AVERY’S GARDEN
PROFILE
I want to work at the garden because: I want to learn as much as I can about gardening and how to care for plants, and learn what’s it’s like having a consistent job!
Two of my personal goals for working at the Dallas Youth Garden this summer are:
1. Grow a successful garden
2. Meet new people and do things out of my comfort zone
Two things I hope to learn from working at the Dallas Youth Garden are:
1. How best to take care of and love on my plants
2. What times of the year my veggies need to be planted and harvested
I think my biggest challenge will be: Keep the weeds at bay and keeping my plants healthy
My favorite vegetable or fruit is: strawberries
I hope to contribute this to the garden this year: A successful garden and a hardworking attitude!
GARDEN PLAN
Vegetables and Flowers Planted (list in order):
Zinnias
Tomato
Carrots
Carrots
Radishes
Radishes
Bachelor Buttons
Zucchini
Zucchini
Butternut Squash
Butternut Squash
Peppers
Peppers
Pattypans
Pattypans
Beets
½ row of zinnias
Rows of vegetables planted: 14
Number of different kinds of vegetables planted: 8
Planned Garden Yield: 336 lbs
Planned Biggest Producer: Zucchini
GARDEN LOG:
May 2-7: Just started. Met in the garden and then garden planning using Zoom.
May 9-15: Helped Clean up Plant Sale. Garden planning zoom meetings. Cleaned up tools
May 16-22: Started planting and watering.
May 23-30 : Halfway done with planting!
May 31-June 4: Finished planting, started on weeding, and made a sign for my garden.
June 5-12: Started laying straw down in the gardens. Started thinning radishes and beets, and weeding rows.
June 12-20: Was on a vacation and missed these days
June 23-30: Finished laying straw in all the gardens. Started on different projects centered around the garden and the work we’re doing in it.
July 1-11: Harvested a couple radishes and my first yellow zucchinis! Started and finished my garden project for the month (see recipe below)!
July 14-23: Harvested a ton of squash and started thinning carrots.
July 25-30: Started laying bark chips for the paths in the garden. Harvested 88.5 lbs of produce for the month of July!
August 1-8: Lots of prepping for the garden open house. Harvested my first jalapeños!
August 11-18: Planned for our cooking competition.
August 20-29: Picked my pumpkins! Also starting harvesting tomatoes. Rodents started digging holes and eating my carrots but I’m almost done harvesting them!
September 1-9: Harvested 183 lbs of produce for the month of August. Picked my first butternut and some of my last tomatoes.
September 11-18: Started taking out my plants that weren’t producing and harvesting the last of my veggies.
GARDEN PROJECTS
1. Food Assistance Visit
Date Attended:
What did I help with:
What were people like:
What I learned:
2. Recipes
Name: Zucchini bread
Ingredients: 3 eggs, 2 ¼ cup sugar, 1 cup oil, 3tsp vanilla, 2 cups grated zucchini, 3 cups flour or gf mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp baking powder, 2 tsp cinnamon
Steps to Make it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend sugar, oil, and vanilla together. Stir in grated zucchini. Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Then, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. If you used gf flour let sit for about 10-12 minutes. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cool and enjoy!!
Name: Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients: 1 cup shredded zucchini, 1 cup flour or gf mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour), 2 cups old-fashioned whole rolled oats, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ cup unsalted room temperature butter, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup white granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 ½ tsp vanilla, 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Steps to Make it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside. Beat sugar and butter for three minutes, add the egg and beat for another minute, then add vanilla and maple syrup. Add zucchini and dry ingredients to wet mix. If you used gf flour let the batter sit for 10-12 minutes before putting it on the baking sheet. Shape into balls and bake for 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees (15 minutes if you want the edges a little crispy). Let cool and enjoy!!
3. Another Project
Why One Zucchini can be Two Different Colors
What happened to a zucchini that is two different colors? When a zucchini is mostly yellow but the end is green is when the fruit is developing unevenly, usually because it experienced stress while growing. Zucchini also vary in shape and color depending on the type, sunlight, watering, and nutrients. Another reason could be from pollination. If a bee that just pollinated a green zucchini plant goes straight to a yellow zucchini plant, it can mix the two pollens and create two different colors. My zucchini’s end is green and the majority of it is yellow and it could be because of one or both of these reasons.
4. Public Presentation
Date:
Who I Presented To:
What I talked About:
How it went:
What I learned :
MONTHLY GARDEN SUMMARY
May: Days Worked _8___ Days Off _3____ Extra Days Worked _0____ Days Late_0_____
June: Days Worked __9___ Days Off __3__ Extra Days Worked __0___ Days Late__0____
July: Days Worked __13___ Days Off __0___ Extra Days Worked __1___ Days Late__0____
August: Days Worked __12___ Days Off __1___ Extra Days Worked __2___ Days Late__0____
September: Days Worked __5___ Days Off __1___ Extra Days Worked __1___ Days Late__0____