"Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is the best."
-Tim Duncan's mom.
-Tim Duncan's mom.
Before the garden
Prior to the growth of the Lin Garden, it started out as a plain 1 meter x 1 meter plot of soil covered by lion grass, bounded by wooden planks. The lion grass was a form of no-till agriculture. It reduces soil erosion and helps maintain the soil's moisture. Prior to planting the seedlings in the garden, the Lin Family had already started growing the seeds. The seeds were placed in soil in a salad container box for about two weeks. And once the 1 x 1 meter box was completed, the seedlings were placed in the garden and the Lin Garden was born!
Choosing the plants to grow
There was a wide variety of crops our group was able to grow, thanks to Mr. Munoz. The first time we chose our crops, we were each given a small pot in which the seeds were to be placed. The seeds would sprout and grow a little bit and then they were planted into our the garden. The seeds that were originally chosen were carrots, cilantro, lettuce, peas, radish, broccoli, and zucchini. We chose a variety of crops to grow. We chose crops according to the way it grew. Some crops such as the radish and carrots would grow underneath the surface and were placed in the front of the garden (south side towards Duarte Avenue). Others like peas would grow tall and so they were placed in the back (towards the north side, Campus Drive). The zucchini and broccoli were also in the back. The plants that were placed in the center were plants that were not tall but not underground. There was a large abundance of lettuce in the middle and spread out since lettuce grows fairly fast compared to other plants like zucchini.
Growing the plants
As time progressed, we learned about weeds, bugs, flowers and more! The plants were watered frequently and our group would check on our garden almost every day. We pulled weeds, took out unwanted flowers, watered our garden a few times, and planted more crops! One challenge for our garden was that in the beginning, we planted too many seeds too close to each other so our plants did not grow big, tall, and strong. If this occurs, simply separate the seedlings or sprouts by digging them out and spreading them apart. Make sure to give each seed enough space so it can mature with ease. Growing peas was another challenge for our family. The peas grew in vines and our group needed to build or put something that would support the peas in a way so it would grow up. Gardening is a trial and error experience. If a mistake is made, learn from it and fix it!