>>We have three high tunnels where we're able to start crops extra early, so that in the spring when lots of students start coming out, we have lots of different crops for them to taste while they're on the farm for their field trips.

>>We cut production in half generally for most plants, particularly leafy greens, they take 60 days outside, they take 30-32 days inside.

>>I'm Peggy Singlemann, host of "Virginia Home Grown" and in the first half of our show, we'll be learning about the effort to repurpose an old building with innovative farming methods, fulfilling the need for fresh vegetables within the Petersburg community.

>>And I'm Keith Nevison, in the second half of the show we'll be visiting Project Grows in Verona to learn about the ways they engage youth by tasting new crops and enjoying fun on the farm.

As always, we welcome your questions via email and Facebook.

Stay tuned for another episode of "Virginia Home Grown."

>>Production funding for "Virginia Home Grown" is made possible by.

(Upbeat Music) >>Hi I am Peggy Singlemann.

Welcome to "Virginia Home Grown".

As gardeners we plan and grow, looking forward to a bountiful harvest or the beauty of a garden and the warmth of the summer sun is bringing those plans to life.

Today we are exploring two garden initiatives designed to meet the needs in their area.

Though they take different approaches, both of these community supported programs strive to increase the availability of fresh produce in their neighborhoods and serve as educational resources for children, youth and adults.

Remember to send in your gardening questions through Facebook or email to ask our guests about their community endeavors in agriculture or other gardening questions you may have on your mind.

In the second half of the show, my co-host Keith Nevision, tours Project GROWS whose mission is to improve the health of children and youth through garden based education and access to healthy food.

First, let's take a look at my visit to the Harding Street Agriculture Center in downtown Petersburg where Marcus Comer is working with urban farmers and student volunteers who step indoors to tend their crops.

>>Well, Marcus, I've never been to an indoor farm before, so please tell me about it.

>>Well, this used to be a gymnasium.

And then USDA gave us funding to start this, it was a research project.

>>Okay.

>>And so we built it out, but now it has morphed into this community center and we're helping farmers do their startups.

>>That's fascinating.

>>So it's agribusiness startup is what we're doing now.

>>So each of these chambers is a different farm?

>>So each of these chambers is a different farm.

And this first chamber is one that we actually use for ourselves, we do all of our seeding in here.

>>Oh let's go take a peek, I love looking at seeds.

>>So welcome to the seeding room.

We seed the plants for the indoor systems for the gardens outside.

We do growing seedlings for, this is some of our contract work.

So we provide the plants for several of the community gardens in town.

as well as farmers, and we even sell in Richmond.

>>That's fantastic.

Who does all the sowing of the seed?

Cause that takes a lot of time, people don't realize that.

>>This is the volunteers.

They come in and >>Oh, God bless them.

>>Yeah, cause that's very tedious.

You know, we have tweezers, cause some of the seeds are very, very tiny and you want one seed to each tray, as much as possible.

We only have two staff.

The rest all comes from volunteers.

>>That's amazing.

That's a lot of work to be done.

Once the trays are sewn, do you have a seed starting chamber?

>>So we do have a propagation chamber that we built, a DIY project.

Those things cost thousands of dollars, we built ours on a shoestring budget.

and it gives us a 95% humidity, 80 degrees inside.

And it allows the plants, the seeds to actually pop within 24 to 72 hours.

>>They don't have a choice but to germinate with that.

>>Right.

(Peggy laughs) And so that helps speed up production, so you get them germinated.

We get the trays together, throw them in there for a couple of days, they start germinating and then we get them under the lights.

And then it's just a few days and you can get the stuff turned around.

>>I would imagine lighting is the most important component of being in an indoor farm?

>>It is.

You know, when we were doing strictly research that was the bulk of what we were studying.

All the different types of lights.

So we've got high pressure sodium, LED, we've got T5's, T8's, we've got every type of grow light possible that we've experimented with in here.

We've even got those that you can select the spectrum that you want.

>>Fantastic.

>>Because we found, you know, many plants need different spectrums at different parts during the growing cycle.

So you can select which spectrum to give them.

>>You've really fine tuned this to a true science and an art.

>>Yeah, well, you know, agriculture is a science and so many people miss that point that agriculture is a science.

>>Absolutely, absolutely.

Well, you've got some other chambers too.

>>Let's go take a look at the growth chambers.

See the plants in action.

>>See where they go?

>>Yeah.

>>Thanks.

>>So each of these grow chambers is run by a different farmer in the program.

This first one is an aquaponics unit, so we use float trays and it's all fed by fish poop.

>>So green, they're very healthy.

>>Yeah, well, it's all about the poop.

>>It sure is.

>>So now, the fish are over here.

>>My, you can have a lot in here.

>>We have enough to do 400 fish.

We're not running 400 fish right now, but we use tilapia, because you can market the fish as well.

>>Absolutely.

>>But to make up the difference we use goldfish because they provide just as much poop, if not more.

>>And you know, I can take that because I had goldfish for my girls when they were little and I was always cleaning that tank.

They sure do poop.

>>So let's take a look at this other chamber here.

>>Yes, I'm curious, what's here?

>>So this is a mostly exotic greens.

Most of these are going to the local restaurants, farmer's market and to a couple of sites in Richmond.

And so we're excited that, you know the farmer has come in and put in his own investment.

He built this system and he's planning to expand and maximize the space in here.

So next time you come, you'll see plants growing up along the walls.

And he's got some Dutch buckets he's about to put in.

So we're excited about the possibilities in here.

>>Well, I can see that we've got some horizontal farming but what about the vertical farming?

>>If we planted these outside, it would take 60 days before you can harvest them.

In here, 30, 32 days.

>>That's amazing.

