Okra, green Creole vegetable
Okra is a small green vegetable that gets a tad slimy when cooked, and is delicious pickled. It is very popular in New Orleans’ creole and cajun cuisines. A vegetable seller in New Orleans who drove his cart around town went by the name of “Mr. Okra.”
Mr. Okra, vegetable peddler
Recently, Mr. Okra passed away; his legacy lives on.
Mr. Q at 993Q shared this photo of their new aquaponics system at MS 73. Big thank you to Mr. Eddy and the teachers at 811X for their inspiration!
Congratulations to 53K @ Spring Creek for being in the TOP 5 Youth Garden Grant winners over 800 schools that applied! Here is the link to read more about the grant and Kid’s Gardening organization: 2018 Kid’s Gardening Youth Garden Grant winners. Spring Creek, we can’t wait to see the fruits of your labor.
Here is a photo of the inimitable Ms. Maura Flanagan from 373K being interviewed for the film. Check out her aquaponics set-up in the background and seed saving station in the foreground. Now, this is what a green classroom looks like! 
Check out this new film that profiles two of our PLG schools and their incredible stories. Here is the link to the film and a short blurb about it. Enjoy!
Plant, Learn, Grow is a profile of two schools in New York City located in “Food Deserts,” areas where it is difficult to find fresh, healthy produce. One school is located in the South Bronx, and one school in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The students deal with more than lack of healthy food. They are challenged with intellectual, communication, and emotional issues. This is the story of the gardens they built, the food they grew, and the impact this rich harvest had on the students and their communities.
We can’t seem to keep these chickens out of the news! Congrats to the 754X Garden Club for being featured in Edible Bronx. That would make them the second D75 school to be featured this year! (P 811X was featured back in September for their healthy eating initiatives. Check out their article here.)
Hello Plant Learn Growers! We have just announced an exciting year-long field investigation study to be conducted for 10 selected schools from The Bronx and Brooklyn. Each of the schools will visit their respective Botanical Garden four times throughout the year to make observations, collect data, and learn about our natural environment. D 75 staff attended the New York Botanical Garden staff training day on Wednesday to work with garden staff in preparation for our students’ initial visits. More to come!
Welcome back, school gardeners! There are so many exciting things going on this year with Plant Learn Grow, we can’t wait to share them all with you. For starters, our first PD of the year, for beginners or those just starting out with their school gardens, is on Friday, Sept 30, at 373 K. We hope to see you there!
As part of Family Day at 754X this past Saturday, teachers and students built chicken coops for their new fine feathered friends that are hatching!
Jeremy K of 721X writes that “We have 300 plus plants started. We’re comparing florescent and LED lighting.”
d75plantlearngrow.com 