beginner garden

  • FALL, GARDENING, INFORMATION, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

    Tips for Fall Gardening with Kids

    Have you ever been the recipient of a giant zucchini or bowl of tomatoes from a friend’s garden? Have you received those tasty veggies and thought, “I wish I would have planted a garden.” I’m here to tell you that it’s not too late to start! Fall is typically thought of as the harvest season, but it’s also a good time to get some seeds planted that you can harvest before winter. Wendy Cox, California mom and gardening teacher is here to help us get started with gardening this fall. These tips will break it down for you in easy-to-implement action items that you can do with your kids. So, grab your gardening gloves, your kids, and let’s get to planting that fall garden!

    Gardening in all shapes and sizes

    One of my favorite things about gardening is that it can usually be done anywhere, with whatever you have available. There are so many different ways to have a garden! You might have an in-ground garden in the backyard, raised beds in a community garden, pots/containers sitting on a windowsill, or maybe you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse. All of these are great choices and there’s no one right way to garden. Don’t feel that you need to have acres and acres of land to be a gardener. Even containers on your patio can produce more than you might think during the fall season. 

    How to prep your soil for a fall garden

    The first thing you need to do to get ready for planting a fall garden is to get your soil ready. You’ll want to start with good soil so that your plants have what they need to grow strong. For a raised bed or in-ground garden, you’ll want to amend your soil. To amend soil means to improve it with additional materials. Soil amendments improve the physical nature of your soil. They reduce compaction, aerating the soil to allow water and nutrients to more easily move through it and reach plant roots. Some soil amendments also add nutrients to the soil, help retain moisture and help maintain the correct pH balance. Examples of soil amendments are potting soil, compost, peat moss, etc. 

    In San Diego, the city dump sells a truck bed full of compost for $12 and it’s AMAZING! I mix the compost into my existing garden soil and have had great success with it. If you are planting in pots or other containers, don’t scrimp on the potting soil. You get what you pay for in this situation. Go to your local nursery and ask them what brand of potting soil they recommend for vegetables. In my experience, employees at local nurseries are quite knowledgeable or can at least direct you to someone who has answers. That hasn’t been the case for me at bigger chain stores. If you end up there, look for a potting soil specifically made for container vegetable gardening. 

    Planting your fall garden

    Now you’re sitting there looking at your beautiful, possibly smelly soil, and wondering what to plant. My number one recommendation is radishes. Radishes are so much fun to grow with kids! They sprout in 3 – 6 days. This is perfect for little ones who lose interest in things very easily. Every day after it sprouts you will notice a little bit of growth in the radish. Some varieties of radishes are even ready to harvest in just 21 days!

    Here are a couple of the varieties I planted with my kids this fall. Don’t they look like something fun to eat?

    Cool-season vegetables for fall gardening

    Here’s a list of fall/cool-season vegetables that do well in a fall garden:

    • lettuces
    • beets
    • kale
    • broccoli
    • carrots
    • spinach
    • peas
    • turnips
    • parsnips
    • onions
    • mustard greens
    • endive
    • arugula
    • bok choy
    • cabbage
    • cauliflower
    • Brussel sprouts
    • rhubarb
    • celery
    • radishes

    Peas are definitely favorites with my kids. We planted three different varieties of peas in our fall garden this year. One variety has an edible pod, one snow pea variety, and one with purple pods.

    Get to know your growing zone

    I live in San Diego, California, USA. We have a very mild climate. When it hits 65 degrees Fahrenheit I’m probably going to bring out my down jacket. You might live somewhere where even 50 degrees means shorts and a t-shirt. You and I won’t have the same success growing the same plants.

    The climate you live in will determine what plants you will be most successful at growing right now. This is something known as a growing zone, planting zone, or hardiness zone. If you live in the United States you can find the zone you live in by your zip code. If you live outside the US, you can find your zone as well. Once you know your zone you can get a list of specified plants that will thrive in your climate. Choosing plants that grow well in your planting zone will set you up for gardening success. 