>>Because they're constantly getting fed nutrients and the perfect lighting.

So they just grow.

>>So what's the media that these seedlings are growing in?

Because I noticed in the growing chamber that it was a specific medium.

>>Well, we use rock wool in most of these systems.

There's several different types of hydroponic media that you can use but we like the rock wool.

Price point and the time of life because you can get two uses out of most of this.

So we like it for that.

>>Well, where does this go?

From, you know, once it's mature and been harvested what's the next step?

>>Well, from here, we have a prep kitchen.

Most of this would go through the prep kitchen where it's washed and cut and bagged, and then heads out the door.

We have a refrigerator.

We have several other farmers who are not tenants here but we have them in the community.

They will use our refrigerator to store the food for the market.

So like every Friday we have a pop market, it takes place right outside.

And the pop markets are new and the people in the community, the responses is awesome because they just have not had that here.

>>Exactly, this is, you know Petersburg is a bit of a food desert.

>>Yeah.

I hate that word, but that's what it is.

>>Yeah, I do too.

>>But we're working to improve that.

>>So tell me what's the next step?

>>Well, the next step is to grow out the business incubator.

We have chickens, we have an egg program coming in.

And you may hear the roosters crowing in the background but we have some chickens in, but we're building some new coops.

We have a tenant that's coming in.

That's going to run an egg program.

>>Another aspect of farming brought indoors, I love it.

>>And it's just an example of how you can repurpose an old building.

And indoor Ag is very viable, especially now with the cost of solar panels coming down, because we wouldn't be able to do this without solar panels.

I mean, you look at all the lights and the water and the pumps.

We have solar panels that cut our costs significantly.

>>That's wonderful.

>>And it also puts it back on the grid.

So we get credits that way as well.

>>That's fantastic, never thought about that.

That's a great idea.

>>Yeah, yeah.

So that's where we're going.

And then after that, we're working on our non-profit status.

>>Wonderful.

>>So we've started the ball rolling, but we have, there's a lot to do to get there.

And so we're working with our partners and we have this wonderful partnership with all of our nonprofits in the community.

Rather than fighting each other we're working together so that we can get more done.

>>I think it's wonderful.

You're using local volunteers.

You've got local nonprofits working together.

You have local farmers coming in, farming in a very unique way and using buildings that many of us consider to just be old abandoned spaces.

But you're giving them new life, giving them a Phoenix and all for the benefit of the community.

And I applaud you and VSU and the USDA and everyone involved.

I think this is wonderful endeavor.

I hope it can continue throughout the state, I really do.

>>That is our goal, that is our dream.

To replicate this around the state.

>>That would be great.

Marcus, thank you for having us and sharing with us, this new story, this new endeavor.

>>Thank you.

I am always fascinated by hydroponics and am grateful for the research completed by VSU on light requirements and aquaculture that compliments soilless farming methods.

Speaking of fish, we're going to learn about fish, plants and indoor urban agriculture with Doctor Comer, VSU's Extension Specialist for Natural Resources, but before we get started, remember to send in your gardening questions via Facebook or email.

Well, Marcus, what have you brought and what is it all for?

>>Well, I have brought a DIY flood table.

Now, we use flood tables in hydroponics as a way to move water across the roots and get nutrients to the plants.

Now with the flood table, you can do this using both soil and a soilless medium and so that's why I like flood table, so I thought I'd show you how to use one.

>>Thank you.

>>You can compliment this with your house plants even.

>>You see, basically you're flushing this nutrient rich water through.

>>That is correct.

>>Oh, but let's see how we can make one.

>>All right, well, first I wanna show you what a commercial one looks like.

You can get one of these about for about $120.

There're two stores in Richmond that specialize in hydroponics that you can go and get it or you can of course order it.

Again they cost about $120.

>>Oh my.

>>So, the system I'm gonna show you, cut that in half because I'd hate for someone to go and spend all that money and then find that they don't like it.

So this way, you can get your feet wet, play with it, it's very inexpensive, I'll save you about $100.

>>Sounds great.

>>So, what we started with here, this is just one of those under the bare totes on the wheels.

>>I love it.

>>And so I precut everything and put some of this stuff together, but we took this and we cut our holes, about 1/3 hole.

You can use a drill, but because this is so thin it was easier to use a soldering iron.

So I just used a soldering iron with a cutting edge on it.

>>So it kind of burned it, yeah?

>>Yeah, it literally just cut through with a hot knife.

>>Nice.

>>And then we plug in our nozzles.

>>Aha!

>>And so I have some pack of nozzles.

The flood and drain kit is what they called.

Cost you about eight bucks to get a pack >>And so those are actually create a seal that's waterproof.

>>They have rubber seals on both ends.

So there's one on the top end and one on the bottom end and so it makes a good seal and then if you get a little leak, you can get you some a 100% silicone.

100% silicone, once it cures, it's aquarium safe, so it means it'll be safe for your flowers as well.

>>It's a lot of times what they line aquariums with to keep them a 100% waterproof, yes.

>>And so if you hand me the pump, so I wanna show the pump.

>>Okay.

This pump cost you about 25 to $28.

>>Aha!

>>It's very simple piece.

End of life, they last about three years.

We've gone through so many pumps that we know when they're in.

(Peggy giggles) So three years is the mark and you're gonna put that submersible pump into...

Your tote of nutrients, which is just water and so we're using a bucket here today just so we wouldn't make a mess.

You line your drain over the tote because what's gonna happen is you're gonna pull those nutrients up with the pump, fill up your tray and then it's gonna drain back out and then you just reuse those nutrients over and over again.

>>So what do we put in the tray?

We've got some plants I see and some are in soil.

>>Yeah.

