Shine On! Photosynthesis

Monday was a beautiful day in the garden and all of the plants are doing very well. The gardeners spent time weeding (as usual) and watering. Hard to believe that after so much rain the gardens now need water. We also spent some time tying up tomato plants and learning how to remove unwanted suckers from the plants. Every garden looks great filled with healthy plants with lots of flowers and small vegetables. The students can clearly see the positive impact of sun, water and good soil on their plants and seeds and seem to be very pleased with the results. All of the adults have been very impressed with the enthusiasm and hard work displayed by the young gardeners.

Lenna found a couple of okra buds on her plants and shared with everyone.

The topic of today’s lesson was photosynthesis, which included a review of the 3 things that all plants need to thrive, light, water and oxygen. Most students were familiar with the basic concept of photosynthesis and Marlin did a great job of further explaining the scientific details of how it works and why the process is so important to sustaining life on earth. Afterwards, the students conducted a related experiment. Each student cut out several paper shapes, which were in turn paper clipped to a few plant leaves in the garden. After 2 weeks the students will compare the covered leaves to the others to see the impact. Should be interesting to see what happens.

The students made ladybug beanbags, which will be used for an outside game at a later date. We were very fortunate to have Nate and Sam’s mother Genenve and sister Louisa join the group today to help maintain the gardens while the boys are away at scout camp.