Guests and staff members have been asking for the names and sources of some of the unusual plants growing in the children’s vegetable garden. I have copied the inventory below along with a very informal rating and source code. The rating scale is from “-” (no germination/poor performer) to “++” (star performer). If there is neither a plus nor minus next to the plant then it performed adequately. This was an unusual growing season – with extended heat and drought most recently. The severity of the weather has made it hard on some plants that are typically decent performers – this year the kids harvested no carrots! So take the ratings with a grain of salt. I have also listed the sources for the seeds; the key is at the bottom of the list.
One thing stands out, when I cast my eye down this list – the children planted an awful lot! This year we kept them moving pretty much non-stop and they didn’t get disheartened by the weather. It is amazing what a group of 6 to 12 year olds can accomplish in just one day a week. I’d like to thank the parents, interns, and staff who helped the children accomplish this. Most of all, I’d like to thank the kids for doing such a great job with their gardens. It takes more than just hard work to make a garden – a really good garden needs to be fun and creative. That is what all of you brought to the garden this year THANK YOU.
| Younger Gardeners | ||
| Supersweet 100 Tomatoes | ++ | local |
| Carrot ‘Little Finger’ | - | Pinetree |
| Radish ‘Cherry Belle’ | + | Pinetree |
| Carson Wax Bean | ++ | Johnny’s |
| Lettuce ‘Simpson Elite’ | ++ | Pinetree |
| Marigolds (mixed varieties) | ++ | local |
| Eggplant (mixed varieties) | + | local |
| Older Gardeners | ||
| Supersweet 100 Tomatoes | ++ | local |
| Eggplant (mixed varieties) | + | local |
| Radish ‘Purple Plum’ | + | Pinetree |
| Carrot ‘Little Finger’ | - | Pinetree |
| Lettuce ‘Red Sails’ | Pinetree | |
| Carson Wax Bean | ++ | Johnny’s |
| Mint | + | local |
| Parsley | + | local |
| Thyme | + | local |
| Celery | + | local |
| Fernleaf Dill | + | Pinetree |
| Italian Large Leaf Basil | ++ | Pinetree |
| Bronze Fennel | + | Pinetree |
| Cosmos ‘Sonata Dwarf’ | + | Pinetree |
| Angelonia (mixed colors) | ++ | local |
| Projects – Dye Plants | ||
| Hopi Red Dye Amaranth | + | Pinetree |
| Bulls Blood Beet | Pinetree | |
| Japanese Indigo | - | Pinetree |
| Golden Margerite | - | Pinetree |
| Mexican Mint Marigold | - | Johnny’s |
| Projects – Cosmos Trial | ||
| Cosmos ‘Sensation’ | + | Pinetree |
| Cosmos ‘Purity’ | + | Pinetree |
| Cosmos ‘Psyche’ | + | Pinetree |
| Cosmos Pied Piper Red | Burpee | |
| Cosmos Pink Popsicle | Burpee | |
| Cosmos Dancing Dolls | Select Seeds | |
| Cosmos Sparkling Wine | Select Seeds | |
| Cosmos Cranberries | Select Seeds | |
| Projects – Agronomic Crops | ||
| Cotton | + | Pinetree |
| Peanut | + | Pinetree |
| Hopi Blue Dent Corn | + | Pinetree |
| Malali Watermelon | ++ | Pinetree |
| Soy Bean ‘Envy’ | ++ | Pinetree |
| Oaxacan Green Corn | + | Johnny’s |
| Jerry Petersen Blue Corn | + | Johnny’s |
| Northern Tepehuan Maizillo–Annual Teosinte | Native Seeds SEARCH | |
| Seneca Red Stalker Corn | + | Seed Savers Exchange |
| Japonica Striped Corn | ++ | Seed Savers Exchange |
| Golden Bantam Cord | ++ | Seed Savers Exchange |
| Schronce’s Deep Black Peanut | + | Southern Exposure Seeds |
| Red Foliated Cotton | + | Southern Exposure Seeds |
| Arkansas Green Lint Cotton | + | Southern Exposure Seeds |
| Projects – Common Beds | ||
| Cucumber ‘Boothby’s Blonde’ | + | Pinetree |
| Sunbeam Zucchini | + | Johnny’s |
| Zebulon Dwarf Sunflower | + | Johnny’s |
| Ruby Moon Hyacinth Bean | + | Johnny’s |
| Benary’s Giant Wine Zinnia | ++ | Johnny’s |
| Burgundy Okra | ++ | Burpee |
| Mammoth Russian Sunflower | ++ | Burpee |
| Queen Anne’s Pocket Melon | + | Select Seeds |
| Goldfinger Mexican Sunflower | ++ | Select Seeds |
| Silver Queen Okra | ++ | Seed Savers Exchange |
| Yellow Torch Tithonia | ++ | Southern Exposure Seeds |
| Projects – Long Border | ||
| Four O’clock High Tea | Burpee | |
| Persian Red Love-in-a-Mist | Select Seeds | |
| Russian Hollyhock | ++ | Plant Delights |
| Spanish Snapdragon | ++ | Plant Delights |
| Giant Tree Dahlia | ++ | Plant Delights |
| Hardy Rosemary | ++ | Plant Delights |
| Angelonia (mixed shades) | ++ | local |
| Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) | ++ | saved from last year |
| Eucalyptus (probably E. neglecta) | ++ | saved from last year |
| Lavender (white flowered) | ++ | saved from last year |
| Black cotton | ++ | local |
About Projects
Each season we try a couple of new things and we also grow crops that are just too large to fit in the kids’ individual gardens. The “common beds” are where we put sprawling plants like watermelon and squash. The other projects are experiments. This year we trialled heirloom varieties of cosmos, grew some agronomic crops like cotton and soybean, tried growing some dye plants for a craft project, and experimented with some exotic plants in the Long Border opposite the Headhouse.
Key
local – a locally purchased plant
Burpee
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Native Seeds SEARCH
Pinetree Garden Seeds
Plant Delights Nursery
Seed Savers Exchange
Select Seeds
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Thompson & Morgan
What a great project!!!! I’m hoping that you’ll allow seniors to garden there with the children next year!
That is a nice idea. We’ve talked about making space for others to garden – so we’ll keep you posted!
[...] I had the chance to walk with Chris Strand through the KidsGrow children’s garden last week. I was fascinated to see an ornamental cotton in bloom and in seed.Here’s a follow-up to Chris’ August article about what is planted in the KidsGrow garden near the Brown Horticulture Learning Center. Note: some of these plants will be cleaned up on September 27 in anticipation of next week’s Truck & Tractor Day. http://gardenblog.winterthur.org/2012/08/02/whats-flowering-in-the-kids-garden-this-year/ [...]