Garden fun with Girlscouts troop 4296

With summer coming to a close and the fall season rolling in, it is time to get seeds started for winter crops! Here in San Diego, you can grow many vegetables in the winter that don't like our summer heat, like lettuce and other greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, and herbs like parsley and cilantro.

The Girlscouts troop 4296 has been helping out in the River Road Gardens on a regular basis since May, and now they have started a take home project: turning tiny seeds into seedlings for our winter garden! When they bring back the seed trays in a few weeks, the little plants will be ready to transplant into the ground.

The vegetables we grow at the River Road Gardens go directly to our 8 preschool kitchens throughout North County San Diego. Starting seeds and fostering the seedlings for North County Community Services is a great way for kids and adults to give back to their community! Even with fancy seed-starting trays, it is still highly cost effective when compared to buying baby plants.

We also have beds for rent to community members to grow their own food. If you are interested in helping in the gardens or renting a bed, contact Abby, garden program and volunteer coordinator at volunteer@sdnccs.org.

And now, some pictures from Girlscout troop 4296 from June 2011.

Above: The girls take a break for snacks

Below: We learn where potatoes come from

Below: starting seeds in the garden

For the full album, click here!