    How to pick seeds for your fall garden

    I love picking out my seeds for my garden. I order my seeds from a company called Baker Creek Seeds. This company has a large selection of heirloom seeds. The term “heirloom” is usually applied to fruit, flower, or vegetable varieties that were being grown before World War II. Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated, meaning that, unlike hybrids, seeds you collect from one year will produce plants with most of the characteristics of the parent plant. And that’s key to their survival. Many heirloom varieties were preserved by home gardeners who saved seeds from their family gardens from year to year. 

    It’s also fun to plant new varieties of common veggies because they look and taste a little different. My kids get so excited when they pull a purple carrot out of the ground! The photos above show the seeds that we planted this fall. Pumpkins aren’t really considered a cool-weather crop, but all of my previous attempts with pumpkins this year were sabotaged by pests. I threw a few pumpkin seeds in the ground hoping I might have something to show by Thanksgiving!

    Sometimes gardening is just trial and error friends. You never know what will happen (grow or fail) year over year. A fall garden doesn’t need to be perfect. Never take it too seriously! Let your kids get involved in the process of picking out seeds to plant. They’ll be more excited about growing fruits and veggies if they were part of the process. 

    Getting started now with your fall garden

    Are you feeling inspired to get your fall garden started, yet? Great! Don’t worry about having everything ready right away. To get started, you just need a few small paper cups, soil, and seeds! 

    You can get your seeds started growing long before your garden space or beds are ready for the plants. Last fall, I didn’t have my raised beds ready to plant just yet but I really wanted to get my seeds going. I poked a hole in some Dixie cups and started germinating some sugar snap peas.

    Putting the cups in a plastic or cardboard container will help keep the soil in the cups moist. I wouldn’t recommend doing this with any root vegetables, but lettuces or peas grow well when started in smaller containers. You can even put them indoors for a couple of weeks if you have to.

    The garden classroom

    One of my favorite shirts is from Nature Supply Co and it says, “Not all classrooms have four walls.” Gardens are proof of that and can serve as amazing classrooms! Your kids will learn not only the life cycle of plants and the cyclical nature of the seasons, but also important life skills. Kids need patience when waiting for seeds to sprout or for a vegetable to mature. They learn vigilance by going to the garden daily and checking for pests. Their self-control increases by not watering the soaking wet soil even though watering is so much fun.

    They will get outside, see the sun coming up in the east and setting in the west as they work in the garden this fall. They will pay attention to shadows and sunshine and rainy days, but only if you give them the opportunity. A garden is a beautiful way to reconnect together over a common project. 

    Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.” Confucius

    Involve your kids

    You’ve probably heard the quote by Confucius above. That holds true in the fall garden. You could make your soil rich and beautiful on your own, choose and purchase all the seeds, set up timed irrigation, and just let your kids help plant the seeds. This would still be a good experience, but imagine how much more meaningful that garden would be if you involved your children in all aspects of the planning. Planning! There’s a life skill I forgot to mention.

    Let them find the volume of the raised bed. Ask them to calculate how many bags of garden soil and compost you will need to fill those beds. Let them get their hands dirty mixing the soil. Browse the seed catalog together and let them choose what they want to plant. Read the back of the seed packet with them and figure out together if you have enough space to plant an entire packet of radish seeds. Buy a special gardening notebook and keep track of the days you planted. Then research together when you can expect your harvest. Gosh, the possibilities here are endless! 

    Even the smallest kids can get involved in gardening

    Think your kids are too young to garden? There are chores for all ages when it comes to fall gardening! My youngest isn’t super young anymore, but he does love to bring his spray bottle out to the garden and water for me. Even a toddler can manage a small spray bottle. Just plan on changing clothes afterward, if you need to! If your kids are anything like mine, they won’t stay dry for long. And if you have cats, they’ll find somewhere to hide pretty quickly.

