Garden 118 Halloween Party

Just a reminder that this Wednesday October 29th  3pm - 4pm we will be having a special Garden 118 Halloween Party!!!

There will be treats, games, a seed saving station and a  pumpkin learning station! Come join us for this fun 1 hour class and dress up as your favorite farm character (nothing scary or gory).

If you have any questions or want to join us leave a comment or email me!

Hope to see you all there!

Seed Saving Class

Today was all about saving seeds from your summer harvest!

We explored the garden and collected marigolds & basil. I had already had corn, sunflower, pumpkin ready for when the kids arrived.

After I showed them how to harvest the seeds we crafted seed packets for them to take their seeds home in.

We talked about the seed lending library at the Chico branch of the library. You can check out seeds then bring them back after harvest. Fun way of sharing seeds that you know grow well in our area!

We also discussed the reasons to save seeds the easiest seeds to save, and the more difficult ones, too.

The kids also got to feed the chickens sunflower seeds (a favorite of the birds) and chase the ducks.

The seed packets are from You Grow Girl . It is a great source for information on seeds, storing them, harvesting, and preserving. Also a great resource for canning, gardening, crafting (what I do, but on a much bigger scale :)

Thank you all for attending and hope to see you at the next class or two!

Dragonflies have a Purpose in the Garden!

A few weeks ago, when the weather turned cloudy and cold, the kids found this dragonfly hanging around in the ivy. 

We decided to learn about dragonflies! And what better way than having one right outside our front door.

lovely wings

I never knew much about dragonflies or really what their purpose was in the garden except to make it pretty in the late afternoon. So off to the books we headed to find out.

They have eyes that are made up of about 30,000 facets

Dragonflies eat mosquitoes and other small bugs. Their job in the garden and around your home is to keep the mosquito population in check. But they have to watch out for birds and lizards. They love to snack on these garden beauties.

Dragonflies have been around for about 300 million years...amazing

They lay eggs in fresh water ponds and streams and stay in the water eating small fish and even tadpoles while they are babies. They stay babies for up to 2 years depending on species. Unfortunately the adult dragon flies only live for a few weeks.

More facts and activities can be found here easyscienceforkids.com (search for dragonfly).

A fun activity to try is making a dragonfly habitat or garden. Maybe this spring or summer we will give it a try! How about you?

October Class Schedule

As promised I have put together a schedule for the month of October. Now that we have established some sort of routine and can now slow down and enjoy garden classes again!

I am SO excited about this. I first have to say that I got my inspiration from an article I read in Bon Appetite magazine. Based on that article I am offering 2 hands on gardening classes and one cooking class a month.

The gardening classes are free but the cooking class is going to cost a small fee for materials and food. And mom's stay tuned for MOM's only cooking classes where we can learn a few more lunch ideas, dinner menus, and just some mom time (a fee will apply for materials and wine;)

I do have to get a little more strict with the sign ups due to space limitations. Please let me know if you will be attending any or all the classes with either an email, comment on the blog, or comment on facebook with how many are attending so I can pencil in your spot. Also payment will be due at the time of class on the cooking days or any other classes that are offered for a fee.

This round of classes are going to be super awesome!!!!

October Schedule of Classes

Tuesday October 14th from 10-11:30 will be Seed Saving - have fun collecting seeds to keep and plant in the spring!

Saturday October 25th from 10:30 - 12:00 will be our first ever COOKING CLASS! We will be making 2 variations of pizza, then we will sit down and enjoy our creations with one another! The fee for this class is $3.00 per child (adults are free) which includes food and material costs.

glass gem corn

Wednesday October 29th from 3:00 - 4:00 pm will be our first annual Halloween party!!! We will learn about pumpkins, fall planting/winter gardening. Come dressed in your costume, if you want and enjoy some tricks and treats! (donations of cookies or candy would be appreciated but are not necessary).

I can't wait to see all of you this October and don't for get to sign up for one or all of the classes!

Learning About Ladybugs!

We have officially started homeschooling and let me tell you the learning never stops around here! Just last week the Crepe Mertle Trees began sapping and you know what that means?

LADYBUGS!!!