So with this system, you can use both existing parts with your soil and just sit them in here and as it fills, it's gonna fill up and the soil is gonna soak it in and then it's gonna run back out.

>>Right, is this going to regulate the water depth or-- >>So what this does, take this and so you pop this right into... >>The hole.

Aha.

So everybody can see, yes.

>>And you can make some adjustments to it if you need to.

The rate of flow is going to really be determined on how big your tank, how big you make your table as well as how many plants you have in here or how much it's gonna fill.

So it's gonna fill up and then it's gonna start to drain, but it's gonna fill up faster than it drains, so have to make your adjustments.

>>So you make sure your plants are above that waterline.

>>Yes.

>>Yes.

>>And then to make all of this work, you'll need a timer.

A digital timer will work best mainly because you can set those to the second whereas the old traditional ones, you have 30-minute increments >>It's a little wishy washy, yeah.

>>So you may cut it on and it overfills and flows on you.

So it's pretty simple and all together this cost about $120.

>>Sounds great.

>>So the cost of the whole system is worth the cost of one table table.

>>Of one table and then you have to buy all the equipment and said, yes.

>>Another thing that you can do with this tub is you can go with the soilless as medium.

So you can use the rock wall.

>>Aha!

>>They come in different sizes.

This is the blocks and then you can also use the clay rocks.

(paper crackling) So these clay rocks, they provide something that the roots can hold on to, to hold themselves up and so you can connect this to your fish tank if you wanna go at a hydroponics.

You can just connect this to your fish tank instead of putting the pump into a bucket, you can put it in your fish tank and then pump that water and re circulate it.

>>Circulate it.

Well, I have a question, if you don't have a fish tank and you need the water, what type of nutrients do you put in to the water to make sure your plants have the adequate food they need?

>>Well, there's all sorts of water soluble fertilizers on the market.

You wanna get one that says it's good for hydroponics, but there's a ton of them on the market and so, as long as it has nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and the whole nine yards just like regular yard fertilizer, you good to go.

>>Well, that sounds great and tell me, is that water-soluble fertilizer, it's just constantly recycling, so how often do you have to sort of like add more?

>>It depends on what you're growing.

Well, for a lot of leafy greens, we check it maybe one and a half weeks, every two weeks it has to be changed, but you also get evaporation from your tank too.

So you're constantly changing the water and checking your nutrients.

Now... We generally use technology to check.

>>I bet.

>>But there are all sorts of home kits.

You can check your pH, just follow the directions and just continue to have a regular schedule on when you add your nutrients and you should go, just watch your plants, your plants will tell you.

>>Tell me though, with giving these plants continuous nutrient bath, do the plants respond and grow faster?

>>Most of them will grow faster in hydroponics.

It cuts the growing time in half being that we growing in soil, it may not cut the growing time in half, but you're gonna see some difference.

I mean, you'll see bigger stalks, you'll see greener plants.

>>You'll see the difference.

>>You'll see the difference.

>>Well, speaking of seeing, can we turn this on?

Give me all that stuff.

(Peggy giggles) >>Oh, let's give it a shot.

>>I wanna see, just take out the rocks.

>>Give it a shot.

>>Here.

And let's see it.

So we've got it bubbling on up through an in and it's filling up.

>>So what happens, you see water comes up one and then as it rises, it will start to drain out of the other.

>>So it should never flood?

>>It should never flood.

>>Right.

So if we're using a block like this, we would have our drain much lower, so that it would never truly submerge the plants.

>>Right.

You may have to make the adjustment depending on what size pots you have, what type of media you have.

It really is gonna vary from plant to plant, from media to media.

>>Okay.

>>The way this is set up at the moment, we've got a while before it will start to drain.

>>Yeah.

>>But the idea with this pot, if you line this up with several pots, that would be perfect.

>>Cause then that water level would rise faster.

>>Yeah.

>>Marcus, this is wonderful.

Thank you for showing us a nice DIY project and how we can basically speed up the growth of our plants or we can even choose to go hydroponically if we so care to do so.

So appreciate it.

This has been great information.

>>Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

>>And now we're going to get ready to answer your questions, but first we have a tip from Randy about simple ways to have fun gardening with kids.

(upbeat music) >>Today, we're gonna talk about gardening for everyone.

We're gonna talk about gardening from the smallest to the tallest.

Every kid loves to dig in the dirt, I know I used to love to dig in the dirt.

Get your kids started when they're very young.

Once you give it to them, they will never depart from it.

Give them their tools, let them have fun with tools, let them play in the dirt, you guys, give them a plant.

And what we're gonna do today is take a pepper plant and put it in the ground.

Ah, look at that root ball.

And when your kid sees this, they're gonna be like this, "Okay, I want to grow that as well."

So what we've done, we've dug our hole, and we just want to place it right in the ground just like so.

All you have to do is press it down just a little bit, give it a little water and let the kids watch it grow.

Give them a shovel, give them a rake, they will love it.

If you don't have a raised bed like this, grow in containers.

Give them something that they can make their own, put stickers on it, put their name on it, whatever they like, also get you a container that's fun.

Yes, you guys, these are stackables.

You can stack them just like that, kids love them.

They look like Legos, fill it with dirt, put a seed in the ground, and watch it grow.

These are just some tips and fun ideas that you can do with your family and your children and have a great time in the garden.

And for those of us who are not so young, we can do tabletop gardening, do hanging baskets, you guys, use your ledge on your porch, patio or deck or use your tabletop.

We can't do all that bending sometimes, but what we want to do is grow our own food.

Remember, gardening is for everyone from the smallest to the tallest.

Take what you have and make it work.

Remember live, love, laugh, you guys, grow stuff and eat it.

Don't forget to label!

Randy, you have reminded us of easy projects we can enjoy doing on our own or with children.

