CA - Healdsburg

Nicholas Di Loreto 603122519 Generated:

5/18/202016:15
Creating A Homemade Garden
SAE Information - Creating A Homemade Garden
Name: Creating A Homemade Garden
SAE Type: Placement
AFNR Pathway: Plant Systems
SAE Subcategory: Nursery Operations
Date Range: 2/22/2020 - 4/11/2020

Scope - Creating A Homemade Garden

Year Description
2020

SAE Plan - Creating A Homemade Garden

Description

In my project, I'm planning and starting a garden at my house in my backyard with a variety of different vegetable and
fruit planets I brought from garden nursery stores to grow. Purchasing supplies as well such as shovels, racks, chisel, etc.
For my garden, I'm using two beds of soil to set the stage of adding fertilizer and new soil for my plants and then planting
them after. Doing research on the plants that I bought and Seeing how long it takes for these plants to officially grow
during the seasons of February, March, April, and May. I'm using vegetable plants like kale, spinach, arugula, lettuce, and
cucumber. I'm only using one fruit plant, a tomato plant. Lastly, I'm using spice plants such as allspice, parsley, chili
pepper, and sage. I'm planning to plant marigolds in my garden to keep insects away from my plants in order not to be
infected. Seeing how much water I need to add to the plants every day or few days and when to use irrigation for the
plants. Also seeing or exploring what king of methods should I use in order to make the plant grow faster. Getting more
supplies and food sources such as Vegetable Food and Fish Fertilizer. To assist me in this SAE project are my dad, my
brother, and my step-mom whatsoever. In my project, I plan to start on February 22 to May 25. My project has the goals
of being more successful, making sure the plants are healthy and growing with enough water and soil alike and are not
whelping, and use any method to help the plants or add more soil to the garden. For this project as well, I am being
supported and supervised by my Ag Soil & Chemistry teacher, Ms. Hunt and SAE Experience. From my project, I hope to
gain knowledge and skills in how to create a strong and healthy garden to control my pants, watering, plant systems,
finding the right soil, and faster methods to help the plant be healthy and growing instead of dying or decaying if not
being committed towards my garden in my SAE Project.

Nicholas Di Loreto -- AET Unique #1769028 Page 1 of 5

Time Investment

For my SAE project, I will usually spend 2-4 hours per week activities in starting my garden. Sometimes on the weekends
like Friday, Saturday or Sunday, whenever I'm available to do my project besides other homework from my other classes
or do non-academic activities, I will spend at least 5 hours a day. My project time will vary from month to month, but
common activities are to water the plant on some days, add fish fertilizer or chicken manure in the soil and combine in
order for the water to be absorbed plants by soil and create photosynthesis for my so they can gain more food, sunlight,
and water etc to grow. Also besides fertilizer or chicken manure, adding new soil to replace old soil. It usually takes about
an hour to water to complete the garden and water the base of each plant. After a month, it would be 2 hours to add more
soil to the garden in order for the plants to grow more materials. When I added Vegetable and Mineral Food, it took me
about 3 hours to complete and the fish fertilizer in the garden took about 2 hours to complete as well. During the morning
or afternoon, I usually check the garden at a certain time such an hour or 2 hours to make sure the plant are staying
healthy while growing and no sign of bugs biting plants of and checking if the irrigation is working for to activity when it's
time to water the plants or doing it late at night while I'm asleep. For payment, I'am receiving money from my dad and
step-mom for my time in purchasing the supplies and plants necessary for my garden and depending of which plants fit
into the right season in planting my garden during these 4 months. It may vary from $200 to $350 per month depending
on how much the plants, supplies, watering, soil, fertilizer and vegetable mineral food cost from different nursery stores.
My project time relates to my career plan, which is to become a chef and what it relates to my SAE project is that most
chefs in restaurant or other cooks have a garden that they create in their houses or in restaurant and when their plants
are fully grown, chefs pick them off and take them to the kitchen to be cooked and mixed together in order to create a
fresh and creative dish like Italian salad, but made with grown spinach and arugula from a garden instead of buying
spinach and arugula from the grocery store.

