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GARDENING
WEEK 7
PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO!
What we would like you to learn:
1. Learn what a plant needs to grow.
2. Learn about the Life Cycle of a plant.
3. Learn the parts of a flower.
4. Learn why many plants depend on bees in order to reproduce.
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Plant Nutrition
When people need energy, we can eat a healthy snack or a well-rounded
meal. What about plants? How do plants get the energy they need to
grow?
To obtain energy, plants undergo a process called photosynthesis. During
photosynthesis, plants use the light energy from the sun to convert carbon
dioxide and water into chemical energy that they store in their leaves as
sugar.
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What do plants need to undergo photosynthesis?
• Light energy (from the sun)
• Water (absorbed from the soil through the plants’ roots)
• Carbon dioxide (from the air)
• Chlorophyll (stored in the cells of plants, chlorophyll is what gives
plant leaves their green color)
The Life Cycle of a Plant
In the same way that we ask the question: “what came first, the chicken or
the egg?” we can also ask, “what came first, the plant or the seed?” A plant
starts as a seed; this is its first stage of its life. From a seed, the plant
becomes a seedling. From a seedling, the plant grows into a full grown, or
mature plant.
How does a plant produce seeds?
Plants produce seeds through their flowers (the function of a flower is to
produce seeds, and in this way, continue the Life Cycle of a plant). For a
flower to produce a seed, it must be pollinated.
During pollination, pollen grains travel from the stamen of the flower to the
stigma. Once on the stigma, the pollen grains stick and grow a long tube
down the style all the way to the ovary of the flower. In the ovary, the tiny
eggs are fertilized and become seeds. The ovary of the flower becomes the
fruit that contains the seeds. This process is called fertilization.
How do pollen grains travel from the stamen to the stigma?
Pollen grains can reach the stigma in several ways. In some cases, an
insect or a butterfly will feed on the nectar of the flower and brush up
against the stamen. Their bodies transfer the pollen to the carpel and
pollination occurs. In other cases, the wind might cause the pollen to fly
from the stamen to the stigma. Flowers can also become pollinated with the
help of birds, bats, beetles and bees
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Why Honeybees need Flowers and Flowers need Honeybees
Honeybees are attracted to flowers because they consume the flowers
nectar as a source of energy. Honeybees also collect pollen to bring back
to their hives as food for larvae. When honeybees hover over a flower,
drinking its nectar or collecting pollen, they help the flower to become
pollinated.
Bees are fuzzy. Their bodies are like Velcro. When they fly over a flower,
pollen grains attach to their bodies. When they fly on to the next flower,
these pollen grains may get caught on the flower’s stigma. This is why
honeybees are referred to as pollinators.
FUN Facts of the week:
• Bees carry a static electrical charge, which makes it even easier for
pollen to stick to them!
• If it weren’t for bees, thousands of plants would not get pollinated –
and the Life Cycle of plants would be broken. The fruits that we
cherish and enjoy would not be as easy to find.
Let’s define the following terms:
Photosynthesis: the process by which plants convert light energy into
chemical energy and store it as sugar
Chlorophyll: a biomolecule that gives plants their green pigment and helps
plants to obtain energy from light.
Seedling: a young plant
Pollination: the process by which pollen grains travel from the stamen of
the flower to the stigma
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Larvae: the early life stage of an insect such as a honeybee. Larvae
develop from eggs. As larvae develop, they spin a cocoon and in this way
grow into pupae that become adult bees.
On your own:
• Cut open a piece of fruit (or ‘veggie’) with your children. Ask your
child to point out where the seeds of the fruit are. If you can, pack
up some of the seeds so your child can bring them to class next
week.
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GARDENING
WEEK 8
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
What we would like you to learn:
1. Learn how to maintain your organic garden.
2. Learn how to keep your garden weed-free.
3. Learn how to maintain a good watering practice and fertilize.
4. Learn how to identify good and bad bugs.
Garden Maintenance
These are some basic good practices on how to care for your organic
garden. Frequent maintenance of small tasks in the garden will lead to a
healthy garden in the long term and keep problems to a minimum. Garden
maintenance includes weeding, proper watering, fertilization and monitoring
for “good” and “bad” bugs.
Weeding
What is a weed?
Weeds are plants that grow where we don’t want them, in the wrong place.
