Gearing Up for the Garden Season!
Brina’s “Rainbow of Vegetables”
There are so many reasons why I love to garden! This is the last haul from our garden last year. I went out and picked everything I could in mid-November (yes November, we live in South Carolina and had a late freeze this winter) before our first major freeze and these are the vegetables that were still in the garden or producing. Brina helped me wash all the vegetables and as we were sorting I was pulled away by a phone call, she continued sorting and made a “Rainbow of Vegetables” (see picture above). She was quite pleased with her handiwork and I was pretty impressed too!
Most of the items left that I picked that day were ripe and ready to eat. A lot of the tomatoes were still pretty green but that isn’t a problem because we have containers that keep them fresh for quite awhile plus we have a couple of green tomato recipes. I love that the girls will ask to eat a banana pepper or a whole tomato like it is an apple! It was wonderful having fresh vegetables throughout the winter months too.
Another reason our family enjoys gardening is that it gives us a wonderful opportunity to share with others. Whether it was taking baskets of goodies over to our neighbors or sharing it with family and friends we really had a blast sharing the produce. It was a great way to teach our children the joy of giving to others. When we planted the garden our family decided that we would try to use half of the produce to feed our family and give the remaining half away to family, friends, neighbors, and others within our community. While I cannot say how many pounds or the exact number of each produce we gave away or the exact amount we ate this past year I do know that our garden (despite my black thumb) produced more then it ever has in the past!
To get us in the gardening mood, my sweet husband went out and bought a few seed packets. He put the packets in various places throughout the house for us to find. The girls have really been getting excited about starting the garden and trying out some of the new produce we have discovered over the last few months (like Bok Choy). They love being outside, in the fresh air, playing, planting and picking the produce. The only thing they don’t enjoy is the weeding, but I don’t know anyone that gets too excited about that piece. As we gear up for another gardening season there is a lot to think about…..what to plant, where to plant each type, how many and so forth. Do you have a family garden? What are your favorite items to grow?
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – A Variety of Fresh Leafy Lettuce, Summer Squash, Cherry Tomatoes, Snow Peas, Pepper, Spinach, Zucchini, & More…Oh My!
We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden!
Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:
Our very first picks of Fresh Snow Peas, Cherry Tomato, Summer Squash and Banana Pepper! Even though it is only a handful of items (including our first tomato of the summer, ha) hopefully we'll have some more coming soon and throughout the rest of summer. 
Fresh Garden Vegetables - at least 5 Varieties of Leafy Lettuce, Summer Squash, Zucchini, another Cherry Tomato, Snow Peas, Spinach, Sweet Basil (bagged), and Dill (bagged)! What are you eating out of your garden this week?
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Fresh Lettuce, Spinach, Broccoli, Dill, Zucchini, Basil, & Radishes!
We are loving the fresh vegetables from our garden!
Here are some of the fresh veggies we were able to eat and share this week:
Fresh from the Garden - Leafy Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, and Broccoli! A full dish strainer full of freshly picked goodies from the garden. A variety of leafy lettuces, spinach, several radishes, and a few small broccoli.
Zucchini, Radishes, and Broccoli from the Garden Our first zucchini from the garden! The broccoli and radishes are done, we put in more radishes and replaced the broccoli with okra, we’ll see how it does.
Lettuce, Basil, Spinach and Dill fresh from the garden! A whole colander full of a variety of leafy lettuce, fresh spinach, basil and dill! Thinking a nice salad is in our near future!
Teaching Our Children: How to Garden
Family Garden's Growing, it's not perfect but the kids are enjoying helping with the project! Kids enjoy participating in activities with their parents. I love finding opportunities to teach my girls. Gardening was one of the projects I decided would be fun to teach our children this year. When I explained we were planting a garden and I would like their help with it they were ready to get started immediately.
Steps for Teaching Kids How to Garden:
- Garden Research – start by reading several plant and garden books, both ones at home as well as books from the library. Reading books on gardening help build the excitement for the project and prepare them for the whole process. End this step by making a list of items you need to pick up at a local nursery or store.
