Meet the Beneficials: Natural Enemies of Garden Pests

The University of California Integrated Pest Management Program has produced a very informative poster for identifying good bugs that prey on bad bugs. We call these call good bugs, beneficial insects. Meet the Beneficials: Natural Enemies of Garden Pests illustrates the various natural predators and parasites that feed on common garden pests. One example is […]

Soil Testing

Soil testing is sometimes necessary when putting in a new school garden especially if asphalt has been removed. Even an existing  garden can be tested to make sure the soil contains all the proper nutrients and is free from contaminants. Los Angeles County Master Gardener, Herb Machleder, offers this recommendation from Peaceful Valley Organic Garden […]

4 Tips for Starting a School Garden with Students

If you’re an elementary school teacher and searching for a way to get your students more engaged with the outdoors and less glued to computer monitors and TV screens, you should consider starting a school garden. Since Michelle Obama started the White House garden as part of her healthy eating and living initiative, many teachers […]

Burpee Home Gardens® is now accepting applications for the 2012 “I Can Grow” Youth Garden Award.

Burpee Home Gardens® is now accepting applications for the 2012 “I Can Grow” Youth Garden Award. In its third year, the “I Can Grow” program continues to support urban school and community gardens in cities across the United States. To date, the “I Can Grow” program has provided more than 8,000 vegetable and herb plants […]

Edible Weeds

To some gardeners weeds are the bane of their existence, to others they are nothing more than plants growing where they shouldn’t. To some enlightened gardeners weeds are a delicacy. The secret really is knowing which are good weeds and which are bad weeds. Good weeds I will define as edible plants that are growing […]

A Child’s Garden of Standards: Linking School Gardens to California Education Standards

The California Department of Education has a free publication for downloading regarding school gardens and curriculum. A Child’s Garden of Standards: Linking School Gardens to California Education Standards links garden-based education activities selected from several published educational materials to specific academic content standards for grades two through six in science, history/social sciences, mathematics, and English […]