{"id":6796,"date":"2010-08-26T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2010-08-26T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nybg.org\/wordpress\/?p=6796"},"modified":"2010-08-19T10:37:38","modified_gmt":"2010-08-19T14:37:38","slug":"kid-to-kid-vegetable-gardening-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nybg.org\/blogs\/plant-talk\/2010\/08\/exhibit-news\/kid-to-kid-vegetable-gardening-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Kid-to-Kid Vegetable Gardening Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

9-Year-Old Everett Sanderson Offers 9 Tips to Get Growing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/td>\nElizabeth Fisher is Associate Manager for Education Marketing and Public Relations.<\/em><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\"\"<\/a>Everett Sanderson is a talented soon-to-be fifth grader who has spent most of his nine summers gardening in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, helping his mom, Han-Yu Hung, who is Garden Coordinator of the Children\u2019s Gardening Program. In the Family Garden, kids work hands-on growing fruits and vegetables, learning that food, fun, health, and teamwork are connected. This year their garden plots have been in the spotlight as part of The Edible Garden<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Unlike most 9-year-olds, Everett is an accomplished gardener and a lover of veggies. Harvesting is what hooked him at first: \u201cI realized that in order to harvest, you have to grow it, and in order to grow it, you have to plant it,\u201d said Everett. Gardening also helped him to love eating vegetables: \u201cIf you can plant it, you have a better chance of liking it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a veteran of the Children\u2019s Gardening Program, Everett, who lives in the Bronx, started gardening at age 3 as a \u201cGarden Sprout\u201d and is now a \u201cGarden Crafter,\u201d leading gardening lessons and hands-on activities.<\/p>\n

He shares these helpful tips for kids to get their own gardens growing. <\/p>\n

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  1. Get used to critters:<\/strong> Some critters are good for your garden. Worms help the soil and composting and butterflies help pollinate the plants. Some bugs help by eating the bad bugs: spiders eat flies and ladybugs eat aphids. Everett warns that some pesky critters like snails, slugs, aphids, and caterpillars eat your plants.<\/li>\n
  2. Use natural fertilizers:<\/strong> \u201cWe don\u2019t use chemicals,\u201d Everett explained, \u201cso you can use organic\u2014that means natural\u2014stuff to help plants grow.\u201d His recommended organic fertilizer is cornmeal (ground up corn). But he also says you can try some \u201creally weird\u201d fertilizers such as pigeon dung and dried animal blood.<\/li>\n
  3. Get rid of contaminated leaves:<\/strong> Sometimes you\u2019ll see little white or green spots on the under side of the leaf. The green spots are aphids and white are their eggs. Other times you\u2019ll see holes in the leaves. Those are caterpillars. You need to remove the contaminated leaf so the whole plant doesn\u2019t rot.<\/li>\n
  4. Plants get thirsty:<\/strong> The hot summer sun can be a problem for plants if you don\u2019t water well. Everett recommends watering your garden plants three times every other day, using one watering can in the morning and two toward evening.<\/li>\n
  5. Know when to harvest:<\/strong> Knowing when to harvest means knowing your plants and using your observation skills. Here are hints about harvesting some delicious veggies:\n