- Picking Out the Seeds – take the kids to the store and have them pick out a few plants and seeds on their own. Answer their questions and guide them in picking out the best plants. This is a great teaching opportunity on many levels from learning about plants, prices, and making decisions. You may be in the store longer than normal but it can be a wonderful experience for the kids. Once they have their plants picked out have them take the plants to the cash register and pay for them.
- Planting the Seeds – read the directions with your kids and start planting the seedlings. You can start the seedlings in peat pellets. The pellets can be fascinating to watch grow and the kids enjoy putting the seeds into each one.
- Tilling the Soil – have the kids use their shovels to dig up the garden soil. After a few days of them digging for ten minutes or so go ahead and rotor till the area (the rotor tilling should be done by an adult). The digging teaches them that it takes a little bit of hard work and persistence to get the garden ready for the plants. Once the ground is tilled and the plants are ready help them dig the holes and place the plants into the ground.
- Maintaining the Plants (Water & Weeds) – once the plants are in the soil it is time to teach the kids how take care of the plants so they will continue to grow. Hook up the hose up so the kids can turn on it on and water the plants. You can use a timer to help ensure the garden gets plenty of water but not too. One of the most entertaining pieces of gardening is teaching the kids how to pull the weeds; a weed can look a lot like a small vegetable plant to kids.
- Reaping the Rewards – the best part of the whole process is when the kids get to pick the produce from the plants. They get so excited seeing them bloom and the vegetables growing. Once the produce is ready to be picked show them how to pick the vegetables without damaging the plant. After the produce is picked help them wash and put it away.
We decided to do a vegetable garden but these steps can be used for flower gardens as well. One of the character building lessons you can teach your children with this project is how to share with others. Having a garden provides delicious vegetables for your family but can be a huge blessing to extended family, friends, and neighbors. The girls love picking the fresh vegetables and sharing with people around us. Teaching our children to be considerate and generous helps build positive character traits that will last. At least once a week let your kids pick a bag of produce on their own, wash it and choose someone to give it to.
This year we had the girls help us in the family garden. I think once they get older if they are still interested we will let them do one completely on their own. It is a great activity that our whole family enjoys. The rows may not be straight and a few plants may get stepped on but the overall experience is worth it. Do your kids help in the garden? What creative tips do you for gardening with the kids?
Fresh & Healthy: Our Garden – Fresh Lettuce, Spinach, Radishes, & Broccoli
Directly from the garden to the table! Fresh Spinach, Broccoli, and Radishes . Love Garden Veggies! I have been enjoying our Vegetable Garden this year. Many thanks to my amazing husband for putting in the time and energy to help get it started for me. The girls are thrilled to help me pick veggies. The vegetables are fresh, delicious and they can be taken directly in to eat at dinner. This week we picked A LOT of lettuce (a variety of leafy lettuce), some spinach, a few radishes, and a couple small broccoli heads. My broccoli doesn’t get as big as the ones in the grocery store but they taste good! I even made homemade White Pie Pizza topped with fresh spinach from the garden, black olives (from the box sale), and mushrooms. All the neighbors and some of their family members have received lettuce from our garden already this year. It is amazing how having a garden will encourage your neighbors to come over and visit for a few minutes every week. The girls helped me deliver lettuce to those who haven’t had the chance to stop by the house this week. I am thankful that we have been blessed with a garden this year, I LOVE being able to eat fresh veggies and share with others. It has been a wonderful adventure and has already been a great venue for teaching the girls about giving to others and how to cook what we grow.
Fresh Garden Vegetables we picked this week! We were able to take lettuce around to the neighbors this week, we had a great time catching up with everyone! 
Fresh Garden Radishes, the girls comment on their taste was "SPICY"! 
Fresh Homemade White Pie Pizza with Fresh Spinach from the Garden, Olives and Mushrooms!