We must remember to grow and nurture the next generation of gardeners just like we nurture our gardens.

I caught the gardening bug from my grandfather, a wonderful vegetable gardener and I had no clue where it would lead me.

On Facebook right now, my co-host Keith Nevison and the team are answering your questions, so please send them in via Facebook or email.

We've got quite a number to start with Marcus and thank you for a great demonstration.

Our first question, though is about the system and with the homemade system, do you use grow lights or should the system be placed by a window or outside?

>>Actually, you could do either one.

So if you have a great place to put them that they can get sunlight through the window, that could work, save you money.

If not, you can use any variation of grow lights a T5, T8, T12, whatever you have available.

I wouldn't go out and spend a whole lot of money on it if you're just trying it out.

You could also set this up outside.

It would work great outside.

>>Do you have to put a net over it outside to kind of keep the debris from falling in and clogging things?

>>That would be helpful if not, you're gonna have to go out there and make sure you keep it unclogged.

That would also keep pest and stuff out of it as well.

>>Okay and outside, we have plenty of sunshine, but inside, how close do we have to put those grow lights to the plants?

>>Now, if there are new plants, you wanna get the light close to it and then move it as it grows, but if you use a fluorescent lighting, indoors in your house because you're not gonna have high pressure sodium and expensive LEDs in your house cause your light bill would be outrageous.

So you can just put them about the same...

Height as your normal lights and it should be just fine.

>>Okay, thank you.

Another question we have is, how do people volunteer?

What experience and skills do they need to help you?

>>You, don't need any experience.

We like to say, we teach you by the seat of your pants, but you can contact us.

You can contact me at VSU, Cynthia Martin, our Director.

You can contact her through VSU and she will set you up on volunteering.

>>That's fantastic.

Our volunteers just make everything happen.

>>They do.

>>And if people aren't volunteering and they have the time, I encourage them to do so.

It is so rewarding for both the staff and the volunteers.

So great program.

Another question though, back to the plants is what do you do with the plants after they've gotten to a certain size or phase?

>>Well, we used to give them away.

Now we sell them.

We try to get them out the door before they get too big.

Outside of that, I mean, we still do research of course.

>>Yeah.

>>We play with things.

I've got pepper plants out there now that have been with us for three years and we just keep vegetating them and force fruiting them.

>>That's nice.

The deer just state the pepper plants at my garden last night.

>>Now see, we don't have that problem in doors.

>>No, you don't have that problem indoors.

>>Well, here's another good question.

What do you do with the aquaponic systems that are outdoors in the winter time?

>>Now, we don't have any outdoor aquaponics at the Harding Street Center, but out on the farm at the university, we have about 53 ponds and so you would have to call out aquaponics specialist at VSU.

>>And those are fine men and women cause we've had them on the show.

So another question is, do you have room for more farm startups at the center?

>>Currently we have room for two more and so if you wanna know more information about that, cause it's brand spanking new, just rolling it out, just contact me at VSU and then we can talk about the next steps.

>>That's exciting.

It's very exciting.

All right.

Now here's a plant question for you sir.

>>Okay.

>>Why hydroponic tomatoes seem to have a hardcore and a tough skin?

Trick question?

No, it's not.

(Peggy giggles) >>That depends on the variety that you're using.

>>Okay.

>>There are over 200 varieties of tomatoes and honestly some tomatoes do well in hydroponic systems and some do not.

>>Yeah.

Usually a hardcore means too much heat to be honest with you, but I can't see that in this situation.

>>But you could have your temperature inside too high.

>>It's true.

That's true.

That's very true and then I have another question here.

Hold on.

I'm trying to get one concerning native plants.

Are you a native plant person sir?

>>I am a native plant person.

>>Okay.

Then what are some good native plants for a wet situation that's shady?

>>Ooh!

A native plant good for a wet situation that's shady?

>>Well, let's start with the obvious of ferns, okay?

We'll do Christmas ferns and then their cousin royal fern.

That's an easy one and... >>Cypress, bushes, shrub, a good shrubs that take a lot of water.

>>Take a lot of water, yes.

>>Willow trees.

>>Willow trees, but they like the sunshine.

They get a little stray in the shade.

>>Back to perennials.

You've got red cardinal flower, lobellias, they take shade and wetness and then shrub wise, you could go with some bayberries, but they get a little leggy in the shade, but you could also go with summer sweet which is clethra alnifolia which is a lovely shade shrub that loves the moisture.

>>Oh, you're showing your knowledge.

(Marcus and Peggy laughing) >>Bet, I'm helping you out here sir.

Anything to add?

>>No, I don't have anything to add.

>>Okay.

Well then, our last question which is a real quick one is why about roses?

Are you a rose man?

>>Not really.

>>Okay then, how about if I handle this one, okay?

>>You take that.

>>Why is the new growth on my roses distorted?

And I've been noticing it too around town.

A lot of the roses are coming out with a great deal of distorted growth and that's actually from rose rosette.

and rose rosette of course is that virus and it's transmitted by sheers and instruments as well as by a little mite that kind of alights on the wind and could go miles and spread it.

So what you need to do though is clean your clippers as we all do, as professionals and cut that rose rosette out all the way down to the cane and actually if it's close to the cane, remove the whole cane and wait and see if it comes back, you're gonna have to dig out that plant.

So sometimes good news is not always the best news.

So, well, Marcus, thank you.

Thank you for sharing your expertise and all that you do for the students and the indoor farmers and the community.

So we appreciate it.

Thank you and now let's join Keith Nevison to visit Project GROWS in Verona, Vere...

I'm sorry, I'm from Verena.

In Verona, Virginia and see how they're engaging children and youth.

>>When we have students out on the farm, our goal is really for them to engage with the farm and all the different parts of the process of growing, harvesting and eating the food.

