Good News about the Garden

This journal entry is focused on how I have overcome some challenges that I have had in my garden and the positive results that we are seeing now. One area of the garden that we were having some problems with was the watermelons. We found out that some of our watermelons had blossom-end rot, which were water-soaked spots at the ends of the watermelons that were affecting their growth. After doing some research, we found out that this situation with blossom rot was caused by a calcium deficiency in the plants. This could have been caused by the high humidity levels that we have here, because high humidity can slow down the process of transpiration in plants (where plant roots take up nutrients from the soil, including calcium). The solution we decided to implement was using pulverized limestone. The active ingredient in pulverized limestone is calcium carbonate, which solved our problem and gives our watermelons the calcium that they need. It also helps to raise the pH of the soil to optimal conditions so that the watermelons can grow well. What we do with this pulverized limestone is we mix it with water and we use it to water the watermelon plants. So far, this solution is working effectively and we have not had any problems with blossom rot recently. Currently, we have five watermelons (but more are growing) and they are all doing great! They are all amount the size of the palm of my hand and they are growing pretty quickly. Overall, I am glad that we found a solution to our problem and that we are implementing it effectively. Learning Outcomes: - Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process. - Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.