Gardening

I found this picture on Facebook the other day, and decided it perfectly captures how I feel about gardening.  I love my gardens!  When we bought our house a couple years ago, there was one approximately 10' garden box out back, plus four flower beds.  I was in heaven!  Space to garden, and have flowers?  Nothing better.  

Now, I have three garden boxes, and still the four flower beds.  I love watching my kids in the garden.  They love to help pull weeds, and check on the plants, and pick the vegetables as they become ready.  And there is so much to be learned from 'playing' in the dirt.

I just ordered my seeds for this year (at least most of them, I might be picking up a few more), and I can't wait to get some seedlings started.  There is nothing like watching those little sprouts grow.  And it is such a great science project for the children, to plant seeds and watch them grow.  To be able to give them a part of growing the food we eat.  I remember when I was a kid, and we planted bean seeds in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel, so that we could watch the roots and sprout grow.  It was one of the coolest things ever, at the time.  And it's still pretty cool, to watch my children learn about it as well.

The other part of gardening with my children that I love is that they can engage their senses.  They can feel the coolness of the soil, the temperature and texture of the plants, the smoothness of a tomato or squash,  taste the produce fresh off the plant.  We took a day trip to a Children's Museum which had a sensory garden on the roof.  It was really fun for the kids to be able to touch and smell the plants. They used a lot of herbs there, but really any plant is going to give a great sensory experience. 

Edible gardens are another way to engage children in gardening and the world around them.  homegrown.org  has some great suggestions on plants to choose for an edible garden, along with the ways that they benefit children.  

 Gardens can be as simple as a couple pots or as elaborate as raised beds (which actually aren't too complicated), but are so great.  And if you just don't have the space at your home to dedicate to a garden, or if you live in a rental unit where a garden isn't allowed, check out community gardens in your area.  We did a community plot for a couple years before we were able to have our own garden at  home.  It was a great experience for myself and my children to see people working together on the gardens.  Even after we had our own beds at home, my children would ask when we were going back to the community garden. 

One other thing that I have begun looking into is Square Foot Gardening.  The basic premise of SFG is to take the sheer volume of space needed to grow a garden, and pare it down to just what is needed to grow the plants.  It takes out the aisles between the rows, and it veers away from the rows as well by planting more and shorter rows, closer together.  I would definitely recommend it as a go-to book for gardening.

Consider getting out there, and exploring the wonder of nature through gardening!  It is such a great way to spend time, and the rewards of fresh produce are too many to count!  (And watching your child pick the veggies that they get to eat for supper is awesome!)