Suckers

We suckered the tomatoes today.  Learning that the plant's energy gets divided too much if every stem is allowed to grow and bear fruit.   The fewer the suckers, the bigger each tomato will get.  Pretty exciting to see our baby tomato plants getting flowers and even some tiny tomatoes!

Today we also started our programming games.  Technology aside, the ideas of computer interfacing can be boiled down to a game of telephone.

Next we played a game of "computer" developed by our tech experts Isla Hansen and Dakotah Konicek.  One person played the human, one person played the computer and translated the human's questions and orders into a computer language.  Two people played signals that relayed information from the computer to the sensors and actuators, and finally one person played a moisture sensor, a person operated a hose, a person played a "camera" and a few were planters. We got cucumbers planted and watered, and learned how complicated computers make things while getting to run around and take on very specific jobs. It was surprisingly fun and we got a lot done.

How The Braddock Youth Project Inspires Us

 Every Monday, the garden team from the Braddock Youth Project (BYP) summer program has been coming and working hard in Gardweeno.  Doing some heavy lifting a bulk of hands makes lighter, and showing the younger kids what it looks like to really get stuff done.

This week they finished the second garden bed,

and added an extension on the first one.

Their hard work inspires us.

Thank you BYP!!!

The birth of a sign! And our garden is officially a public space.

It was an off day, but the Gardweeno sign was too enticing to not work on.

So when we met again we painted,

and painted,

picked "wildflowers",

hula-hooped,

and then we had a sign!

Second Week

Mr. Kevin has been building this shed for us.  With old pallets and a salvaged door, he's making the framework for our outdoor classroom and storage space.  Yay!

One bed down, another just beginning.  It starts with wood collected from the back area of the lot.

There may be poison ivy back there. Billy is checking himself out in his haz-mat suit.  Lookin' good Billy!   

On Wednesday, kids help spread the dirt pile out into a bigger bed.  

Then everybody drew their ideas of how our sign should look.

Looks like we need some more seating!

Good thing we've got so many hands to sand and finish our first bench.

Painted so thoroughly, it's practically waterproof!

Then we identified the plants in the beds and made markers for them.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Basil.   So much more to come.