    Additional benefits of gardening for kids

    I could go on and on about the benefits of gardening with your kids. We didn’t even talk about the whole nutrition aspect, learning about where food comes from, or the positive impact playing in the dirt has on a child. Cornell University has a wealth of information detailing what researchers have found in relation to kids and gardening. Statistics are great and all, but on a personal level I have found that being in the garden provides me with a great way to spend quality time with my kids. We do taste tests, find bugs, get dirty, and have a lot of fun.

    There’s no time like the present to start something new, so get growing!
    What will you plant in your garden this fall?

    About the author

    Wendy is a married momma living in central San Diego, CA, raising 4 human kids, 2 goat kids, 4 chickens, and one grumpy cat. She enjoys gardening, hiking, camping, backpacking, going to the beach, and generally getting out-of-doors. Wendy is a family photographer and also works at several local elementary schools as a garden educator. She dreams of traveling to all 50 states and beyond, and believes that there is great beauty to be found in all parts of the earth, we just have to open our eyes to see it.

    You can find more from Wendy online in the following locations:
    Instagram: @wendycoxphotography
    RWMC posts: Wendy Cox

  • GARDENING, GOOD FOR NATURE, INFORMATION, OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, SUMMER

    Gardening with Kids: 5 Easy Vegetables to Grow

    Gardening is a fun and easy nature adventure to do with kids of any age. Kids love getting messy, muddy and digging around in the earth. They also love being outside, being active, learning about new things and taking care of their very own project. All these things make gardening a perfect activity for kids. Today, we have the absolutely amazing Jemma of thimbleandtwig.com (English teacher and mom to 4 in London) here sharing tips on starting a vegetable garden and 5 easy vegetables to grow with kids.

    Gardening with Kids - 5 Easy Vegetables to Grow with Kids

    Benefits of gardening with kids

    There are so many great reasons to get kids involved in gardening. As outdoor activities go, gardening is a wonderful and well-rounded way to teach a valuable skill and connect kids to the earth. Half the fun of gardening is eating what you sow and kids that grow gardens tend to eat healthier and are more likely to try new fruits and vegetables. I’m always amazed at what my kiddos will eat when they’ve spent some time growing it with their own fair hands! Gardening is also a physical activity that gets kids outdoors and gets their hands in the dirt. This physical contact with nature is an immeasurable benefit to kids. Gardening can also build confidence by making children feel more skilled and capable.

    growing a vegetable garden with kids

    No land, no problem!

    You don’t have to own a big plot of land to garden. Fruit and vegetables can easily be grown in containers or hanging pots on a balcony, fence or windowsill or even inside if you’re a city dweller! Strawberries do very well in hanging baskets, for example. And tomatoes absolutely thrive in containers, so long as they have ample sunlight. Radishes do great in deep pots and beans grow well in pots with a trellis.

    How to grow vegetables with kids

    Experimental gardening

    Last year, we built a couple of vegetable boxes in our garden for our children to grow vegetables. We had an experimental year where we planted lots of different types of fruit and vegetables and waited to see which ones would do well and which ones didn’t make it to the table! Some of the fruit and vegetables didn’t grow properly or were eaten by birds (I thoroughly recommend a net over any fruit you might grow!).

    Even if all your crops fail – simply the experience of planting, tending and nurturing vegetables can help instill a sense of responsibility in children and help them care for their environment. Their excitement at the first glimpse of a little shoot after they’ve planted the seed – is priceless! They are always so excited at the first glimpse of green!

    growing a vegetable garden with kids

    Five easy vegetables to grow with kids

    If you’re looking to start a vegetable garden or grow a few container plants, here are 5 easy vegetables to grow with kids (plus a bonus fruit). These vegetables are easy and foolproof to grow with kids. We had a great experience growing these plants last year and we’re not particularly green-fingered in the garden! This goes to show that if we can grow something – anyone can!

