ORGANIC GARDEN丨Volunteer’s Training Journal of Spring Volunteers’ Training Session II

On April 15th, my friend and I participated in the volunteer training of Organic Garden Program of Shanghai Roots & Shoots. In the morning, we learned about how to make sprouting bags, thinning and transplanting seedlings.

In the afternoon, a beautiful Russian teacher taught us how to make compost with earthworm; we also built a trellis. I was very impressed by the activity of making sprouting bags. It was really amazing because only a ziploc bag, some tissue paper and water are needed for the sprouting of seeds. Soil, which I used to think to be essential for the process, is actually not necessary. The sprouting rate of seeds could even increase greatly in this way. I wonder maybe in the future, we could glue the seed bags to windows of tall buildings, then green would grow and spread all over the room.

Ben, the training organizer, asked us at the beginning of the day what we would do if we didn’t attend the training that day. I said I would take a part-time job and earn some pin money. Ben wished that I would find the time spending on training more worthwhile.

The one-day training taught me a lot, such as watering soil thoroughly after planting. After we transplanted tomato seedlings, I saw my partner kept pouring water. I frowned and asked Ben, if such amount of water would drown the plants. He told me no, as a matter of fact, the newly transplanted seedlings need a lot of water. I stopped worrying and realized why my previous plants died, because I was always worried that I would water too much.

Article by Shihuan Zhang, Yang Li (Leader of Yuanwang Eco-club of Shanghai University of Medicine & Health Sciences; joined Shanghai Roots & Shoots in Fall 2017)

Translater: Jenna Jiang