August 29: Weeded my plants, picked squash, carrots, beans, peppers, and tomatoes.
September 5:
September 12:
September 19:
September 26:
June Leadership Project:
Problem: Some of our favorite pollinators are being left out! We always have bird baths, and hummingbird feeders,
but what about bee's? Bee's need water too, and often times the water available is too deep!
Solution: My bee bath will give bee's an area to hydrate and rest after a long day of pollinating!
Test/Activity: I used an old hanging basket, a shallow dish, and some rocks! (I'm a big fan of up-cycling) I decided
to add some long grass under the dish to not only fill a little space but also add a little more nature-like appeal.
Results: In the end, I love my bee bath and I hope the bee's do to! There are many ways to create bee baths and
I plan to make more for my home.
Communication: Talked about my project to the group of interns
Leadership Skills: I feel this project showed my creativity skills, I had so many ideas I wanted to do but I needed to
narrow it down.
July Leadership Project:
Problem: Some of my squash plants have blossom end rot. I started noticing that some of my little squash started
turning brown and squishy towards the bottom. Blossom end rot is a disorder, not a disease, so it can be fixed!
It occurs from uneven watering or a lack of calcium.
Solution: Adding lime to the soil will help add calcium, along with making sure I'm evenly watering my plants.
Test/Activity: After I add lime and make sure I'm watering my best evenly, I will track if any of the plants with blossom
end rot start producing fruit without the end rot.
Results: So far as of August 18th, a lot of my squash plants affected by end rot have started improving and
producing fruit without the disease.
Communication: On August 15th, we all talked about our projects together.
My Source was: rainbowgardens.biz
August Leadership Project:
Problem: One of my tomato's is starting to grow "horns" and I have no idea why?! As I've started researching, it's a
physiological/genetic disorder that occurs in about 1 out of every 1,000 plants. The problem starts when the plant is microscopic,
a few cells divide incorrectly and make an extra fruit locule. As the tomato grows, the genetic mutation grows as well
and you end up with a nose, or horns. Extended temps have to do with this mutation, temps above 90 degrees F, and over 82-85 at
night cause this deformity. It however does not affect the whole plant, usually only one or two fruits are.
Solution: Not much of a solution, as temperatures fall the rest of the plants will be perfectly fine.
Test/Activity: Watch my plant to see how many fruits are affected from the mutation.
Results:
Communication:
Source: gardeningknowhow.com
Extra Leadership Project:
Problem: Not many people know the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomato plants!
Solution: Make a presentation explaining the two types of plants after researching info
Test/Activity: Make a power point to share information on the two types of plants!
Results:
Communication: