How YOU can get involved.

Now that more people know about "Kids Grow Green" we have been asked how you can get more involved.

(photo courtesy of Ann Louisa Photography and Hood Magazine)

1.

Sign up to follow our blog by email by putting your email address in the box on the right side of the screen. That way you won't miss your chances to help when they come up.

2.

We will start to post challenges for you at home to share with us how you go/grow green at home. You can write us a note, or make us a video about the challenge and we will post it. Our kid ideas of how to Go Green, might be totally new and we should share them with the world.
Click to see our official Kids Grow Green Challenges post.

3.

 Sometimes there are events my friends and I may need help with. If we need more kids to help us at our events, we will post and you can email to sign up to help. Limited spots will be available.

4.

Grow your own plants at home to sell at a small stand like I did last year. Sell at rummage sales, or just on your corner. Donate the profits to a green cause of your choice, and let us know about what you are doing and how it is going along the way. 

 We want to tell others about what you are doing too!

I sold marigolds last year with my tomatoes. Marigolds are easy to grow and sell really well!

You could get started right away and still have a month to grow your marigold plants before the ground thaws!
Our master gardener friends say that people really like to buy herb plants too!
I have never grown those before though.

5.

You can even organize a growing event and sale for your class, or scout group, or 4H group next year. We would love Kids Grow Green projects to spread everywhere.

6.

Don't forget to come to our tomato plant sale on May 3rd at the Sioux Empire Farmer's Market and tell everyone you know to come too!

 

KSFY Morning News

 

Here is Kids Grow Green on KSFY Morning Show with Hood Magazine sharing about their Tomato Plant Sale and Project.

 

 

 

 

Here is Kids Grow Green enjoying their KSFY experience with Shawn Cable by having fun with the Green Screen during the weather. Since they we all wearing "Green" of course, the weather was on them!

Kids Grow Green, On the Cover of Hood Magazine!

The Hood Magazine Issue "All Things Green"  has now been officially released so I can post a link to the online version for you all to see!

Pick up a free copy at Hy-Vee!

Or read it online here.

To see more photos and read the website article, visit
www.thehoodmagazine.com

 

 

Read about our project in Hood Magazine!

Folded Newspaper Seed Starting Pots!

        

Make a seed starting pot out of folded newspaper that you can plant straight into the ground when spring comes.

 Recycled and biodegradable.

 We taught people how to make these at AG Day and will also teach people at the Party for the Planet at the Great Plains Zoo on April 19th.

Remember to come support Kids Grow Green buy buying your spring tomato plants from us!

May 3rd at the Sioux Empire Farmer's Market

located at 8th and Railroad Center.

 

 

Ag Day Photos!

Ag Day was great.

 

 

My friends Kaden, Gracie, Nicole and Sean helped me with my booth.

 

We taught a lot of people to fold newspaper pots.

Hood Magazine gave us green Hood shirts to wear for our events.

 

 

This is one of our tomato plants in a new cozy newspaper box home. He was taller but I planted him deeper because tomatoes will grow more roots from a buried stem.

 

I made a banner for our table the night before.

 

My mom said this reminds her of a scene from the film Watermelon Magic.

 

 

Showing people how to fold Newspaper pots to plant seeds in.

We told a lot of people about our sale and Kaden is really good at that now.

We put my plant stand up in the background to draw attention to our corner.

We had a busy day.

 This event sees 1500 people in 4 hours.

 

 

Come see Kids Grow Green at Ag Day Saturday!

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014 10:00 A.M. TO 2:00 P.M.

HOW MUCH FREE FARM FUN CAN YOU PACK INTO FOUR HOURS?

ENJOY FREE LUNCH + FREE ADMISSION TO THE KIRBY DISCOVERY SCIENCE   CENTER!

To get more details visit here
http://pavilionagday.org/

Not only is it going to be way cool, but we will be there show you how to fold your very own seed starting pots out of newspaper.

 

 

 Newspaper pots are great because they are biodegradable (this means they breakdown easily) and they are printed with non-toxic inks so they are safe for your food. This means you can plant your whole seed starting pot right into the ground once your plant grows.

You can plant Kale seeds at the Washington Pavilion event in you newspaper pot.

Each of our pots will have our logo and sale information on it so you won't forget.

 

Look at my tomato plant army today!

I will see if I can't bring a couple of them in newspaper pots tomorrow so you can meet them in person.

 

 

                   

                       

2014 Kids Activities

• Learn where your food comes from
• Spin fiber, weave and card wool
• Make your own pasta
• Participate in hands-on corn shelling
• See rootworm beetles
• Be a gardener and plant your own seeds
• Make soil you can eat
• Participate in coloring activities
• Crawl through a worm tunnel
• Get creative and decorate hard boiled eggs
• Smile in a photo booth
• Interact with live animals
• Create dirt critters
• Play with Farm Charms
• Learn all about pollinators

2014 Exhibitors

• Ag United for South Dakota
• Agropur
• Buy Fresh Buy Local  South Dakota Specialty Crop Producers Association
• CHS Eastern Farmers
• Cross Threads Fiber Guild
• Dakota Layers LLP
• Dakota Rural Action
• Hefty Seed Company
• Hood Magazine
• Kids Grow Green Sioux Falls
• Kirby Science Discovery Center
• Linda's Gardens
• Minnehaha County 4-H
• Natural Resources Conservation Service
• Pheasants Forever
• POET
• Raven Industries
• SDSU Alpha Zeta Chapter
• SDSU College of Agriculture & Biological Sciences
• SDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau
• SDSU Collegiate FFA/Ag Ed Club
• SDSU Dairy Club
• SDSU Extension - Lincoln County 4-H
• SDSU Food Science Club
• SDSU Horse Club
• SDSU Horticulture Club
• SDSU Plant Science & Precision Agriculture
• SDSU Pre-Veterinary Medicine Club
• SDSU Sigma Alpha Sorority
• SDSU Swine Club
• SDSU Wildlife and Fisheries Club
• Sioux Empire Farmers Market
• Sioux Empire Safety Village
• Siouxland Heritage Museums
• South Dakota Ag in the Classroom
• South Dakota Beef Industry Council
• South Dakota Biotech Association
• South Dakota Farm Bureau
• South Dakota Farmers Union
• South Dakota FFA Association
• South Dakota Grassland Coalition
• South Dakota Pork Producers Council
• South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council
• South Dakota Wheat Commission
• The Good Earth
• USDA / Agricultural Research Service / North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory
• USGS EROS Center

Conserving Water Callenge!!!

Did you know that the kind of water that tomato plants, or any kind of plants actually, like best is??

 

Rain Water!

 

Now I know that many of you don't have rain barrels laying around to collect rain water, and actually it is still too cold to have them out because they might freeze and crack. But... thanks to mother nature this week we have rain water right outside.

Where? The snow!

 

 

My challenge for you is to fill up a bin or some buckets with snow... As the snow melts you will have awesome fresh clean (safe for your plants anyway) water for you to water your tomato plants with.

 

 

 

You can bring smaller sized cups or buckets inside to melt now if you need to water your plants. And leave a larger container outside incase we have a faster melt.

 

Observations...

About how many inches of snow does it take in your container to melt into one inch of water?

 Will it be the same, or different? Does how hard you pack the snow in make a difference?

What are your predictions? 

 

The plants actually grow stronger, healthier and faster if you use this water than if you use your tap water.

 

Tap water contains chemicals like chlorine that we use to kill bacteria that may make it not safe for us to drink.

 

Although those chemicals may make it more safe for us, it actually is not as healthy for plants.

 

 

Warning:

When you collect your snow make sure it is not near a street or sidewalk.

There may be salt used for ice melt there and that would be bad news for plants.

 

 

Send us photos of what you collected your snow in. Send them to kidsgrowgreensf@live.com You can use whatever you have to hold snow. Even empty butter tubs, or other recycled containers. Reuse!

Not only are we conserving water by not using tap water, we are actually making our plants healthier.

(this post brought to you with some typing help from my mom)

Logo Contest Winner!

Our class decided to have a logo contest for Kids Grow Green. We learned about logos and then each got an index card to make our design on. Then we voted on them to see which one won.

 

 

Here is our Kids Grow Green Logo

 

 

It was designed by Gracie and features the acronym K.G.G. for Kids Grow Green.

 

Come see our logo in action at the Washington Pavilion Ag Day this Saturday the 22nd.

Kids Grow Green will be guiding visitors in making origami newspaper seed starting pots that they can plant kale seeds in at the event, and telling people about our project.

 

Each pot will get one of our stickers with our plant sale information on it, and it will include our logo.

 

Here were some close runner ups to show you what we designed.



Let it Grow, Let it Grow

I know you have probably heard the Frozen song "Let it Go" we just changed the words. :)

Let it Grow, Let it Grow... 

Now I bet that song is stuck in your head.

 

Here are some photos of my tomatoes, as you can see they have grown a lot.

 

 

 

These photos were taken on Sunday. They are actually starting to get their secondary leaves now.

 

 

 

We Have Our Three Green Causes!

Hey everyone!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
From Kids Grow Green
Who does things for Green causes
and we grow Green plants
to raise Green money.

...It's a good day for us!

I updated the "Who Will We Help?" post with all three groups that we will be helping with our profits from our project.

 

We chose them not only by the projects that they are working on and doing, but also on their willingness to take time to help and work with and support us kids on the project.

 

All three of our groups were super excited about our project and have offered ways they can help promote our sale, and also are willing to take time to teach us about what they do.

 

Our Green Groups who we will be raising money for are.

 

 

1.The Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum

 

 

2.  Ground Works

 

 

3. The Black Hills Raptor Center

 

To read more about each click over to our Who Will We Help? post

 

We are excited to work with all three of them and they are excited to work with us too!

So come to our Tomato Plant sale on May 3rd at the Sioux Empire Farmers Market to support your favorite by buying a Kids Grow Green tomato plant for your garden.
 

Kaden's Interesting Observation

Yesterday, I noticed my plants were facing towards the window where the sun was.  I thought this was because the plants like the sun.  I tested my theory by turning the plants around so they where facing the opposite direction and waited a day to see what would happen.   When I got home they where facing the sun again.   Have a look for yourself.         
Kaden

Show Us Your Sprouts

Here is Kaden and his sprouts.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Ben and his sprouts.

 

Observation: Ben has two different kinds of tomatoes in his tray. One kind looks like it has spouted and one kind looks like it has not yet. Maybe it is because we planted one at 1/2 inch and one at 1/4. Maybe it is because different kinds sprout at different times. Maybe it is both.

 

 

 

 

Here are Nicole's Sprouts which have gotten a ton taller since yesterday.

 

Ellen said once your plants have all sprouted you can take the lid off. She also said that you can water them from the bottom if they are dry on top. Just put 1 inch of water in the tray and let them soak it up. Tomatoes like being watered from the bottom. They don't like their leaves to get wet.

 

My mom will send spray bottles to school for everyone to take home soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Video #2 SPROUTS!!!!

We have sprouted!

 

Watch this video to know what to do with your new sprouts!

 

1. Don't touch the plants. They don't like that.
2. Leave the lids on for now when they are so tiny, so they stay warmer and don't dry out.
3. Don't take the seed pods off the top. They will fall off by themselves.
4. Ours are still very moist, so our plants still don't need any water.
5. If yours are dry of the top, fill the bottom tray with an inch of water and have the soil soak up water from the bottom again.
6. Once all/most of your plants have sprouted you can take the lid off.
 

 Observations: We noticed that ours sprouted faster where the soil was loose and not packed down. So if your soil is packed down it might take more energy for your seeds to grow. Just be patient, one whole tray of ours has not sprouted yet.

Did you make any observations?

Email photos of your sprouts, your observations or any other things you want to share to
kidsgrowgreensf@live.com

 

We will contact Kathy and Ellen to see if they have anything else they want you to know.

 

 

Show Us where your plants are.

 

Here are Quentin's plants by the window.

Looks nice and sunny.

 

 

 

Ben sent us this photo of where his plants are. Looks like a good spot.

Yoda can use the force to make them grow.

 

 

 

 

Nicole sent us this photo and said...

 

"Hi, I put my plant in front of patio door. Ten of them are already sprouted.  ------------Nicole"

 

 

My mom actually didn't believe it! She thought there might have been weed seed in the dirt because we expected to wait two weeks before we saw spouts.

