Garden Camp Week 2: Plant Parts

What part of a plant is best suited to breakfast? Turns out our gardeners eat mostly seeds and fruits first thing in the morning! 

This week at Garden Camp we explored the parts of plants that we grow and harvest for our meals - what purpose each part serves for the plant, and how that purpose contributes to the nutrition found in our food. After making a list of what plant parts our breakfasts could be traced back to, Anna led us into the garden to see what plant parts we could make into a snack. Throughout the morning, we harvested leaves (lettuce), stems and flowers (broccoli), modified stems & leaves (garlic), and roots (radishes) from the garden to make into a nutrient-packed salad. Anna brought along some more roots (carrots), seeds (from pumpkins and sunflowers), and fruit (cucumbers) to make our salad represent the full spectrum of what plants can offer us in taste, texture, color, and nutrition. Our picnic tables became chef's counters, and after much washing, chopping, and shredding, our garden salads were ready for eating!

Looking through all the edible things in Bed 5 - some we planted, many we didn't!

Prep station

While in the garden, we also tasted some plant parts we don't usually eat, such as radish leaves and lettuce stems. We even tasted and discussed the properties of the weeds we found, including wild sorrel, chickweed, plantain, and oxeye daisy! 

The younger gardeners also worked in their journals to draw and label plant parts, while our older group learned about vertical farming as a way to overcome the difficulties of growing in salty soil in Bangladesh. 

Preparing the new bed

What a busy morning we had! We ended our day together by filling up one of our new raised beds (the lumber for which was milled by students during Discovery Week) with soil, compost, and soil amendments. Thanks to Anna for the culinary lesson, and thanks to our gardeners for all their hard work!