Learning Objectives (SAE Skills)

Skill Area Planned Activities Results or Outcome

Journal - Experience-related Activity - Creating A Homemade Garden

Date Activity / Description Hours
PS.04.02 To plant the rest of my garden, I went to another nursery store in Healdsburg, besides Mix Garden called
Prickett's Nursery. From this nursery store, I bought 4 different Hungarian bell peppers and 6 rows of Pole Bean Plants.
After going to the nursery store, I went back home to put my new plants I purchased in my garden bed. For today, I decided
to plant pole bean plant on the second bed of my garden near the wire cage. I researched about pole bean plants from a
book called "The Vegetable Gardener's Bible" . From this research, I learned how to harvest pro beans correctly over the
4/11/2020 course of different seasons, which usually takes up to 60 days and needs to be regularly watered but not much and that 2.25
these pro bean plants would grow very big once it was planted fully. To planting the slo beans, I pinch each one from the
box, but not too much and not damaging the soil, roots, or leaves for the plant. I digged a hole not too much, but just
enough for the the plant to be covered by soil while having enough water access for the roots to absorb underneath the soil.
After planting each in a of 6, I watered them on top of the leaves and under the base of the plant, but not too much and then
I left the plants alone in order to abosrb the water and sunlight in order to grow.
PS.04.02 After one week of watering, observing, and analyzing my garden, the plants I have already planted in my garden
so far have started to grow in medium size as the soil has become more impacted and some of the plants have stayed the
same size. I researched that it takes at least 2 weeks or 3-5 months for plants to fully grow into their size. It's possible that
my garden will probably take 3 weeks to grow all the way in order to work for my project work depending on weather
4/5/2020 conditions and watering plants or setting up irrigation. However it may be difficult for my garden to add new plants recently 1.25
with other plants that already grown in bigger size than the first time I bought them and being given different result. So for
now on with my SAE project, I'm being patient over the weeks to see how longs it takes for the plants to grow, buying the
plants I need to complete the planting oof each of my garden beds, watering my plants consistently every2 days, and using
methods to see how successful it can be with different fertilizers, sunlight, or water.
PS.04.02 After two days of making my garden, I started my first day of watering my plants in my garden as a daily check or
routine. I watered my plants when the sun was starting to go down and it was starting to get cool, so in that way the plants
would get water and not be very hot from the sun all day. I watered each row of the plants 3 times, which took me 30 min to
complete because of checking if it needed sunlight and not adding too much water. I would add about 1/3 of water to each
3/30/2020 plant. Sometimes, I would water on the leaves or under the soil of the plant, so it could be quicker for the roots under the
1.50
soil of the plant to absorb the water and produce nitrogen or photosynthesis. After that, I would use water mist on the plants
to make them cool and get a little bit of water on the leaves. I would continue to water my garden every two days and being
cautious of not too much water to my garden and it was staying healthy instead of decaying or whelping.

