April Showers Bring More Than May Flowers
You’ve probably heard some variation of the old proverb “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers,” right? Well, it’s true for fresh veggies too, which means now is a good time to plant some warm-season crops like broccoli, cauliflower, peas, lettuce, and more.
While gardening can seem like lots of work and has some initial costs, the benefits to your family are many:
Teaches children how food is grown and what is required to produce it.
Entices reluctant eaters to try new foods since they helped grow it.
Helps children learn about responsibility when you enlist their help in planting and taking care of a garden.
Serves to get your body moving and can be a good stress reliever.
Feeds your family and can help cut down what you spend at the grocery store.
If you are new to home gardening, there’s lots of great resources for beginners on YouTube, Pinterest and through websites such as Urban Farmer, UGA Extension and the DIY Network. Planning
Tips for Beginners:
Decide how big (or small) you want your garden to be and what your living arrangement can support. Do you have a yard that is suitable for in-ground plantings or raised beds? Or, is a container garden more in line with your needs?
Do you have a location that will receive enough sunlight and is not too shady? Morning sun is better than afternoon sun.
If you are planting a variety of vegetables in the ground or raised beds, be sure to plant short to tall plants from east to west so that the taller plants won’t shade the shorter ones in the morning.
Make sure that you use fertile soil that drains well. Talk with someone at a garden center for recommendations of soil mixes.
Plan for at least 6 inches of soil, but 12-18 inches is even better.
Be sure to plant your garden near a water source to make watering easy.
Talk with your family about what vegetables they would like to grow and source seedlings from a local farm or garden center before you head out to buy them.
Make your garden a family project! Enlist help from the family when purchasing necessary materials, building your gardening area, planting, and daily maintenance.
Gardening requires patience, which young children don’t always have. To help your kids stay excited and inquisitive while the vegetables grow, include some garden-themed reading and crafting in your time together. We’ve listed a few resources below to get you started with some interesting books and fun activities.
Reading in the Garden
Kids Gardening has lots and lots of books, such as “Jack’s Garden,” “Diary of a Worm,” and “Planting a Rainbow,” for children of all ages here.
Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds provided a “12 of the Best Gardening Books Preschoolers Love” list, and we love it too!
Check out “5 Gorgeous Gardening Books for Kids” from The Children’s Book Review
Learning and Creating in the Garden
Garden activities, learning projects and crafts from Kids Gardening
Spruce Crafts has creative ideas like Thumbprint Flowerpots and Painted Ladybug Rocks.
Make wind chimes and garden markers with instructions from Makes and Takes.
Garden Therapy gives you more than 60 activities here.
