4-H Horticulture Project

• Learn what plants do for us.
• Grow and maintain a garden.
• Collect different seeds.
• Identify garden insects.
• Examine parts of a plant and discover the function of the parts.
• Learn how to exhibit produce.

• Learn about garden fertilizer and nutrients
• Learn to divide/ transplant plants.
• Make a container garden.
• Learn about compost and make a simple compost bin.
• Sell produce at a farmer’s market or local grocery store.

• Start an herb garden.
• Learn about food preservation methods.
• Take a soil sample and have it tested for nutrients.
• Experiment with organic production.
• Participate in the NDSU Home Garden Variety Trials.

Organize a flower/vegetable sale to raise money for a special cause or your club, help an adult teach a gardening class, volunteer to help your local garden club.

Give a presentation on garden tools or techniques, make a video on how to start seeds or transplant a plant, teach your club how to identify common garden weeds.

Grow and sell vegetables at the local farmer's market, start a lawn-care business, create a landscape design business.

Use an identification app to identify different plants, create a grow light system for growing seedlings, develop garden plots and landscaping designs with software or an app.

Project Expo Display, Communication Arts Garden Reading.

• Exhibit vegetables, herbs or flowers
• Build a compost bin or rain barrel
• Prepare an exhibit on how to use fresh herbs in cooking
• Create a notebook for common plants for a butterfly garden
• Design a landscape
• Compare two varieties of the same plant. Show the results in a display
• Make a terrarium
• Prepare a poster showing proper harvest times for vegetables
• Display different types of mulch for the garden
• Create your own garden calendar
• Keep a garden journal
• Exhibit a seed collection

• Exhibit vegetables, herbs or flowers.
• Make a poster about the parts of a plant.
• Build a compost bin or rain barrel.
• Prepare an exhibit on how to use fresh herbs in cooking.
• Create a notebook for common plants for a butterfly garden.
• Design a landscape.
• Compare two varieties of the same plant. Show the results in a display.
• Make a terrarium.
• Prepare a poster showing proper harvest times for vegetables.
• Display different types of mulch for the garden.
• Make a cost comparison about starting your own seeds vs. buying transplants. Show the results on a poster.
• Create your own garden calendar.
• Conduct a taste comparison of different varieties.
• Keep a garden journal.
• Exhibit a seed collection

• National 4-H Curriculum Gardening Levels 1-4
• Container Gardening
• Harvesting and Preparing Vegetables for Exhibit
• Gardening Delights for All
• Flower Gardening Fun — available for purchase from your local Extension office
• Educational Trunks — Lawn and Garden Equipment
• Junior Master Gardener Student Handbook
• Visit NDSU’s website: Gardening and Horticulture
• Gardening Journal
• Growing Flowers for Container Gardens

• 4-H Project Plan
• Planning for My Project Adventure (Ages 8-10)
• 4-H Plan of Action (Ages 11-18)
• ND 4-H Participation Summary for 11- to 19- year-olds

What factors affect the amount of time it takes a seed to germinate? To do this experiment, determine what germination factor you will be testing (light, water, temperature, etc.) Determine the factor treatments, for example if you are testing water use different amounts of water. Have the measuring system set up for the factor that is being tested and make sure all other germination factors stay the same.

• Cotton balls
• Plastic sandwich bags
• Permanent marker
• Vegetable seeds

Place a seed on a cotton ball, then place in a sandwich bag. Label the sandwich bag for the treatment you are testing, you can repeat the experiment by using more sandwich bags with a cotton ball and seed. Expose the seeds to the conditions you are testing. Make daily observations and measurements. Record the information.

OR

Take a walk outside and count the number of different plants you see. Divide the plants into growth cycles: annuals, biennials or perennials. Then type of plant: flowers, trees, fruits or vegetables. What do these plants do for our environment?