Little Green Thumbs

 

Now that the threat of frost is gone in my neck of the woods it is time to get those hands in the dirt and grow something. This is the third year that Sean and I have tried our “thumbs” at gardening. Since owning my own home with a decent yard, I’ve grown a love for gardening. I most certainly am NOT an expert, but with the help of my amazing mother in love, I have planted flowers for spring/summer and fall/winter with pretty good success for the past 10 years.  Before having kids I tried my hand at container gardening with herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries. Last year my husband bought me a 4x4 raised bed frame for Mother’s Day…he knows me too well- BEST gift! He took Sean to help pick out a blueberry bush and some sweet potato plants. I later added some basil and tomatoes which flourished all summer long. I realized as we tended to our little patch how much Sean enjoyed going out each day to water and check on his plants and he began to devour tomatoes like they were apples. I knew that this would be something that we would continue to do each year.

Our garden beginnings- container garden tomatoes-Sean 1 year old

He never ate tomatoes until we grew our own! 

Both of my kids love being outside so gardening is a natural hobby that we can enjoy as a family.

Why should your family try gardening?

From my experience gardening provides learning in the best environment-NATURE! Most people, myself included, have no idea how MOST of our food is really grown, the best places/environment to grow them in, what it looks like from seed to plate etc. Having your own little garden gives you a full scope and sequence of a plant life cycle. Also it’s a great experiment in which you will definitely experience trial and error as you grow, it teaches your child to have delayed gratification in our microwave society, teaches your child responsibility as they have to diligently tend to their crops, and your child will be more willing to try these new foods since they personally had a hand in their growth. If you are eco-conscious then an added bonus is your child will more likely also form a deeper feeling of responsibility in caring for the Earth since they will form a connection with Mother Nature in the gardening process. Educationally, so many language, math, and science skills can be incorporated into gardening.

What do you need to get started?

First you will need to determine what you’re willing to tackle based on time, space, and funds. If you are feeling ambitious you can purchase, or make, a raised bed kit or 2, ours was purchased at Home Depot, and dig out the sod within the bed. Add a bag or 2 of soil and manure and combine with the dirt already there and plant your choice of vegetation. You can purchase plants that have already sprouted or buy seeds, cheaper option, and sprout them yourself first and then transplant them into your garden. The first year we planted all plants that were already started. This year we did both.

our raised bed-last spring,Sean-2 years old

In his element!

Gardening is a family affair!

 

If you want to start a little more low key, or you don’t have a yard, you could always get a few inexpensive pots, a bag of soil, and some plants for a great container garden to place on your patio. You could even do a few small pots and do an indoor herb garden in a kitchen window. Gardening is as a simple or grand as you like and there are tons of free resources online to get you started, last year I watched my fair share of youtube videos.

pot of carrots sprouting

 

You will also need a few basic supplies for you and your littles that can be purchased at a home improvement store or Walmart: gloves, spades, cheap garden shoes, watering can, etc.

Things I’ve learned along the way:

When we did our first garden last year Sean was 2 and Olivia was a newborn so it was easier to get plants that were already sprouted and were able to be harvested fairly quickly; however, now that Sean is a bit older and has a greater interest, I found that growing from seed has been much more rewarding and educational for Sean.

seed starter greenhouse

fine motor practice

sowing snow pea seeds

Watering seeds with his lil helper!

 

I purchased a seed starter greenhouse kit from Walmart for $5 which included the soil pods and let Sean pick out 2 seed packets, snow peas and carrot, and followed the directions on the kit. It was very easy and Sean was able to do most of it himself. All you do is add water to the soil pods to make them expand, pull them open, drop the seeds in, and cover it until they sprout. This could also be done in an egg carton with a few scoops of soil, in an old milk carton, juice jug, in rolled up newspaper, or small cups. Just cover water well, cover with saran wrap and place in a sunny spot. Most seeds actually sprout very fast in warm, moist conditions. Ours sprouted by day 2 and were several inches tall by day 4. Sean loved observing how fast they were growing and we even used a ruler to measure them each day. At the end of the week we transplanted them to the outdoor garden. Starting from seeds is super cheap and allows more room for error as there are far more seeds to try out than you could plant in your garden.

sprouting in an egg carton

sowing carrot seeds in juice bottle to view as they grow

 

Let gardening be a shared activity. You and your child should pick out seeds; plants that you would like to try or already eat. Sean eats, and will try, way more fruits and veggies than the average 3 year old since we’ve started gardening. This year Sean picked out 2 strawberry plants we put in pots, 2 cherry tomato plants, basil (we use it to make homemade pesto his favorite lunch), a watermelon, edemame (favorite veg), cabbage (from fall garden), blueberry bush (from last year still growing strong already producing fruit again), and the snow peas he grew from seed.

Let them get down and dirty and as involved as much as possible from digging, to watering, to harvesting.

adding fresh soil and manure to last year's soil

filling holes

blueberry bush

We are ready for spring and summer!

 

Of all the activities we do at home for fun and/or learning, gardening is by far our favorite. I really feel that every child should experience gardening in some form at some point in their childhood, even our lovely First Lady has taken to the soil and made gardening and healthy living a huge focus for the youth of this country.  It doesn’t take much to give the gift of growing, go ahead, grab a spade, and grow something today!

I would love to hear about what you're growing at home in the comment section. Happy Spring!