Smarty Plants - Plants for Kids
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Home
  • About
    • Hey Kids!
    • Hey Mums and Dads!
    • Hey Teachers!
    • The Legal Stuff
    • For the Media
  • Smarty Facts
  • The Garden
    • Garden Tools
    • Looking after the Garden
      • Waterwise Gardens
      • Fertilisers and Compost
      • Weed Control in the Garden
      • Looking after Potted Plants
    • Planting and Potting
    • Handy Garden Structures
    • Good Bugs
    • Bad Bugs
    • Plant Diseases
    • What is…?
  • The Kitchen
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Soups
    • Mains
    • Salads and Vegetables
    • Desserts
    • Cakes and Baking
    • Snacks
    • Cooking Skills
  • The Classroom
    • Teachers’ Q&A
    • Curriculum Plans
    • Lesson Plans
      • The Arts
      • English
      • Health and Physical Recreation
      • L.O.T.E.
      • Mathematics
      • Science
      • S.O.S.E.
      • Technology and Enterprise
    • School Gardens
      • Setting up the garden
      • Maintaining the Garden
      • Seasonal Information
  • Contact
  • BLOG
  • Home
  • The Garden Shed
  • Looking after the Garden

Zones are not just for the soccer field!

A zone is an area that is different to another area.  For example, a soccer field or netball court can be divided into different areas where only some people can go.  Your school might have zones as well – the playground, the sports field and the undercover area.  All of these areas are used in […]

No Comments Read More

What is a weed?

A weed is a plant that is growing where it’s not wanted! In most cases, garden weeds grow from seed that has blown into the garden or has been transported by birds and insects.  Sometimes weeds such as couch grass creep into the garden and although it might be fine when it’s lawn, when it […]

No Comments Read More

Watering Potted Plants

Potted plants can only get the water that’s in their pot so if it dries out, they will also dry out.  But, sometimes too much water is worse for plants than not enough. The trick to testing whether potted plants need watering is easy.  Simply poke your finger into the soil!  If it feels cold […]

No Comments Read More

Saving Water in the Garden

Water is one of the most important resources on the planet and we have to be very careful not to waste it because we need it to drink, to keep our environment clean, to build things and to grow things. Plants need water just as much as we do and even though we have to […]

No Comments Read More

Getting Rid of Weeds in the Garden

Weeds in the garden are a nuisance.  They steal nutrients and water from the other plants, attract bad bugs into the garden and sometimes smother everything. Once you have weeds in the garden, you have to start ‘weeding’ regularly to stop them from taking over. There are a two ways that you can get rid […]

No Comments Read More

Preventing Weeds in the Garden

One year of seeds brings seven years of weeds! Have a think about what that sentence means?  Can you figure it out? It means that if for just one year you let the weeds in your garden get big enough to produce flowers that release seeds, there will be enough seeds in your garden to […]

No Comments Read More

What is a wetting agent?

Gardeners apply a wetting agent, sometimes called a soil wetter, to the garden to make sure that the water from the sprinklers and the rain soaks right down into the soil. Over time, the soil in the garden or in pots becomes ‘hydrophobic‘ which means that the water won’t soak into it.  If this happens, […]

No Comments Read More

What is controlled release fertiliser?

Controlled release fertiliser are tiny granules called prills that are packed with food for plants which they release gradually over a long length of time.  They are really useful when gardening because they can be applied to a pot or a garden and feed the plants for between 3 and 6 months. A prill of […]

Read More

What is liquid fertiliser?

Vegetables, herbs and flowers are almost all annuals which means that they grow very fast but for just one season.  But, the faster they grow the more they need to be fed! In gardening, feeding plants is called fertilising.  To fertilise plants we use fertiliser which has lots of nutrients in them. Liquid fertiliser is […]

No Comments Read More

When should I water?

Australia is a hot, dry country so we tend to use a lot of water and because it is a precious resource that we need to look after, many state governments have water restrictions. AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY During spring, summer and autumn, gardeners in the ACT can use sprinklers between 6pm and 9am on any […]

No Comments Read More
12

Have a dig around!

Contact

  • info@smartyplants.com.au

The Blog!

  • Gardening’s not rocket science!

    Years ago, when our parents planted out their vegie patches, they turned over the soil, mixed some sheep manure through,...

    08 Dec,13
  • Have fun with your food!

    Just because I’m a grown up doesn’t mean that I can’t play with my food! The other day, I became...

    05 Dec,13
  • Little Halloween Pumpkin Heads

    Did you manage to grow some pumpkins for Halloween this year?  Don’t worry if you didn’t as they’re still available...

    28 Oct,13
  • Crazy Capsicums

    Capsicums are a confusing vegetable; not least because they are actually a fruit!  But also because they are related to...

    20 Oct,13
  • Take broccoli off the table!

    Since the beginning of time parents have been asking the age old question, ‘How do I get my kids to...

    06 Oct,13
  • Garden Gnomes are Back

    Yay! Garden Gnomes are back! Where have they been all these years?  I imagine that, having been discarded by gardeners...

    18 Sep,13
  • Planting a Bare-rooted Fruit Tree

    It’s winter! It’s time to plant an orchard!  You can do this at any time of the year but in...

    06 Jun,13
  • Warheads v. Radishes!

    Why will kids turn up their noses at radishes but they’ll eat Warhead candies?  Or they refuse to eat Brussels...

    03 May,13
  • Room to Move

    I get a bit peeved when I watch some gardening shows or read gardening books that tell people that they...

    26 Apr,13
  • Veg Out!

    Veg out!  Don’t you just love vegging out?  Sitting on the sofa doing absolutely nothing except watching a bit of...

    08 Feb,13
Find us on Google+ (c) 2012 Smarty Plants - Website by Loud Cow