Weeds can grow in many places and crowd out healthy crops or plants.
Weeds have many seeds that are able to survive for long periods of time in
a dormant state. Weeds have very strong roots that resist removal.
We want to remove weeds from our garden because they will compete for
space, light, and water with our garden vegetables (and many times the
weeds will win, because they are well adapted to our environmental
conditions).
Let’s define the following terms:
Crabgrass: a very hardy weed that invades gardens
Dandelion: a plant having yellow flower heads and deeply notched leaves
Dormant: a period of time when plant seeds wait before growing
Germinate: a time when seeds begin to grow
Herbicide: a chemical powder or spray used to kill unwanted plants
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Pollution: contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere
Seed: the part of the plant from which new plants come
Weed: an undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome plant growing where it
is not wanted
Examples of some common weeds you may find in your garden.
Foxtail
Bermudagrass
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Crabgrass
Dandelion
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How can we control weeds?
 Preventive methods:
• Prevent seed production and germination by removing weeds
before they seed
• Clean tools after use in the garden and before sharing
• Use weed-free seed, plant material and soil
• Eliminate weed seedlings
 Mechanical methods:
• Mowing
• Remove by hand
• Hoeing
• Mulching
Note: There are sprays and poisons called “weed killers” that will also work
to control weeds. Unfortunately, these herbicides kill other things too, like
desirable plants. These chemicals also can leak through the ground into
our rivers, lakes, and streams. The methods of weed control listed above
are the safest, and much safer than using herbicides.
Watering
The five basic needs of plants are water, light, air, nutrients, and space to
grow. Plants use water for a number of important processes, including
photosynthesis (production of food) and transpiration (evaporation of water
from the leaves into air that cools the plant and creates pressure to move
water from roots to leaves). Water also helps in the absorption of some
nutrients.
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Rules of thumb for watering
 One deep watering is much better than watering several times lightly.
 Watering to a depth of 4-6 inches encourages deeper, healthier root
development. It allows longer periods between watering.
 Early morning is the best time for watering to reduce evaporation.
 To help control where your water goes, water when it's not windy.
Fertilization
All plants require certain nutrients to be healthy. The most important plant
nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).
Nitrogen is important for stem and leaf growth and for photosynthesis.
Phosphorus promotes root growth and improves flowering and fruiting.
Potassium contributes to root development, the overall growth of the plant,
and disease resistance.
Other essential nutrients are also important, but plants require them in
much smaller amounts.
When we think about fertilizing, we think about Feeding the Soil! Keeping
soil healthy is the key to maintaining healthy and productive plants. Most
plant nutrients are provided by the soil, and we increase their availability
through fertilization. A number of different types of fertilizers are available.
Compost can be used as a fertilizer in the soil to increase the nutrient
content.
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Garden bugs – helpers and pests!
Good bugs: Many insects help humans by pollinating plants, eating insect
pests, decomposing waste, providing food for thousands of other creatures,
and by being fascinating and beautiful in more ways than we can imagine.
Some good bugs include honey bees, ladybugs, butterflies and ants.
Bad bugs: Some insects are responsible for spreading deadly diseases,
damaging and destroying many varieties of food crops and flowers, biting
humans, causing allergic reactions like rashes, and by being just plain
annoying. Some bad bugs include ticks, weevils and fleas.
Chemicals are considered by many to be the most effective form of pest
control. However, they pose a potential danger to every part of the Earth’s
environment. Chemical powders and sprays applied to get rid of pests can
harm land, water, plants, and animals, including people! The very
ingredients that make various chemical products devastating to targeted
pests are often highly toxic to non-targeted plants and animals as well.
There are many approaches to controlling bad bugs that don’t involve using
chemicals. For example, natural predators are animals that will eat pests.
Birds, ladybugs, praying mantids, garter snakes and lizards are all
examples of natural predators.
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Test your kids:
What is a weed? ______________________________________________
How can people get rid of pesky weeds? ___________________________
____________________________________________________________
How can weeds make it hard for a seed or little plant to survive?
____________________________________________________________
At home:
• Ask your children to think about ways we’ve learned to keep our
garden neat and healthy.
• Together with your children, think about one of your favorite songs
on the radio. Substitute some words in the song for those we
learned in class to make a fun way to remember the concepts we
covered. Be creative!
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