The top 5

July 23, 2009 | Print

A Simple Garden

We turned into gardeners with our first cherry tomato plant–we’re talking basic starter plant in a pot, nothing fancy. We eventually grew into a larger planter, adding carrots, green beans and chard. The key is small steps, which keeps it fun and everyone can help. Soon we’re concocting our own bug repellent.

The garden is a huge source of activities for kids, and broadens their perspective about food–it’s worth the adventure!

1. Plan & Shop. We walk around the yard or patio to find a garden spot. Good sun and space for a few plants to grow, whether in a planter or the yard. Again, the idea is to start small. For supplies, the local gardening store has seeds and/or starter plants (starts) and organic compost. We ask their recommendations too, and might add a small shovel, gloves and wire frame for vine plants like tomatoes.

When choosing what to plant, we consider what we like to eat and what’s easy to grow given the season and climate. We try to find organic–Seeds of Change is a popular brand, and farmer’s markets often sell organic starts. We’ve grown tomatoes, carrots, beets, strawberries (in a metal tub that we later replanted with tulips in the spring), lettuce, artichokes (huge plant!), chard, green beans and butternut squash.

2. Plant. We fill the planter with compost, or if we’re planting in the yard, rake the dirt then mix with compost. For seed or starts, we dig a hole with our hands or shovel, then place them and cover up with more compost. We’ve learned to space out carrots and beets–if they’re too close together they don’t grow as large. Then, we water.

3. Water. Watering is great fun for toddlers and preschoolers because they can do it themselves with their kid-sized watering cans. We water every day in the hot summer, and watch what the plants need on cooler days. It’s easy to forget to water, so we try to get into a routine of checking the plants in the morning or after dinner.

4. Bugs. Bugs come along with the home garden thing. We’ve gotten used to them. The gardening store can help with natural options (make sure no chemicals). For home remedies, we use our Spider Spray as a bug deterrent, garlic and parsley tea, or 1/2 teaspoon dishsoap with water. We pour one of these potions in a sprayer and spray lightly over the plant. Slugs can be trickier, and may need some gardening store advice. We’ve heard that digging a hole near a plant and putting a cup of beer inside works well–slugs like the beer smell and fall into the cup.

5. Pick & Eat. Like the kids, we’re still amazed and proud when the food starts growing. They get a thrill out of picking a strawberry or tomato and eating it immediately. And, we all learn about ripening from tasting.

We steam the vegetables, make fruit bowls and try new recipes from cookbooks like Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food for inspiration. Sometimes we grow more than we can eat. The kids love delivering a basket of tomatoes to the neighbors, Lyndsey’s boys trade lettuce for their neighbor’s apples.

MOST IMPORTANT–A Simple Garden means trial and error and less is more. Even Wyatt who’s known as Farmer Browne gets bored planting all day. We break up the jobs, keep it easy, and let the garden be whatever it becomes for our family.

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