Stephen's Garden

Intern Profile

I want to work at the garden because : I would like to get experience working with other people as well as learning how to garden and keep plants alive.

Two of my personal goals for working at the Dallas Youth Garden this summer are:

1. To get within ten pounds of my potential yearly yield of vegetables.

2. To grow in communication skills and being able to ask for help.

Two things I hope to learn for working at the Dallas Youth Garden are:

1. To be able to tell the difference between a weed and plant.

2. To learn how to properly use all tools and how to harvest vegetables.

I think my biggest challenge will be: Keeping my crops up to date and making sure to fill out the time sheet.

My favorite vegetable or fruit is: Cucumber because of its hydration and its health benefits mainly of antioxidants

I think a leader is: A person that is willing to help people and encourage others with their words and actions or both.

I hope to contribute this leadership skill to the garden this season: By being open to people's criticism and building off of it.

Garden Plan:

Vegetables and Flowers Planted:

Marigold

Cucumber

Radish

Zucchini

Pepper

Carrots

Zucchini

Beans

Beets

Tomato

Onion

Leeks

Beans

Cucumber

Tomato

Carrots

Cabbage

Cabbage

Pepper

Zinnia

Rows of vegetables planted: 20

Number of different kinds of vegetables planted: 11

Planned Garden Yield: 338 lbs

Planned Biggest Producer: Zucchini

Time Sheet:

May Days Off: 0

Extra Days: 0

Days Late: 0

June Days Off: 1

Extra Days: 0

Days Late: 0

July Days Off: 3

Extra Days: 1

Days Late: 0

August Days Off: 0

Extra Days: 0

Days Late: 0

September Days Off:

Extra Days:

Days Late:

Total Days Off:

Final Thoughts:

My favorite vegetable was zucchini.

Because: It grew well.

My most productive vegetable was Zucchini and I harvested about 220 pounds Pounds.

My least productive vegetable was Leeks and I harvested 0 Pounds.

My total harvest for the year was 276 lbs.

My favorite job was: Harvesting

My least favorite job was: Pulling weeds

I could have done better at: Pulling weeds

I did the best I could doing: Watering

The two things I learned most at the garden this year were:

1. Water plenty

2. Keep up to date on weeds

Garden Log:

May 9: Finished my garden plan and started work on planting my crops for the year.

May 16: Almost finished my first half of the garden. Also straightened up my crops and just finished planting my crops

May 23: Nearing the finish of my garden. Will be done soon. Just planted my onions.

May 30: Very close to finishing. I have been trying to get the ground ready for my plants by using the hoe on it.

June 6: Planted all of my garden. Fit some extra plants in with the leftover space.

June 13: Weeded the last few days. Making my garden sign and started putting hay and paper down between rows.

June 21: Did some garden maintenance with weeds by putting hay between the rows of plants. My zucchini is also growing which is exciting.

June 27: Weeded for the whole week with more weeding to do next week. Laid down hay and my zucchini is about to be ready to harvest.

July 4: Weeded my rows. My zucchini is getting bigger due to the weather change.

July 11: Weeded my beans and started thinning my carrots and got over 40 pounds of zucchini.

July 18: Weeded the rest of my beans and harvested 27 pounds of zucchini and laid down fertilizer.

July 25: Watered my plants extra well for the upcoming heat and weeded my carrots and beans.

August 1 : Absent all week.

August 8: harvested zucchini and beans. My tomatoes are starting to come in which is exciting.

August 15: Picked my beans and got my first onion. I filled up the tree bags and weeded.

August 22: Picked multiple squash and some beans. Trimmed some tomatoes to encourage some ripening.

August 29: picked carrots , cabbage and tomatoes. Winding down on the season and clearing out rows.

June Leadership Project:

Problem: Which side of my garden's tomato's soil kept which plant the healthiest.

Solution: I will monitor the progress of each plant throughout the month and take pictures.

Test/Activity: I kept an eye on the soil and the plant throughout the last weeks

Results: The soil and tomatoes seem to be better on the right side of my garden. ( Pictured on the top row above in the middle and right side)

Communication: I will inform people of my discovery next week.

July Leadership Project:

Problem: Why do my zucchini keep rotting ?

Solution: There can be three plausible reasons why they are rotting. Lime deficiency , Irregular watering, and Poor pollination.

Test/Activity: Stella already put a bee bath in the garden to help with bees and I can't water any more regularly than I am due to work days, I am going to sprinkle lime on the zucchini plants and see if that helps.

Results: I have not seen any recent rotting of the zucchini.

Communication: I will share results with the group.

August Leadership Project:

Problem: Why does one of my bean plant's leaves starting to turn white ?

Solution: My plant is most likely being attacked by one of the three types of fungi; powdery mildew , bean rust , or pythium blight.

Test/Activity: I will compare pictures to see which fungi it is.

Results: I will have to pull the plant as a precautionary measure.

Communication: I will tell the group about it.

Bonus Leadership Project:

Problem: People don't know how to use vegetables from the garden and put them into their recipes

Solution: I will post a way to incorporate a vegetable into a dish

Test/Activity: I put zucchini into a meatball to keep moisture in the meatball.

Results: See photos below. Very tasty.

Communication: I will show people the results.