    1. Green Beans

    Green beans are perfect for growing in a vegetable garden with kids.  They are easy to plant, grow and withstand a variety of weather. There are lots of different types of beans – runner, climbing French beans and dwarf beans. Beans are perfect for a sunny, well-drained spot and can also be grown in pots. You will need something for them to grow up (some type of trellis or climbing netting), but this is easy to construct from canes and twine. We found that beans grow quickly and that the runner beans and broad beans were the best hit with our kids. They loved picking them and popping them open to discover the beans inside.

    How to grow vegetables with kids

    2. Carrots

    Carrots are another easy vegetable to grow because they survive in most climates. If you have a vegetable bed, you may need to grow a shorter version like Chantenay Carrots that don’t need as much space. These are also the best variety to grow in colder temperatures too. Since you cannot see how big your carrots are growing underground, picking the first carrot is always so much fun! It’s a total surprise and you never know what you’re going to get. The kids love choosing their carrot stem and seeing what comes up when they pull!

    3. Potatoes

    Potatoes are an amazing vegetable to grow with children because you can grow them in container bags and you don’t need a veggie patch! Plus, nearly all kids like eating potatoes since they are versatile to cook with. As you start with a seed potato, it’s a little bit like a science experiment for kids, which is lots of fun. My kids liked waiting for the ‘eyes’ to grow and once the seed potatoes have ‘eyes’, you can plant them in a deep bucket or potato bag (some even have a see portion so you can watch them grow). Every time the plants reach the surface, kids should cover with more soil. Potatoes are an easy vegetable for kids to learn how to take care of themselves. A good tip is to wait until all the flowers on the potato plant have nearly died back before harvesting your potatoes.

    kids growing vegetables

    4. Cherry tomatoes

    Cherry tomatoes are another great vegetable to grow with kids. (Ok, yes, tomatoes are technically a fruit.) Cherry tomato plants are usually high yielding and produce a ton of little red tomatoes. These are perfect for snacking on (pop them directly into your mouth!), throw them in a salad or skewer them for kabobs. They’re also a bit sweet, so kids like them much more than larger varieties.

    5. Peas

    Peas are also easy to grow and grow quickly and they can be grown in pots. They are the most fun to harvest as the kids love shelling them from their pea pods! Peas can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days which makes them perfect for getting the most out of your crop. My kids (and I) love the sugar snap pea variety because they’re so crunchy and sweet. For more tips on growing peas with kids – see this article from The Educator’s Spin on It!

    How to grow vegetables with kids

    Bonus: strawberries and raspberries

    Not a vegetable, but I’m adding this in as a bonus because kids LOVE strawberries! Strawberries and raspberries are perfect for growing with children because they are truly delicious! Homegrown berries are so much sweeter and juicier than you buy at the store. Kids love peeking under the leaves of the plants to find the red ripe strawberries or raspberries. In our garden, the strawberries didn’t ever make it back from the garden though! Strawberries can be grown in any part of your garden and can take up either a small or large space, depending on what you have available.

    How to grow vegetables with kids

    Be sure to check out my website for more tips on Growing a Vegetable Garden with Kids, including how to make a handy wooden spoon planter to label your vegetables! Have great fun growing in your garden with kids! We’d love to hear what successes you’ve had in your vegetable garden!

    Are you growing a garden with your kids this summer?
    (it’s not too late to start one)
    What are you growing?

     

    Meet the author

    I’m Jemma and I live in London, England with my husband and 4 kids. My all-time favorite thing to do is take photos and capture memories of my family. I’m on a mission to ensure parenthood doesn’t rush by so quickly by creating mini family outdoor adventures and hopefully some big adventures too, one day! I’m a mum to four and an English teacher to many; my passion for storytelling, adventures and nature crafts is packaged up into my blog http://www.thimbleandtwig.com.

    Follow Jemma on Instagram: @thimbleandtwig