The DO’s and DON’Ts of Transplanting

First and foremost…

What is transplanting?: The season can start in a variety of ways: multicellular containers, soil blocks, and peat pots. Transplanting is a productive way to ensure good seed to soil contact at the beginning of the plants life. The process of early planting ensures the plant has adequate time to grow in a weather-controlled environment. Often times this first step will begin in a green house where weather, disease, and pest possibilities can be monitored more efficiently.

Now, onto the fun facts: The DO’s and DON’TS of transplanting:

DO NOT disturb the root ball (unless the roots are bound of course).

DO add a little sugar to the plant if showing signs of distress.

DO trim back plant if showing signs of distress so the plant can focus on root strength and growth:

Perennials: trim back 1/3 of the plant

Annuals: Bush type: trim back 1/3 of the plant

Main stem plant: Cut off ½ of each leaf

DO water the plant right after planting.

DO NOT keep the plant in standing water.

Last but not least, DO remember to give the plant time to adjust in its new environment.

HAPPY TRANSPLANTING!

TFO is Seeking a Social Media Intern :: Starts April 2015

Send inquiries and resume to:  Chelsea Taxman, Education Director truckfarmomaha@gmail.com

Volunteer Announcement:

Truck Farm Omaha (TFO) is currently seeking a volunteer to serve as its part-time Social Media Intern to begin in April.  The ideal candidate will have experience working with social media platforms, strong communications skills, passion for urban agriculture and youth education and management skills.

Key Deliverables:

• Build a larger audience base for the program by developing and implementing a comprehensive outreach/marketing strategy
• Work with staff to develop outreach/marketing strategy for the program (e.g. setting goals, timeline, implementation plan, etc.)
• Review existing content (e.g. website, social media, twitter) and evaluating how to improve it to be more cohesive and engaging
• Manage Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Blog, including generating content and networking with other organizations through these outlets
• Find/research other groups and organizations in the field and network with them to make partnerships and increase audience base
• Help launch e-newsletter and work with us to develop content
• Maintain/Organize mailing list, contacts, and partner database
• Responsible for supporting monthly progress report

Time/Compensation

• Position is volunteer – we’re looking for at least 10-15 hours/week – however, this is negotiable and depends on work load – could be more if desired.

Start Date: April, 2015

Benefits: No benefits offered

Fall Harvest :: Garden Update

Maranda and I have had a blast during the fall growing season. We have seen a number of our 2013 participants join us for afterschool program during the summer and fall sessions for 2014! This means the students are becoming more familiar with the school gardens, the truck and we’re all learning more about one another as individuals.

 

This summer we started our own sweet potato slips with Wild Cats Club participants. We planted the sweet potato plant starts in a new hugelkultur garden bed built on site with youth at King Science & Magnet Technology. In October we harvested the sweet potatoes! (photo 1) While Maranda and I prepare many exciting hands-on activities and art projects, the youth still prefer to harvest ripe produce, herbs and flowers. Students love to take home their production and everyone is learning to share and portion the bounty. Strawberries are a hot commodity, so we decided to start a second strawberry patch for 2015.  (photo 2)

The garden site with Nothing But Net’s Trailblazers program at Lewis & Clark has also grown. Truck Farm has adopted six large raised garden beds on site and also started three new growing areas for 2015 using a sheet mulching technique.(photos 3 and 4) Again, one strawberry bed isn’t enough! The photos below showcase some of the garden beds and harvest taken home this fall. (photos 5 and 6) The last image is from the herb garden. (photo 7) We will be creating different spice and seasoning packets during the next few weeks for youth to take home for winter break.

 

Our newest partner, North Star, has been exciting and full of laughter. (photo 8) We are so grateful to North Star and the Sahler Community Garden for offering us two garden beds this fall.  Starting a garden at the beginning of September can be difficult, but ours has been fruitful.  With a lot of homemade seed tape, the young men of North Star filled two community garden plots with greens and radishes. We decided these vegetables and edible flowers taste better with ranch dressing. (photos 9 and 10) The boys even transplanted some herbs from Truck Farm into a newer garden area for next year.