But she was not the only one with sprouts.

 

 

Kaden, Gracie, and Nicole all had sprouts that they knew of and told me about.

 

So tonight we checked ours again and....

 

 

 

 

We have sprouts too!

 

So Nicole wins the for the first reported sprouts!

 

 



Watermelon Magic

 

 

My classmates and I were invited for a free viewing of the movie Watermelon Magic to help inspire our project of growing tomato plants to sell for green causes.
We LOVED the movie!!!!

Thank You Washington Pavilion and those who made Watermelon Magic for letting us see it!

 

 

Here is a clip.

 

 

When the film was first made it needed publicity just like our project. Watermelon Magic was funded on a website called Kickstarter.

This was the video the film maker Richard made to talk about his project. It talks about why he made the movie and what techniques he used.

  

 

 

I have made my own stop motion video before after reading the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

In the book the non-fictional character George Melies was a real movie maker who actually invented the stop-motion video edit that they used in the movie. My friends from class wanted to see my movie so I will post it below.

 

 

We actually get to make our own video to show at the Ground Works Fundraiser at Landscape Garden Centers on April 23th.

We get to show our 3 minute video about our project to those who come. I think we can maybe make a video of our plants growing like in the video watermelon magic.

 

  

 



Video #1 What to do with your tray once you are home.

 

I made a video to let you know what to do once your plants are home.

 

 

 

1. Put them by a window, inside, in a warm place. Not in a garage or outside.
2. Leave the lid on. It keeps it warmer in there and moist.
3. Don't water unless your soil is dried out. Ours is still plenty moist. It only needs to be wet like a wrung out sponge not a dripping one. Too much water will drown  your seeds/seedlings. A tiny seed won't need a ton of water.

We won't see anything for around two weeks so it is best to just leave it alone.

 

 

Take a photo of where you have your plants and send it to 

 

kidsgrowgreensf@live.com

 

and we will post it on the blog and show everyone where you are growing! 

Hood Magazine Photo Shoot

Today was the photo shoot for Hood Magazine's April issue. Emma and Caden from my class were able to come with me. I was glad that they were there. I think all three of us might be on the cover together. I can't wait until April!

The photographer was named Ann. Her studio is really cool. It has old wood floors and brick walls. It was downtown on 8th street. Landscape garden centers gave us some real plants to take photos with. We pretended they were tomato plants but they were really lavender plants, I think. 

PLANTING DAY!!!

Today was planting day.

 

We learned about how to plant three seeds in each spot because not all seeds always sprout.

 

 

We learned how to water our tomatoes from the bottom. Put water in the tray and let the plants soak up the water through the holes in the bottom. We will need to do this again in 3 to 5 days. Depending if it gets dried out.

A common killer of young tomato plants is watering TOO much. So we do not need to water for a while.

We used a chop stick to make our holes the right size and looked at a mark on the stick to show us how deep to plant them. Some said to plant 1/4 inch deep some 1/2 inch deep.

 

We learned that we breath in oxygen and out carbon dioxide and plants use carbon dioxide and create oxygen. So planting plants helps give us healthy air. 

 

We talked about putting our plants in a warm sunny place. They need to be inside for now. We need to keep them near a window. Seed like warm to sprout. 

 

Our master gardeners who helped us are named Kathy and Ellen.

Master Gardeners have to go to school and take tests to be a master gardener. Then they help others with their gardening projects.

 

Tomato seeds are really small. Some people realized that they are the little things inside the tomatoes.

 

We planted three kinds of tomato seeds so we kept the labels with each kind so we know what they are.

One kind was a Heirloom variety which means we can plant the seeds inside the tomatoes it grows again next year.

 

We had to make sure we kept track of where we planted each seed so every spot gets a seed.

 

We put covers on the trays to keep the moisture in, and to help keep them warm.

 

Ready to take our trays home.

 

 If you are looking for the information about the Hood Magazine Photo Shoot. Please contact me by email at kidsgrowgreensf@live.com

I was not able to read some of your email addresses so you might be missing an email from me.

Also if you follow the blog by email by entering your email address in the box to the right you will get an email with the blog posts in your inbox. This way you will not miss any tomato instructions.

Thanks!