Those aren't cucumbers, they're pickles!

It's been a hectic past couple of weeks!  Now, thanks to new kids and new germs, I am home sick.  At least I can finally get caught up on some blogging.

As I promised in a previous post, we had to make pickles due to comments from kids that what we had growing were pickles, NOT cucumbers, lol.  :)  It's amazing (and a bit disturbing) how far we as a society are removed from the process of gardening and how veggies and fruits grow.

During my last week with summer camp, we finally had enough ripe cukes at once to make pickles.  This was a 'wing it' activity, as I have never made pickles before and of course, did not try it out ahead of time.  The aspect of 'canning' was definitely NOT an option.  I know nothing about that stuff, and it takes months, as well as an array of unhandy supplies to can foods.  Luckily, I found a recipe for 'refrigerator pickles.'  Here is a link to the recipe:  Refrigerator Pickles

The great thing about this recipe is that it only takes 3 days in the fridge and they are ready to eat!  The other thing about it is, it doesn't have a bunch of ingredients or time consuming processes, as canning does.  The basic ingredients: cucumbers, vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, and dill.

We began by going over the ingredients in the recipe.  The kids had to smell each ingredient, lol.  Which was fun...vinegar?  Garlic?  Sure, take a big sniff!  Many commented that the vinegar smelled like Easter eggs.

On this day, we had 30 kids, between the ages of 6 and 7.  This activity really held their interest well, even though not each kid was able to do an action.  Looking back, I could have done the same activity in 2 groups.    Yet, summer camp is very hectic and hard to plan for, never knowing how many kids, juggling field trips, etc.

The kids were amazed by the inside of the cucumber and all of the seeds.  I explained that each seed, if later planted would grow into another cucumber plant, thus providing us with many more cucumbers, and then many, many more seeds.

I tried to crop this pic, but couldn't find it, I swear I am wearing a skort, lol, shorts are underneath!

I picked kids that were sitting quietly and raising their hand to add ingredients.

We added the cucumbers, garlic, and dill to the container.  Then added the other ingredients to the pot.  The ingredients in the pot had to be boiled then cooled to room temperature.  Therefore, we finished off the activity later in the afternoon.

We also did a chart, each kid predicting whether they would or would not like the pickles.  Three days later, the pickles were ready!  I was worried and honestly, a bit scared to try one.  But, they were perfect!  Nice and crisp with a good balance of saltiness and tartness.  We had enough for each kid to have a couple as well as all the teachers.  The teachers liked them better than the kids and many requested the recipe.  Some of the kids didn't want to taste them. I had hoped that because they were so involved with so much of the process...from cucumber seed to pickle...that they would more apt to give it a try.  Well...not so much the case, until I pulled out the camera to take pics of the kids that were tasting!  Then, everyone had to try one, lol.  Whatever works!

Later that day we went back to the chart and filled in the column for "Did you like the pickles."  Unfortunately I did not get a picture of the chart, but 5 kids liked them that predicted they would not.  Pretty cool!  I have already done this activity again with my new pre-k crowd, and it has also been a hit.  I highly recommend this for any age, and don't forget, even if you don't have a garden, you can still make your own pickles!  :)

Last week with summer camp was a harvest hit! Yet, bittersweet...

Well, due to thunderstorms, field trips and heat advisories, we were kept off the playground for most of the week.  Finally, last Friday morning we made it outside.  I was pretty concerned that many of the plants in the squash family would be done.  Because of the weather, and outright chaos of a drastic increase in students and my assistant leaving, I barely had a chance to breath, let alone spray pesticides.

As I counted heads passing through the door, my dedicated little gardeners ran ahead to see the garden.  They were back before I finished counting!  "OMG, Ms. Caitlin!  You gotta come see!"  I was in awe of how much had grown in such a few days, and everything looked healthy!

This my absolute favorite picture so far!  I love how these 3 are stacked up over each other, discovering 3 cantaloupes!  I was concerned about the cantaloupes as (after planted of course) I read that it is not recommended to plant them that time of year.  I guess it depends on how long they takes to ripen, but we have a good 2 months, at least...based on the average October 15th frost.  The other thing I love about this pic is the boy in the background, standing straight and tall, gazing up at the corn...too cute!

Speaking of corn, the kids had an ah-ha moment, so excited to spot the tassels (hairs) in the stalks!

It's hard to see from the picture, but M is pointing at the 'hairs.'  It hit me that this was an 'ah-ha' moment for many of the kids.  The corn was now showing something a few of them had seen on corn-on-the-cob.  Finally this plant called corn was producing something they could relate too.  WE have also learned how corn pollinates.  The top part of the stalk produces flecks of 'pollen' (don't know technical term) that fall down into the baby cobs, causing them to pollinate, planting the corn in blocks rather than a single row greatly enhances the chances of pollination, with the help of wind. We planted 3 rows with 3 seeds in each row...a lesson in multiplication!  :)





The cucumbers were also a hit as we found 4 ripe.  Yay! We have enough to make pickles!  We also dug deep into our green bean bushes to find a handful for harvesting.

  

Having the garden along the chain link fence has proven to allow easy access as well as additional trellising for our vining plants.

The cantaloupes have really taken to growing on the fence.  We will have to keep an eye on the stems to be sure the weight of the cantaloupes don't cause them harm.  Nylon hose "hammocks" may be in order in their near future!  :)

One cantaloupe can be seen peeking from behind the bottom right leaf.

Finally, we had a red tomato!  I read online that tomatoes will stay green when temps don't get below 70, well that's been very true of the extreme heat we have been having.  This particular tomato was hidden under other toms and much foliage.  This turned into an on-the-spot discussion about why that particular tomato ripened first.  The kids picked up quickly on the fact this it was more shaded and therefore cooler.  We expanded more on this once inside as I explained that my tomatoes at home have been ripening throughout the summer.  I drew a picture of how my garden backs up to a privacy fence built in a north-south direction.  I drew a east-west line over the fence/garden, showing how the sun rises and sets across the garden, getting half as much sunlight.  The kids that were still paying attention by this point understood very well, lol.

This marked my last day with these kids, as pre-k planning has now begun.  Time to transition towards some fall garden items as well.  I really hope that whomever the after-school teacher will be, will continue to use the garden as a tool for learning, as she will have many of the same kids I had this summer.  They may leave her with no choice, as their excitement grows with each new veggie in our garden! :)

It has been a hectic past couple of weeks, when I get a chance I will also be adding posts about our pickling experience, the corn stalk graph, as well as graphing the growth of our watermelon verses cantaloupe through measuring their circumferences.  Stay tuned!

Garden, end of July, 2011

Feeling defeated...

I guess we have hit the second round of the dreaded SVB's.  This time they hit our precious Giant Pumpkin plant.  :(  I was planning some great activities with these:  measuring the circumference to follow it's rate of growth, comparisons with the watermelons growth, more predictions, etc.  A real 'wow' factor for the kids.  Our diligence in  hunting/removing the eggs is not enough.  Upon finding a different insect the other day and not knowing whether it was a good one or not, M. (age 6) said, "We better just kill it, after those SVB's, better safe than sorry."  She's got a good point.  I hate to veer from organic, but we need some chemical warfare, Bacillus Thuringiensis otherwise known as BT.

1st baby pumpkin, not yet pollinated

At least our watermelons are coming along well.

Isn't it cute!  :)