Preparing the Garden with the Kids in Mind;

Preparing the Garden with the Kids in Mind;

As a follow up to my previous post Getting the Kids to Dig Gardening, here are some more ideas to involve the children in the process of growing a garden.

After you've gotten them all excited to use their new gloves and watering can outside you'll have to put it on hold until warmer weather arrives. But for now it's time to start some seedlings inside, here's what you'll need.

1. Seeds, or cuttings can be used in some cases, like herbs. if you buy some basil in the supermarket save some of the lower stems and place them in a jar filled with enough water to cover the stalks. In a week or so they should start to shoot off some roots, you can then transplant these into the ground/pots after the danger of frost has passed. Place the containers somewhere the kids can see and check the progress of them daily. Make a point to show the kids and they will understand the process better when they get older.

2. Good garden soil, note* if you want organic vegetables you need to purchase organic soil otherwise your soil will have already been treated with fertilizer. There are organic fertilizers you can add to the soil separately to aid in the growth of quality plants. This is a great opportunity for the kids to get involved, set up a messy area where they can play with the dirt and fill all the containers you'll use.  


3. Egg cartons work well for starting seedlings so save the cardboard type from easter egg dying, or any small containers you have around the house, cups, tuna cans, baby food jars, just make sure you don't over water them. You can even cover seedlings with some plastic wrap to create a terrerium effect which is ideal for starting seeds.



seedlings at the garden center

4. It is a good idea to soak your seeds in water prior to planting them in soil to speed up the germination process, but this is not always neccessary. another great opportunity for the kids here, count out the seeds you want to plant and let them put them in the water.



5. Make sure you know which seed is which so when you go to transplant you don't put a climbing pea plant next to a cucumber (or you will end up with a tangled mess) There are a lot of plant marker ideas online, at pinterest.com for example, but just be creative and have fun and let the kids help to draw, paint, write out the names, or just put the seed packet on a stick, whatever you end up doing they can help just about any way you choose.

lettuce seedlings sowed directly outside
in september for fall harvest



Lastly, give the seeds a few good weeks, with some full sun and enough water, to start breaking through the surface. Make sure the seedlings are stong enough to support themselves in a strong wind before transplanting outside. After all this is done you then get to begin the fun part of getting dirty (I know it sounds scary to most of you moms, but it's part of the business and the kids will learn from every bit of it) Good luck and happy gardening.

peace & love to all

dinelle



Logical Gardening for Your Family

Logical Gardening for your family;

When I first began gardening I just grew anything I felt like growing and often ended up with a ton of extra and nothing that actually made sense when cooking, mint and a handful of cherry tomatoes?  Over the years I have come to realize, with a little bit of thought and planning, I could have a better run garden.

First, look at what you use most often in your cooking, not just what is easy to grow. For example, ZUCCHINNI! I love it in bread and muffins, but when I grow three plants that come in the pack it often overtakes my garden space and leaves me with so much I don't know what to do with it. Sure you can give it away, but it's not always easy to repeatedly give your neighbors veggies that they can't possibly use up either! So, I have found with items like this that produce a quantity, I have reduced my initial plants down to only one plant. Sometimes it's hard to find a single pack of certain vegetables, I understand, but I have even given away the other plants in the pack, or just tossed them out. Here in New Jersey garden space is limited and I just can't rationalize using it all up for a few plants that produce way to much for me and my family. So sit down for a few minutes and look at, in the summer months, what your family "really" eats.

On the same note when it comes to herbs don't be suckered into buying what the garden center has available when you go. Think about the veggies you'll be planting and plan to grow the herbs that will go along with them. For example, we love a good cucumber salad, and homemade pickles but I hate to have to go to the store to buy dill to put in it. So, even though it's sometimes a hunt to find a dill plant it's well worth it if it's something you are really going to utilize over and over. besides what do you really do with 5 different varietes of mint? (which I have been duped into growing one year??) The garden centers will get different herbs in stock at different times during the growing season so check back frequently if your looking to grow a well stocked herb garden.

Lastly, for now, think about what recipes you can make with your own fresh veggies that are too expensive to buy in the store. I like to eat organically (which is very costly) so I make sure that I grow the veggies I would otherwise have to buy all summer just to complete meals. A few corn seeds can go a long way, as well as green beans and peas and they can all be grown vertically to minimize space. I've also done some hunting for canning recipes in my family, for favorites from days gone, and made a point to grow all the plants needed in one season to produce a large batch of one (or two at the max) of them. i.e. my grams green tomato relish, it takes red and green tomatoes, red and green peppers and onions (which I forgot to plant so I had to buy). Overall I was able to grow 95% of the plants and make the relish, canned it, gave it away as gifts, and still have a few jars leftover in the pantry, and I made it in 2009.

Sometimes a garden can be overwhelming, but if you have a plan for where all those prized plants will go you can even reap the benefits for years to come. God luck and happy gardening.

peace & love to all,

dinelle.

 



Getting the Kids to Dig Gardening;

            It’s that time of the year where you can begin to plan to have a backyard garden. I’ve done a garden for several years now and always try to make my kids get involved.  A few things I can recommend to make it a little easier on you, and more fun for them;



these beauties were grown from scraps





1. I always take them to a garden center, not the big box type, but a real garden center this way they can be more hands on with the whole process. I love Richfield farms in Clifton they always have some great stuff and they have a few small shopping carts for the kids to push (which they love) let them be involved by making sure they can fill up their cart too!

2. Pick up some child size fabric garden gloves. Also, I find that these types of small garden centers are the only place I can find gloves small enough for the little hands, take note to get them NOW or they will be gone come planting time.

3. Another great idea for the kids is their own watering can, they love it, yes they will most often end up soaking wet, but it’s all part of the learning curve, and it keeps them occupied. Some mini garden tools won’t hurt either, stick to just a hand trowel as the shovel and rake are usually a little to much for them to handle at this stage (2-4) and a good pair of crocs are a gardening parents best friend!

my little guy helping out.

4. Next it’s time to choose what you will plant? Let them be involved here as well, there are a million seed packets with bright colors and pictures of all the fruits and vegetables on them. Let them look through and pick out whatever they want. They are cheap and if they don’t grow it won’t matter because they will probably forget by that time anyway.

5. Make sure you pick up good garden soil to mix in with your soil at home if you’re planting in the ground. And if your using pots pick those up now as well, you don’t need a lot of space to grow a few veggies and the kids may actually eat them if they are involved in the whole process. Cucumbers are a favorite of ours around here.

A few last notes on starting a garden, you WILL have to water plants EVERY day, no way around it, there are a few things that can make it easier as well: a soaker hose, and a timer. But if you don’t want to spend the money on those items just make sure you can reach your garden easily with your hose and do it every morning before the sun gets too hot, or in the evening after sundown. Good luck and happy gardening.

peace &

love to all,

dinelle.