Miomarmo

Simple Statement of the Day

The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
~ Nelson Henderson

Don't be chicken... Recycle!

Every year, the local garden center has a fall-themed bash -- pumpkin picking, hay rides, a corn maze, and a scarecrow contest. Our vote this year went to this amazing bird, who was made entirely out of recycled products. Its top feathers were made from scraps of plastic supermarket bags, and its body was comprised of who knows how many cut up dish detergent bottles. I believe even the clothing came from old clothes (the red feathers at the top are tights and there was a mention of old t-shirts from camp). Either the artists asked neighbors to help them with their supply, or they have been saving for a very long time and their basement is probably now incredibly empty! No matter how it happened, it was too good a picture to pass up.

Simple Statement of the Day

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.
~ John Burroughs

Quote of the Day

A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children.
~ John James Audubon

Inch by inch, row by row

This weekend we enjoyed the lovely weather and planted most of our garden! Although much of the heavy lifting was done by me and my husband, we made sure the kids participated as much as possible so they felt the ownership and pride that will come from tending their garden (as opposed to being "mine.")

Equipment:
We invested in some kid-sized rakes and gardening gloves. You don't need these, but my kids are so small that when they tried on Dad's gloves, they got very frustrated (ditto with trying to wield a rake twice their size). Kids can weed, water, harvest, and let's not forget how much fun it is to dig!

The seeds:
First off, we let each child choose their own seeds. This is why our garden will contain tomatoes (an absolute must for me!), snap peas, lavender, pickling cucumbers (although we had to make sure to explain that they don't get to be pickles on the vine), and their group pick, carnival peppers - an assortment of five differently colored peppers (but oddly, none of them green).

We did some recycling and started some of our seedlings inside. We started them off in well-washed  clear plastic egg cartons - a little soil, a few seeds, and just a bit of water (you don't want them to get too soggy), close them up, place in a sunny window, and watch it fog up - you have a mini-terrarium. In a few days, the seedlings will start to emerge. You have to keep an eye on them; once they start to touch the top of the carton, you'll want to transplant them.

We also planted some seeds in recycled cardboard tubes, which I think is pure genius - they're biodegradable but sturdy. We moved some of the tomato seedlings into these, and also started peppers, lavender, and sunflowers. We had been saving the tubes for months so we had plenty.

The planting:
Kids can help do some basic planting assistance - they are very good at making holes in dirt, especially if you point out to them where you want them to do it! We also separate our beds with small stones, so we had the kids scouting and collecting those when sticking their hands in the dirt lost its appeal.

The garden:
Our garden now has strawberries, mint, tomatoes, snap peas, more tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, cilantro, rosemary, raspberries, with a border of marigolds to hopefully help keep the bugs away. Still in the cardboard tubes are peppers, sunflowers, and lavender, the latter two which I'll plant under our birdfeeder window. We just received a hummingbird feeder and we're eager to try to attract some (as well as butterflies!) with our new flowers.

I'll be writing more as the summer progresses on how our garden grows. I would love to hear about other people's gardens, what you're growing, and what your best tips for good organic growing are.

Great sites to check out:
♥ You Grow Girl - has fantastic articles no matter what your level of expertise or terrain (and trust me, I'm quite the newbie!) She actually shows you how to fold the cardboard tubes here.

♥ Mother Earth News - where I originally saw the TP tube idea, but this site is a treasure trove of information. I could spend all day searching through this site.