Nicholas Di Loreto -- AET Unique #1769028 Page 2 of 5

Journal - Experience-related Activity - Creating A Homemade Garden
Date Activity / Description Hours
PS.04.02 After getting all my materials from the garden and waiting a couple days for the chicken manure to compact with
the soil in the garden, I was finally ready to start my garden and begin to plant my vegetables, fruit, etc I already purchased
from the nursery stores, though I still wasn't able to get all my plants I needed, so I order some from online and had to wait
a couple of days for the plants to arrive. Using the plotted garden sketch I created in the early stages of my garden, I
started out by putting each plant in ether of the garden bed before I started digging, planting or even watering and I needed
to be focused and cautious about what was going on and seeing if the plants had enough distance or were too close and
needing enough room to add the irrigation system in my garden later. After plotting out my plants, the first I did was that I
dug holes for each plants using a mini shovel in order to be deep enough for the plant to be compact with the soil from the
garden bed, but not having too much soil on the surface. Then I added the plants in the dug holes by pinching the plastic
container where the plants were put in separately, then putting the plant in the digging hole and bury the dug hole with the
plant by surrounding it with the already scooped up soil from making the hole. After planting everything, my dad helped me
set up tomato cages for each of my 6 different tomato plants so that when the tomato grow very big and will start to spread
3/28/2020 more, the tomato plant would say within the cage and also using tomato cages, especially with large openings make
3.42
harvesting easy, having better air circulation, cleaner fruit, and fewer. After planting everything as well also, I added
minerals for each plant from the Tomato & Vegetable Food Mineral Food. For the small plants, I watered them on mist for
10 seconds on each plant and I used mist water so that they wouldn't have too much water and the leaves were getting
water as well as the roots and nitrogen in order to make the plant grow healthy and strong instead of decaying and
whelping. For the larger plants, I watered them on shower mode and water each plant for 20 sec each and making sure not
to water too much, but the right amount for water to reach the soil of the plants and the leaves especially, in order to create
the process of photosynthesis for the plants in my garden. after watering them, I was going to wait a couple of days for
them to grow and see if any of the plants had changed at all by growing more or starting to decay or not getting enough
water. I felt very confident that if learned how to create a homemade garden correctly with the right plants and what I
researched, it would be very successful and I would possibly be looking for the right results and actions being taken in my
garden.
PS.03.02, PS.04.02 The next day after getting all my materials from the garden, I started my garden. To keep my soil moist
for my plants to grow instead of being dry, I added chicken manure to each of my garden beds. I researched that chicken
manure is another healthy source of nitrogen and fertilizer and is excellent for composting. What I did with the chicken
manure was that I combined with the dry soil by using a garden rack, which creates a unique fertilizer to make the plants
grow healthy. I also wore a mask when working with the chicken manure because chicken manure came from chicken poop
3/22/2020 and smelled really bad and was gross, but fun to do at the same time. After combing the chicken manure with the soil, I 3.08
gave each of my garden beds with a light shower of water before I put my plants in my garden. After that, I set a wire cage
on my second garden for my plants to maintain distance and grow inside or outside of the cage without becoming
entangled or contacted together. After completing this task, I was ready to begin plotting out my plants in my garden bed
and start digging up the soil and watering them in a couple of days in order for the chicken manure to compact with my
garden soil
PS.03.02, PS.04.01 In order to purchase the rest of the plants I need for my garden, I went to another nursery store called
Mix Garden in Healdsburg. At Mix Garden, I purchase plants such as kale, butter lettuce, and cucumber. I also bought
some carrot beans to try in my garden if I have extra room to plant in my garden. Besides buying plants, I also brought
3/18/2020 garden and soil materials such as chicken manure, Vegetable food, and special fish fertilizer or compost material, etc. After
2.92
buying my plants and soil materials, I was prepared to finally put my vegetable or fruit plants in my garden and placing them
in the exact spot as I plotted out in my simple sketch of the my garden beds with the soil.
PS.01.01, PS.04.01 For the next step in my SAE project, I went with my step-mom and my dad to go purchase the plant I
wanted to pick for my garden such as vegetables, spices, fruits, etc that would go in each of my garden beds at my house.
The first nursery store I went to get the plants I needed for my garden was called "Harmony: Farm and Nursery Supply" in
Forestville, which took us 2 hours to drive to. I was excited about getting my plants for my garden because this nursery
store, Harmony was very helpful because there were many unique different types of plants offered and very limited to
choose from and offered a lot of opportunities for me in helping my garden grow effectively. Being at the nursery store for
another two hours, I was very cautious about what plants I wanted to pick based on the research I did to be prepared and
3/14/2020 what plants were very easy to grow and plant and which ones best fit during the current season such as winter. The first 4.25
plants I picked at Harmony were 4 different types of tomato plants that were Indian Moon, Paul Robeson, Striped German,
and Cour Di Bue. I picked one tomato plant of each type. Then my step-mom helped me pick out a leek plant, rosemary
plant, a row of 6 lettuce plants in one box, three different types of Hungarian Bell Pepper plants, and lastly sage plant for
my garden. However, I didn't get all the planets I picked out or planned such as basil, marigold, kale, or arugula. So in order
to fix this situation, I decided to visit another nursery store to see if they had any plants I needed that Harmony doesn't have
or provide, but it did other a limited of plants to choose from for many people, who enjoy planting a garden or are very fond
of nature through plants itself.
PS.04.02 After researching about the importance of a garden and understanding the vegetables, fruits, and other plants I
wanted to grow, I was ready to plot out which plants I wanted to grow in my garden beds. My step-mom helped me with
understanding how to plot each plant in the two sets of garden beds by giving me the idea of writing a concept art or mini
sketch of my garden. So I decided to draw a simple sketch of a garden planning and which plants I picked would go in each
garden bed and how it would fit while being creative with creating my garden. An important key was an enough distance or
space from each plant so they wouldn't stick together when the plants started to grow bigger over the course of months and
day. So for my first garden bed, I decided to plant 3 marigolds, dill, sage, thyme, and parsley. Also for the first garden bed, I
3/3/2020 decided to plant 6 different tomatoes (Paul Robeson, Sebastopol Tomato, Striped German Tomato, Red Pea Tomato, Indian
2.33
Moon Tomato, and Italian Tomato. For my second garden bed, I decided to plant 4 marigolds, Basil, Aleppo Chili Pepper,
Hungarian Black Pepper, Cababreon Pepper, Cucumber, and Zucchini. For my second garden bed as well, I decided to
plant 4 different rows of lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale, which consisted of 6 plants each. Lastly, planting a row of blue
lola bean plants on the second bed of my garden. After plotting the plants I picked I wanted to be either for my first or
second garden bed, I was ready to go on the next step of now purchasing the plants I needed by going to different nursery
garden stores.