They love to lay their eggs on the sappy trees so I get to share with you what we have witnessed the first week of fall.

I photographed the following photos over a 2 day period documenting the life cycle of ladybugs, it is amazing!

Ladybug eggs are tiny, smaller than a pin head.

The ladybugs lay them in clusters

just hatched larva are quite plain

a larger larva getting ready for the next stage in becoming a ladybug, notice the beautiful orange color it has grown

the pupa looks much like an adult ladybug!

this side view, if you notice, the larva bristles slightly in view where it is attached to the tree

An adult ladybug!

A couple more, notice the color difference, younger ladybugs do not have spots.

from a tiny yellow egg into a beautiful form of pest control

Ladybugs are a great natural aphid killer. These photos were taken in a two day period of several different stages of a ladybugs life. A typical life cycle of a ladybug is between 3 - 4 weeks depending on weather. Eggs hatch in 3 - 5 days, the larva will eat aphids and other bugs for up to three weeks, then pupate which takes about a week.

Hope you enjoyed & I would love to hear what you think about my ladybug life cycle, so leave me a comment!

I would also like to note I should have the final schedule for Garden 118 Ready by the end of the week and will be posting it to Facebook. I have a whole new idea which I adapted from an issue of Bon Appetite Magazine and a few new classes to add for Moms to enjoy!

Indian Runners - Our Newest Family Members

Today we headed to the feed store for more bedding and feed for the chickens and the most spoiled crested pekins.

The kids and I headed out to look at the chickens and other birds they carry when we spotted two little Indian Runner ducklings. 

We have been wanting Indian Runners for their benefits to the garden and the farmer. These little darlings were so shy and skittish when they arrived at out home this afternoon.

We set up the brooder, gave them  fresh food and water, then let them relax for a bit to get used to new surroundings.

Later we took them outside for a supervised visit with the pekins (boy did those girls get MAD at the little ducklings. I swear Flippy Floppy refused to come out of her house while the ducklings were out.)

We are just smitten with these little cuties. And we finally named them, meet

Jean Claude and Dolph (a reference to Universal Soldier since the ducklings resemble soldiers when they walk...totally geeky I know, but we tend to lots of geeky, nerdy things around here)

Have any of you raised Indian Runners? Any tips or advise for us, we would love to here from you. Leave a comment below.

Summer Homeschool Test Run

I have always had a love for teaching and learning. Passing on knowledge that I have to others is such a joy and watching kids grow and learn is awesome. That is why I started Garden 118!

After school ended for Allison, I mentioned to my husband that I would like to try homeschooling. I figured that summer would be the best time to give it a test run and see if I would like it and if the kids would enjoy learning at home.

I decided to create a work box for each kid containing everything they need for assignments. They each grab their work boxes and baskets (what's in the baskets will be posted next week) and sit down a the table ready to learn. 

Scotty's starting preschool. His box contains just a few basic things to get him excited about being in school.

Allison is moving into first grade. Her work box is a little more advanced, with a bit more mathy things and a real chapter book!

Here is a dissected look at Scotty's preschool work box. It contains a composition book, markers, colored pencils, a paint palette, and an envelope for the smaller items. 

The envelope contains small and large pencil, beads for counting, scissors, glue stick, letter/animal tiles for his game.

Allison's work box is very similar with the composition book, markers, colored pencils, paint palette and envelope for the small stuff. The only difference is the addition of a ruler (the mathy thing) and her chapter book. 

In the envelope is the small and large pencil, glue stick, scissors, letter/number tiles for her game and a rogue craft stick.

 I kept the schedule very laid back and fun and we spent most of the time outside exploring and LOTS of time doing science experiments. I have really enjoyed this time with them. Watching them learn and figure out how things work is SO fulfilling.

In a few weeks, my Allison will head back to school starting first grade. My heart is heavy letting her be in someone else's care for the better part of the day, bored with sitting inside most of the time, and not a lot of hands on stuff to explore. But she is excited to get back and see her friends. 

Tomorrow though, she has already announced the school assignments she wants them to do, I will enjoy the time  learning with her and Scotty. And if school doesn't go as planned I am ready to take on home school!