So we have them do farm tasks where they get their hands dirty, and their tasks, you know, that are what we would be doing on the farm, whether or not the students were here, we're not making up special tasks for them.

They're actually a part of the process.

>>I'm majoring in environmental science in college.

So I plan to do a lot of plant-based sciences.

And anything agriculture based helps with that.

So I love the hands on experience, and I plan a lot of farm work in the future as well.

>>It has like a smell to it.

>>It does have a smell to it.

Good observation!

>>Nasturtiums are one of our favorite flowers on the farm, first because they're super recognizable because of the the circular leaf.

And also they have big seeds.

So when we do planting lessons with kids of all ages, sometimes with the little kids, such as our preschoolers, we're looking for seeds that they can actually hold in their hand and not lose.

So yeah, it's a fun way to kind of help them actually have a real hand in helping us in the greenhouse.

>>That's awesome.

>>Yeah, we love our nasturtiums.

>>So we're here Project Grows, can you tell us a little bit about the history and what you guys do out here?

>>Yeah, absolutely.

So Project Grows, was formed in 2010 when Augusta Health, our local hospital, put out a Community Health Needs Assessment, looking at health outcomes in our area.

And part of what they found is high rates of type two diabetes, and obesity in children in our community paired with food insecurity.

So a group of nine human service agencies came together, asking themselves, you know, what can we do as a community to improve the health of children and youth and improve health outcomes for families for the long term, and they said, you know, all of the world's problems can be solved in a garden.

And so they started a farm.

So we are the product of that conversation 10 years ago.

>>That's great, and so nice to you're having such a strong community impact right now.

You've got a greenhouse full of wonderful things, I see this luscious crop of strawberries.

>>Yeah, this is so nice, that the tallest thing in here right now.

So we dug these up from the beds and potted them up.

We really you know, most of what's in here is either for the plant sale, or will eventually go out into our fields for our CSA or for our you know, production beds.

But the strawberries are an exception.

These are mostly for our kids who come to the farm.

It's just such a great, easy thing to harvest.

It's a sweet reward.

And it's an easy first activity to get kids excited about harvesting something they can immediately eat.

And we're always looking for, you know, different varieties of fruits and vegetables that we can use to kind of hook kids into the experience of, you know, tasting things that it's cool and not gross to taste things that you harvested yourself from the farm.

>>That's awesome.

What a way to make them enjoy life on the farm.

And I'm so glad to hear you're engaging them directly.

Yeah, you've got some marigolds, they smell great.

Can you tell us about how they're, you know, you've got your mix flat here with zinnias.

And they're right next to the tomatoes.

>>Yeah, these are really nice.

We for our plant sale, we try to put things together into different packs sometimes to give our customers a variety to choose from.

But these flowers are really reminiscent for us of all of the different varieties that we have planted out on our four acres in production right now.

There's a really beautiful part of the farm called the Fairy Footpath that kids can really just explore and get lost in.

It's planted really high in summer with zinnias and bachelors buttons and dill and fennel, and all these beautiful fragrant plants and you know they're with their little clipboard looking for swallowtail caterpillars and monarch chrysalis is and you know, what can they find growing?

And so yeah, part of part of us, sharing this, these flowers with our customers is we want them we want our customers be connected to the mission of Project Grows.

We're not just selling plants, because that's what we do.

This money helps to fund the rest of our work, which we hope is in improving the health of children and their families and our community.

So it's a little tie into our mission.

>>What fun to be a kid out here visiting Project Grows.

>>Yeah, absolutely.

>>You've got some wonderful herbs as well.

And I understand that the kids actually use them to cook meals while they're out here.

>>Yes, so every Project Grows field trip has four parts, right?

So kids come and they get to actually harvest something, they taste something, they do some farm tasks with us and then explore those garden beds, you know, with their scavenger hunts.

And then the last thing is they always cook something and a lot of kids don't know about different herbs.

You know, they might have seen it in a spice jar on their, you know, kitchen counter, but they might not know yet this is what herbs look like when they grow.

Our focus on cooking education has helped us as we've designed our barn and as part of that barn design.

We've designed an outdoor kitchen where it will really help us expand what we're able to do with cooking education on the farm.

And We know that the more sensory exposures that kids have to vegetables to fruits to herbs, actually increases the chances that they will eventually incorporate that into their diet.

And those exposures, right, they don't have to be taste, they can also be touching, they can be harvesting, they can be looking at it, they can be drawing it.

And we hope that all of this work, farm education, cooking, digging with us in the dirt on the farm is eventually helping kids to be more willing to try vegetables.

>>Because you are engaging all the senses here.

>>Absolutely.

>>I know with some of the students they have gone on to your youth leaders in agriculture program.

>>It's true.

>>You tell us a little bit about that program.

>>Yeah, absolutely.

We are so excited about the youth leaders and Ag program right now.

Which is really made possible by a strong partnership with Staunton city schools.

Basically, what's going to happen and what's already happening now is that every spring and fall, students from the high school will come here to complete academic mentorships that will count towards their diploma, and then they, those juniors will then also have a chance to apply for a senior internship which will be paid.

So it's a way for us to be welcoming in our high school youth into what's happening here on the farm, sharing our knowledge of Ag with them, and opening up career opportunities for them after high school.

You know, we want teenagers to really have, to know that they have the power to change their communities.

It's not just about what we want to do to improve the health of children and youth.

But what do they want to do for their community, and how can they do that through farming, how can we use farming as a vehicle to teach kids about communities and about themselves.

>>That's wonderful.

Thanks so much for having us out today.

It's been so much fun!

>>You're welcome.

Thanks for visiting.

>>My favorite part is definitely the seeding because we get to see it grow from like just dirt.

