Kids in the Garden

What an awesome sight, harvest time is here and my kids are so excited to see all their hard work flourish into beauty and food!  This past spring my son Matthew planted a sunflower on a school field trip.  Oh, the excitement when it popped out of the dirt on our kitchen table!  Then we watched it grow, moved it outside, and realized it needed a home where it could really take off, the spot we selected, "THE MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN!"  We planted his little seedling there in early summer and watched it grow.  Then to our dismay one day we came out and all the leaves were missing, a deer had visited and feasted on my sons precious plant.  We were not sure if it was going to make it but look there it is, beautiful and towering over my son.  What a sense of success and delight to see his little seed turn into this beautiful flower that makes our veggie garden so beautiful!  He has total ownership in this garden as well, its not just mom's garden it is his too....this is how we all feel.  Our gardens would not make it without the help of everyone.  It is a FAMILY thing!

Making gardening a family thing is uniting as well as prosperous in the fall harvest time.  Not only do the kids have a great time planting in the spring, caring for the garden learning responsibility for watering, weeding, and investigating problems that arrive, they LOVE the harvest!   As little Benj is showing in the photo there is nothing like a tomato right off the vine and a carrot with the long green stem on it!  One of my favorite tips for getting kids to eat better is to get them involved in the "cooking" process (for ideas on how to do this watch my youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlbqjOu2Ti0&feature=share), another great way to get them interested in veggies is to have little garden helpers, they are so inspired to try the things they have seen grow from seed...to plant...to food!  Even if they don't love it this year and only try it, next year they may just love it (or the year after, hehehe....)

Check out that grin!  What a harvest for my 5 year old!  He is my famer at heart.  He goes out and checks the gardens everyday.  Not only does he bring in veggies for us he tends to deliver them to the neighbors as well, rumor has it!  This is  my little guy who told me he wants to be a farmer when he grow up, I was so excited!  I said,"Can I work on your farm, because I want to be a farmer when I grow up too."  He said, "Yep,  you can take care of the PIGS!"  What a hoot! 

It is amazing how much food our two little flower plots have put out this year.  We have frozen up bunches of zucchini and green beans, carrots and peppers are next.  I will be canning tomatoes next week.  And we have had an abundance of fresh tomatoes, kale, and cucumbers at every meal! 

So, use this winter to come up with a garden plan for your family.  It will bring great family unity, fun, get them eating new and yummy veggies as well as make a dent in your winter shopping bill!  Watch for my next post on preserving your harvest!