Updating Checklist for Hydroponics

Fighting aphids 

Pathways is excited to grow strawberries and watermelons this fall and winter. Not only are strawberries full of vitamin C and very healthy, but strawberries are also very yummy!
Watermelons are the sweet, delicious and hydrating melons!

Pathways weekly hydroponic checklist:

Checking pH of our hydroponic towers is a routine for Pathways students; 

     Strawberries and watermelons grow best when 
          Tower Garden's pH is between 5-6

Removing runners from strawberries tells plant to focus on fruit production; hopefully, resulting in bigger harvests. 

More strawberry plants?! We place removed runners in water until they root. Once they root, we put them in rock wool cubes for more strawberry plants.

Prune first strawberries buds: remove the first set of buds that can result in more rigorous plant.

"Be the bee"  🐝😀- hand-pollinating strawberry flowers are simple, just swab and brush the inside of each flower to transfer the pollen.

Our Bug-Busters Team successfully fought aphids on plants!

Hand pollination watermelon is happening when both male and female flowers open.  Male melon flowers will have a stamen with pollen in the center of the flower. Female flowers sit on top of tiny melon, and have a sticky nob, called a stigma, inside the flower. When the melon flowers open, they will only be ready for pollinating for about a day, so we need to move quickly to hand-pollinate melons! We have two choices on how to hand pollinate the melon flowers: first is to use the melon flower itself; second is to use a paintbrush.  

Read more at Gardening Know How: Hand Pollinating Melons – How To Hand Pollinate Melons https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/melons/hand-pollinating-melons.htm
  

Getting organic soap at Crosby's

Female flower