And it's really interesting.

And we've also volunteered with children.

So it's enriching to see how they've, I guess, grown and loved the farm as well.

>>One of my favorite memories a Project Grows is actually from my first year of Project Grows.

And one of the students just said I don't like carrots.

I don't want to try carrots.

I just know that I don't like them.

So eventually he took a bite of the carrot.

He tried it, and his face just lit up.

And he said, "My taste buds must have changed.

I don't like carrots, but I like this carrot," and he ate the whole carrot.

And he was so excited.

You could just see that look of pride on his face that he had tried it and he was so happy that he that he liked it.

>>1, 2, 3!

(kids howling) Keith, thank you for introducing us to Project GROWS and the great work they do in teaching children and youth about nutritious choices through gardening.

Nicole Barrows, Director of Education at Project GROWS is going to show us how to create wildflower seed bombs along with some veggies and herbs, children involved with the farm just totally enjoy.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind you to send in your gardening questions via email or Facebook.

Well, Nicole, I've never made a seed bomb or even seen it made before.

So please, I'm excited to learn how to do this fun activity so I can-- >>So wonderful.

>>Yes.

>>Well, I'm very excited to show you, so this is one of the activities that we love to do at the farm to get kids excited about what's happening and to get their hands dirty right away, so that they can participate on the farm.

>>Really good in that.

>>For the rest of the field trip.

So we have a couple of ingredients.

First, we need two scoops of potting soil.

We need a little bit of clay.

>>A little bit?

What's the clay do?

>>Just a little bit.

>>Like a binder?

>>The clay is yeah.

It acts as a binding agent in the seed ball just to kind of hold it together.

You can also use flour.

>>Okay.

>>It's a cheaper ingredient.

We use bentonite clay.

>>Okay.

>>We just order it online and then of course we need a pinch of seeds.

We have a wildflower mix from Johnny's, but you can use whatever you want and then a little bit of water, just a little bit and then we...

Mix it up and basically as we're mixing this, you might be wondering, why are we making a seed ball?

Let me just show that.

A seed ball is a great way to propagate wild flowers in a place that maybe you can't get to.

Maybe it's over a fence and you can just take that seed ball and just chuck it over the fence and the consistency that we're going for is-- >>Thoroughly mud pie?

>>Yeah, mud pie, but not muddy.

That's what I always tell the kids.

>>So mud pancake, huh?

>>Mud pancake then we have the kids dump it out and...

If you're a third grade teacher, then this is a great activity that you can do in the classroom if you're teaching about soil components cause you can have all the kids talk about the different things that are made up in, that soil's made up of and that soil helps all of our plants to survive and then you can take it and chuck it.

Now, I recommend leaving them to dry for about a day and then when you throw it, then that clay cracks open and then there's just enough soil and moisture for those little seeds to germinate and kind of get their root structure started.

>>Fantastic.

>>Yeah.

>>Well, what time of year is it best to make seed balls?

>>We do them in the spring and yeah, they kinda just get started, get plants started all over our farm.

So yeah, that's the time of year that we do it, but I think you could probably do it in the fall as well.

>>Oh, that's fantastic.

What a fun way to basically spread wild flowers throughout your, I'll say garden, your field or maybe your community?

>>Yeah, absolutely.

We tell kids to chuck them in their neighborhoods, at a park and yeah, very thankful.

I've often wondered where this activity came from.

It's a bit of a mystery to me where it came from, but I know I learned it from the Edith J.

Carrier Arboretum, so give them a shout out.

>>Sounds great.

I will say, as a person who manages a park, to make sure that invasive seeds are not used.

>>Well said, well said.

Choose your seats wisely.

>>True.

>>Others will thank you.

>>We had a woman come and she was spreading money plant, the lunaria seed.

>>Oh, no, no, no, no, not money plant.

Oh!

>>She was having a good heart.

We did a little education.

>>Absolutely, choose wisely.

>>Yes, choose very wisely.

>>Well, thank you.

Well, speaking of choices, you were saying too that the kids really enjoy playing with some of the herbs and some of the vegetables and I see you've got some here, some lovely herbs to share.

>>Yeah.

>>What are some fun things that they have with that?

>>Absolutely.

So I am so excited to talk about some of these flowering herbs that we grow in the farm.

One that I wanted to highlight is dill.

Dill is one of my favorite plants in the farm because it's a great way to teach kids about the life cycle of a plant, because dill is interesting at every stage of its life cycle.

So of course, we started in the greenhouse with seeds, the seeds, germinate, great vocabulary word for our elementary schoolers, then when it becomes a seedling, we transplanted outside and at that point of its life cycle, we're talking about how it's a great culinary herbs.

We do a lot of quick pickles with summer squash and dill just goes so great in that.

Those are great summer recipes that don't require any heat.

So you can just harvest the vegetables and make them and kids love harvesting this dill, a little bit of a dill.

Plant goes a long way in a recipe, so that's a great choice for your summer kitchen and then of course, it's a great sensory plant too at that point in it's life.

So it's so fragrant and so alive.

>>Yes.

>>Some of this is mammoth dill, so it's getting really tall.

>>I wish I wasn't so far away.

>>Yes.

>>I'd be like smelling it.

>>Absolutely.

And then of course the second stage is it's going to bolt.

This is actually starting to bolt a little bit because it was a little hot in our greenhouse and then it's got that lovely amble flower, that yellow and green and we like to talk about with kids that that is also useful as a cut flower.

>>Exactly.

>>It attracts pollinators and then the last stage is when it is producing seed which of course can also be harvested and then used again in a lot of those wonderful dill recipes like pickles.

>>Exactly.

>>So yeah, it's kind of interesting at every stage.