 

Receive more updates by following us on INSTAGRAM (@truckfarmomaha) and facebook (“Truck Farm Omaha”)

Happy Thanksgiving,

Chelsea

follow @truckfarmomaha on Instagram!

 

find out what’s growing and where we are each week!

@truckfarmomaha on Instagram

Tag us

Wacky Container Garden Contest!

OmahaGives! Wednesday, May 21st

Donate to No More Empty Pots and you’ll support our program!

http://tinyurl.com/qjsbsqo

24-hour charitable giving event. $10 is the minimum and goes a long way in our program for supplies and materials.

Spring!

Hello Friends of Truck Farm Omaha! 

 

Garlic and chives are popping up in the [garden] bed of the truck already.

Maranda and I have been providing STEM education all winter long inside four different Omaha Public Schools.  

Students learned how to raise and harvest fresh greens in a custom built low tunnel at Lewis & Clark Middle School last November.  

With support from The Pollination Project, we were able to help start a school garden at Ashland Park-Robbins Elementary in South Omaha. 

Photos and video on facebook —> here. 

 

 

Have you met Maranda Allbritten? 

She joined Truck Farm Omaha this past fall as an educator. 

Read more about her on our website. 

 

Find us out and about this spring at these community events:

        Earth Day Omaha – April 19th

        NEScience Fest – April 24th & 25th

        Omaha Gives! – May 21st

        (find more on events page on our website)

 

 

Where is Growing Cities?! 

All over the world. 

Dan and Andrew have traveled throughout the country and even to Russia showing their film at various events, schools and film festivals. 

Learn how to host a screening of the film. 

Follow their work and join the movement: www.growingcitiesmovie.com

Want to get involved with Truck Farm Omaha? 

There are many opportunities.

Just ask!

 

Happy Spring! 

Seed Sprinklers! Seed Sprouters! Seed Bombs!

Truck Farm Omaha youth are making seed balls out of natural materials. These balls are being spread throughout the community to beautify areas that need some more flowers for pollinators like butterflies, birds & bees.

Did you receive Truck Farm Omaha Seed Sprouters?

Just chuck a Seed Bomb at the earth preferably before it rains! The ball will grow plants (bloomed or harvestable) in about 6 weeks!

Seeds are protected by clay and worm compost, which also helps absorb moisture. Each bomb covers about one square foot of earth in plants. Please send us before and after photos and we’ll post them on our blog!

Chelsea + Maranda

November!

Brrr! It’s getting colder, but we are still busy working with the soil, planting garlic, making T-shirts and learning about chickens.

Here’s a fun photo of students chasing around one of the City Sprouts hens that we brought for Show & Tell.  She rode quietly in the cab of the truck with us!

Check out our November harvest!! Arugula, Spinach, Easter Egg Radishes, Swiss Chard & Lettuce. We made a colorful salad, homemade ranch dressing and topped it all off with some yellow broccoli flowers. Mmmm

With our greenhouse topper, we were able to grow some lettuce from saved seed. We still meet outside for class when the weather permits, but I know I can’t wait to tromp around in the snow and discuss the future of a campus garden at one of our middle school sites! Designing, dreaming and planning will be the themes of our next month of program. Do you know what it takes to plan for and manage a school garden? We will have the answers for you when we’ve learned.

In the meantime, check out this awesome resource from Douglas County: “Starting a School Garden” Toolkit 2012

Chelsea + Dan + Maranda

Busy Fall!

Here are a few updates and photos from our recent school visits. 

We are getting ready for the first frost in the city and just put the greenhouse topper back on the truck bed today.

Students are taking home plants to place in their windows and our first low tunnel is being constructed over our late fall greens. 

Heeeerbs!