Nicholas Di Loreto -- AET Unique #1769028 Page 3 of 5

Journal - Experience-related Activity - Creating A Homemade Garden
Date Activity / Description Hours
PS.01.01, PS.01.02, PS.03.02 After getting the supplies/farming tools and soil for my garden, I was halfway through
preparing for my garden. Before I could start my garden, I decided to research the vegetables, fruits, and other plants I
wanted to include in my garden and getting to know what I grew. Also understand the importance of maintaining and
handling a homemade garden as well. Also what plants work best during the seasons of winter or I researched online and
read reliable sources/websites that were helpful in understanding how to create not a perfect, but successful garden.
However, the most reliable source that was very helpful and interesting to me in doing my SAE project and researching
about different kind of plants, especially vegetables was a book called "The Vegetable Garderner's Bible" by an
expereinced gardener/author named Edward C. Smith. From this book, I learned that before getting "down and dirty" and
actually making a few beds, figure where to put them and what's a good place for a garden to grow with full-sun area, which
important as all life depends on solar energy. Having too little water, the plans will suffer stress, they'll droop, sag, and
finally expire and with too much water, there's not enough room in the soil for the air that is essential to plant roots and to
2/28/2020 the many soil-dwelling creatures that helps plants to grow. Tips for choosing a garden location such as having good
2.75
amounts of sun, some sort of windbreak if occasional high winds are a problem, good water drainage, and easy access to
water for irrigation. For vegetables, I learned arugula, which was one of the vegetables I want to grow in my garden is frost
hardy enough that it will bear right through winter in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse, but the plant is small and essay
to grow in containers or in a flat on a sunny windowsill. For spinach, it grows in a wide variety of soils, but does best in
fertile soil enriched with compost and in sufficiently fertile soil, it usually doesn't need additional fertilizer and having too
much nitrogen gives spinach a sharp, metallic flavor and grows best in the cool weather that comes at the beginning and
end of the growing season. Last, I learned that tomatoes prefer a light, fertile soil with plenty of organic matter but not too
much nitrogen: a big helping of rotted manure or an organic fertilizer rich in nitrogen will produce beautiful, leafy plants with
very little fruit. After doing this research, I had a better understanding of what vegetables and plants I wanted to include in
my garden.
PS.01.02, PS.01.03 In order to start my SAE project, I have to get my garden ready before I buy new plants. Before we
started on the garden beds and rebuilt it again, my dad and I went to ACE Hardware/Garrett to buy new supplies such as
shovels, garden racks, gloves, masks, weeder, drip irrigation, and 7 packages of soil. After that, we came back home and
along with my step-mom, we started working on the garden. The first I did for my garden was that I used a weeder, or a
hand hoe to remove or pull any weeds out of the old soil because they were getting in the way. I researched that having
weeds in gardens with new plants growing can sometimes cause new plants to decay faster and I didn't want this to
happen. After getting all the weeds out, I took 2 packages of new soil and dumped it in with the old in the garden and the
2/22/2020 method I used was turning the soil, in which I used a four-tine cutting fork to turn soil over and combing the old and new soil 3.92
together. It's also important to compact it together and the reason we add new soil to the old soil is in order for the soil to
gain more moisture instead of being drier which helps the plant start growing faster than later. Also making sure not to harm
the worms within the soil because worms are a huge importance in providing nitrogen to the soil, which helps the plants as
well and breaking down large rocks of soil into small pieces in order to make even and flat. The first assignment for my
project was completed and the garden with the old soil and new soil worked very successfully and I was ready to begin
planting in my garden. However, before I start planting with a new moisture soil, I need to research and purchase plants
that work best in a garden and which plants work best during the months of February, March, and April.
Total Entries: 10 27.67

Journaled Skills # Entries # Evals Avg Eval

PS.01.01 Determine the influence of environmental factors on plant growth. 2 0
PS.01.02 Prepare and manage growing media for use in plant systems. 2 0
PS.01.03 Develop and implement a fertilization plan for specific plants or crops. 1 0
PS.03.02 Develop and implement a management plan for plant production. 3 0
PS.04.01 Evaluating, identifying and preparing plants to enhance an environment. 2 0
PS.04.02 Create designs using plants. 6 0
Total (Evaluation: 1=Limited, 2=Basic; 3=Proficient; 4=Exemplary) 16 0

Nicholas Di Loreto -- AET Unique #1769028 Page 4 of 5

Profit/Loss Report - Creating A
Homemade Garden
Type 2020 Total
1. Revenues from Operations
Beginning Current Inventory
Market Inventory Adjustments
Ending Current Inventory
Change in Current Inventory
Gross Cash Revenues
Gross Non-Cash Revenues
Gross Revenues

2. Expenses from Operations

Contract/Custom
Total Cash Expense
Non-Cash Contract/Custom
Total Non-Cash Expense
Total Operating Expense

3. Net Income from Operations

Journaled time (hours) 27.7 27.7

Nicholas Di Loreto -- AET Unique #1769028 Page 5 of 5