So that's one of our favorite herbs.

>>And I think people need to realize growing dill at home, that they should wait about every two weeks and so a little more so they get this succession of-- >>You have a nice succession.

>>Yes.

>>That's absolutely right.

Yeah.

>>One of my favorites be honest with you.

>>Definitely.

>>But we have the cousin over there.

>>Yes.

So we have another member of the carrot family.

This is parsley and another great herb for the farm.

This one's a little shorter, so better for our preschoolers who can kind of see the entire plant whereas a lot of the plants that we grow are kind of big and parsley is interesting as an educational plant on the farm because as you know, it attracts black swallowtail, caterpillars and so that's a great way to talk with kids about insects, and are insects on the farm pests or are they beneficial pollinators?

>>Exactly.

>>And I think the answer is both.

>>Yes.

>>So we do sacrifice some of our parsley to the insects, but it's so fun with kids.

We gently find those caterpillars and then we re-home them to our bronze fennel where they can be happy and we can let them have it.

>>You just kind of move them on over.

>>Yes.

Absolutely, so that's another fun way that we can talk with kids about not just the vegetables on the farm, but also who else lives here.

>>Yes and weaving that story to show that it's an ecosystem.

>>Absolutely.

>>Not just a bunch of plants in here.

>>There you go.

>>Well, another story is the sunflower and what person doesn't enjoy sunflowers and you've got some here to share as well.

>>So I brought two.

So this is a mammoth sunflower and here's our Teddy bear sunflower.

So this is one of the tallest sunflowers that you might find and I planted these around the same time.

This was a little sooner, but just look how it shot up.

They grow so fast.

>>Yes.

>>And sunflowers are a great plant to try with kids.

First of all, because the seeds are big.

They're easy to grow.

They grow in the summer and another thing is you can sort of also talk about a child growing and they can have them measure their height next to the sunflower and see how they're growing and then also they're just so lovely.

>>They are, and they're so fun.

We don't have a lot of time left.

I think one of the things I love with the mammoth sunflowers is you can pull the seeds out kind of as it grows, it makes the silly face that smiles at the kid.

>>That's so fun.

That's awesome.

>>And it's so silly and the Teddy bears are just so fuzzy and they're down at the kids' level.

>>Down at the level, exactly what I was gonna say.

>>So they can see them, play with it.

Yes >>Wonderful.

>>I don't think people realize there's just so many heights and colors of sunflowers these days.

>>Absolutely.

>>That you can go from anywhere from like 12, 18 inches all the way up to 12 feet.

>>Exactly, yes.

>>And plant a sunflower forest and it's so fun.

Well, Nicole, this has been fun and I can see how you're engaging children and you're engaging them in a fun way and to teach them at the same time about our ecosystem, about farming and about being able to grow their own food and their own seasonings.

>>Definitely.

>>Thank you.

This has been great and I look forward to making wildflower balls with my little gardeners.

>>Awesome.

>>So thank you.

And now we're going to get ready to answer your questions, but first we have a tip from Alison on vermiculture or more easily put worm farming.

(rattling music) >>If you're looking to spruce up the vitality in your garden space and have some fun with your little ones, vermicomposting is the way to go.

We like vermicomposting because it adds organic matter back to the soil.

And, it helps feed the earth and ecosystems with worms and other microbes.

We have here a vermicompost shelf that we've built.

But you can also do your vermicompost in containers.

Like this takeaway container.

It has holes in it, you'll want it to breathe.

Or in, like, a five gallon container, like a bucket.

You can use those as well, just as long as you make sure it has some holes to aerate.

What we do is we add compost, any leftover remains from the kitchen.

We like to use produce here.

Will you help me, Zoe?

So we would like to use produce and eggshells and coffee grounds.

We try and stay away from carbs and grains and meats.

Thank you.

>>And then we have the worms underneath the dirt who come up and eat the produce.

We're going to add some more.

We use red wiggler worms.

I got these from a local pet store.

You can get them from a bait and tackle shop.

You can get them online.

Red wigglers are especially great for vermicompost because they break down the produce into dirt really quickly.

They're from Europe, so they're not from here and they won't do great if you add them back to the soil later.

So you should probably keep them in a bucket.

They need temperatures of 60 to 75 degrees.

Zoe, will you help me with the worms?

Can we find them?

Can we see them?

(Allison gasps) Where are they?

They like it in here, cause it's dark, right?

>>Right.

>>Right!

And it's cool and moist.

Oh, they're coming out!

They can see the light.

You want to make sure that it's dark and that they're covered with leaves or some more dirt, wherever you're housing them.

Can you pour them into the dirt for me?

Let's pour them right here.

>>I can sat them here.

>>You can sat them right here?

I think they want to go right in the dirt.

There we go.

>>If it's getting a little too dry, then you know, you should add more compost.

You can also mix a little water.

Just enough so that it's not sandy and too crumby-like.

And you'll know when it's done because the dirt will have changed into dark, clotted aggregated soil, like this.

Good luck composting.

We hope that your garden grows well.

Alison who knew composting could be created so quickly.

I think you've convinced me to start a worm farm.

Before we get started, I wanna encourage you to send in your gardening questions via Facebook or email.

We've got quite a few, but we'd love a few more.

So Nicole, we've got some good questions here.

One of them is about nasturtiums and it says, do nasturtiums have certain benefits and impact for vegetables and herbs?

>>That's a great question.

I'm not sure if I know.

I know that we grow them on the farm, mostly for kids, mostly for the color, those red, yellow, and orange flowers, but I'm not sure.

>>I'm not either to be honest with you, cause at Myanmar, they're great Victorian plants for nasturtium sandwiches and things like that and so I've always grown them where they've gotten a little shade in the summer, in Richmond because it just gets a little too warm.

