Tag Archive | food growing

Food plants almost ready!

May9

Blandford Farm timed the planting of OKT’s starter food plants so they’d be ready to go in the ground right around Memorial Day.

“We are right on track. We were able to get almost all the herbs to germinate as well,” says Elizabeth Visser, Blandford Farm Manager.  “I still need to pot up the mustard greens. They grow fairly quickly, so I seeded them later than some of the other greens. All the plants will be ready to pick up during the last week of May.”

OKT will be in touch with this year’s growers to let them know when and where they can pick up plants or expect delivery.

Think spring! Think food gardens!

Apr9

Check out the free OKT food growing guide! Growing Food, Eating Healthy, Living Sustainably

Would you like to grow your own food? Yes, it takes some work but the results are worth the effort. Food harvested from your own garden plot, raised bed, or containers offers more nutrients, taste, and convenience.

OKT’s free food growing guide gives you lots of tips on planting, maintaining, harvesting, and eating from your garden — like this chart  that lays out when to plant what.

OKT distributed hundreds of food plants last Saturday

Jun10

On Saturday, OKT food garden coach and Southeast Area Farmers Market Manager Belinda Henderson and E.D. Lisa Oliver-King distributed hundreds of food plants to participants growing food in their yards as well as food gardens OKT is growing with students and parents/caregivers at Grand Rapids Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy and Campus Elementary as well as Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary. A special thank you to our fabulous SEAFM set-up man, Bert, for delivering the plants to the schools!

OKT’s Program for Growth is back twice as strong

Jun13
New food gardens at Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary School
Our Kitchen Table has launched its Program for Growth at two schools this spring. We will again be growing food with parents, caregivers, and students at Grand Rapids Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Academy. And, we will be adding a new school — Kentwood Public Schools Glenwood Elementary School.
In addition to procuring organic foodplants from Blandford Farm, our food gardens will also be planted with home-grown starters from H.O.P.E. Gardens. H.O.P.E. Gardens provides programs for students in grades K-12, including garden education during school and as part of after-school and summer programs. Students grow food on school grounds, integrate garden activities into their curricula, and save and share seeds with community.

Ready, set, grow!

Jun4

Our Kitchen Table Program for Growth participants were busy during the month of May!

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In addition to planting cold crops like kale and herbs, they also got their containers and raised beds ready for the warm season crops, which will be delivered soon. Farmer Williams delivered premium, healthy soil and helped construct raised beds, including OKT’s first waist-high raised-bed, designed to make growing food more accessible. Participants were careful to follow social distancing guidelines. Program for Growth weekly meetings are continuing via Zoom conferencing.