This is a cool season plant.

So I'm not sure about the beneficials of it.

>>Yeah, we'll have to look that up.

>>We will, I'll have to look that up and let them know, oh, let you know.

>>So good at garden educator right there.

If you don't know.

>>You'll look it up to find it, yep.

We have a question, 10 years in with Project GROWS has another health assessment been done to see if you've moved the needle with the kids' health and the community?

>>It's a great question.

>>It's a very good question.

>>It's worth a try annual health assessment, I believe that we have been looking at the results of the most recent one, but a lot of the work that we've been doing is talking to our community partners about the change that they're also seeing within their own students, their own families that they work with, because we know that, yeah, the best way to find out what's happening in the community is to talk to people.

>>Yes.

>>To talk to our partners.

Anecdotally, we see all the time, the change that's happening in families, as families come to us and say, "My student did not eat green vegetables "and now they do "because of your harvest of the month program "or because of your field trips" and because of that really important interdependent work with other partners.

So yeah, we'll have to check it out together.

I know that our team is hard at work looking at those results.

>>That would be great.

How does a student enroll in your program?

>>That's a good question.

So... We have close partnerships with our school districts and city schools in Waynesboro public schools.

So just by going to those schools, you will experience Project GROWS.

Whether coming on a field trip to our farm or getting a vegetable tasting in the cafeteria every month, we also have summer camps.

So that's a direct way to engage with our farm.

>>You're very busy.

How many are on the staff to be able to cover all those public schools?

>>Let's see, we have a staff of about six permanent staff and then a seasonal staff as well that help us grow all those vegetables.

So we're doing a lot, yep.

>>It sounds like it.

From the air, how many acres do you have?

Cause it's quite a compound.

So how much space is Project GROWS?

>>So our property is 10 acres.

>>Nice.

>>It's in Augusta County and then about four of those acres are currently in production.

So yeah, we're doing a lot on a small amount of space.

>>Well, who doesn't these days.

>>Yeah.

>>That's wonderful.

>>We're grateful for the space.

>>Yes, yes.

Another question is what seeds are best to use in a seed ball?

The ones that are easiest to grow?

>>That's a good question.

So we talked about making sure you're using native choices, native plants, but I would recommend black-eyed Susan would be great, Rudbeckia, just that lovely pop of yellow and maybe lance leaf coreopsis with another yellow pop.

>>Yes.

>>Would be really fun, but it's kind of depends on what you wanna grow.

So my best friend has a seed catalog.

I look through it every winter and then that's how I make my decisions.

>>That's fun.

So these seed mixes, I know I once picked up a seed, mix of wildflower seed mix and I started combing through it.

Of course me, I started separating out the seeds and my husband thought I was crazy, but anyway.

(Peggy and Nicole giggling) But I found a lot of those seed mixes.

The seeds in there were not native and it was very discouraging.

>>That is discouraging.

>>So I encourage people to use those catalogs and to make choices by the native plants and in those catalogs.

>>Absolutely.

>>Yeah, so we don't cause a problem cause a lot of people don't know that Queen Anne's lace is not native.

>>I did not know that.

>>Yeah.

>>You would think it would be because it's everywhere.

>>Well, so is a lot of other things.

>>That's why it's everywhere, yeah.

>>Let's talk about kudzu anyway.

>>Yeah.

Yap.

>>Well, we've got a good question here about rain gardens and I know when your project grows, it doesn't look like a place with rain gardens, but it may not.

We have quite a few and so I'd like to share, how do you pick a good location to start a rain garden?

And you look at the lay of the land.

You wanna look to see where your downspouts are.

Then you also wanna look to see how the water flows cause the goal's of course is to keep it off of the hard scapes and the hard surfaces, like your driveways and your patios and things and so you really wanna place it, so that it's capturing the water that's naturally flowing downhill and if not, you wanna kind of direct it there so that it will pull and gather and then slowly sip into the soil and there's wonderful, wonderful resources online to choose the right plants for your rain garden.

If you go to the Department of Environmental Conservation, they've got some great resources to be able to have you choose those plants.

>>It's a great resource.

>>Yes, speaking of how do you make choices of what the kids are gonna grow at Project GROWS?

How do you make those choices?

>>So kind of two ways.

So we sit down with our whole team in the winter and we think about what we planted last year and we look at our seeding calendar very closely and then we say, what new plants could we grow that will really engage kids?

So we're also growing for our community supported agriculture program, but we're also growing for the kids.

So, what do they want?

And then also what do the schools want?

A lot of our produce goes to the schools, so we talk with our nutrition teams and say, what do you want?

Do you want, a 100 pounds of of greens?

Will grow it.

So the kind of those two ways and then students also have a chance to do square foot gardening in the summertime and come back every week to check on their plants.

So, they get to choose too.

>>Okay, well, Nicole, this has been a lot of fun and I really appreciate your sharing your knowledge on Project GROWS and we've just really enjoyed having you and learning about this program that not a lot of us knows about.

So I thank you and I applaud the mission of Project GROWS and wish you success.

>>Thank you.

>>Yes.

Well, "Virginia Home Grown" has an awesome Facebook page and I encourage you to look for timely information from our team.

Also look for Pat's plant pick after the show.

This month, he's taken a closer look at a lesser known plant, the slipper orchid.

Our gardens are bursting with life and I encourage you to visit your local public gardens or neighbor's garden to enjoy the lush growth of the season.

Next month, our show is all about the star of the garden, the soil.

We will see how compost is created on a commercial scale and learn about different soils for growing, including raised beds.

I look forward to being with you then and remember, gardening is for everyone.

We're all growing and learning together.

Thanks for watching >>Production funding for "Virginia Home Grown" is made possible by.

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