Gardening with Kids

For those that have followed my blog, you know that we grow produce, have a small CSA program, and are vendors at our local farmers market.

With this comes many hours in the garden! My farmer also works an outside job, so we gather up any available time during the summer months and spend time working in the garden. We have things growing in three different locations. Pumpkins, sweet corn, squash, are over one place. Most of our vegetables are another place, and a mix of things are grown at our house. The kids and I spend many hours of the day being outside, they play and I weed. The kids will go back and forth from playing to help weed for a while, then go back to play.

When we started growing produce in 2006, we started with just a few acres. We have added more every year to where we are now. We have a small greenhouse where we do our seeding to grow the vegetables plants to transplant. We also have a coldframe. We are not large by any means but manageable for what we can handle right now, just the two of us. We grow roughly 4 acres of pumpkins and 6 of produce with hopes to build that up over time.

The kids come with us everywhere and are very much involved with what we do. They are in the gardens with us and attend the farmers market with us. I love how they are seeing the full rotation of the term "Farm to Fork."

The kids help us plant seeds, and transplants

They help weed and maintain the garden

They help pick the produce, clean and package it for CSA, and get ready for the farmers market

They go with us to the farmers market and visit with the customers

They enjoy eating what we have grown.

I love that we are teaching them to grown their own food. I love that they are seeing the complete turn around from planting a seed or plant, to picking the produce when ready, to possibly helping prepare the meal, and then eating it. Even selling the produce we have grown to others for them to eat.

Gardening with your kids is a wonderful summer project. Something for them to get excited about and look forward to. It is always fun for them to check on the garden and see how the plants are growing and if they are producing yet, how produce is growing, and if it is ready to harvest.

Try growing some of these easy vegetables with your kids
-Green Onions
-Kale
-Green Beans
-Lettuce
-Radish
-Carrots
-Peas

Tips for Gardening with Kids

-Let your kids pick out the seeds they want to grow. When you go to the store or garden shop, show your kids the wide variety of seeds they can pick from. Let them help pick some out. Even if it may seem harder to grow, give it a shot. They will be more excited about the plants growing knowing they helped pick them out. Its a great way to get them to try new things as well.

-Let them be a part of the planting and watering process. This is a great time to explain to them how things grow from a tiny seed. Explain to your kids how the seeds need water and sun to grow. They will see how they are helping as the plants grow and start producing. It's always fun to get wet too on those hot days while watering :).

-Let them help harvest the vegetables. This answers that question to "where does our food come from" moment for them. They are able to see that their potatoes come out of the ground and you have to dig to get to them. Or that you wait until the tomato turns red to pick it off the plant. Or that the peppers need to be a little bit bigger. They will feel the sense of accomplishment knowing they helped with the whole process.

-Let them eat the veggies raw and help prepare them for meals. Some kids may not like cooked carrots or cooked peas, but snacking on them from the garden raw they might enjoy them. Let them help you use those fresh veggies they just harvested from the garden and show how you are using them in your meals.

-Let them have fun and enjoy. Let them get dirty :) Get some kid's garden tools and garden gloves. Make DIY garden markers place by the plants in the garden.

Now back out to the garden we go.

This 'Gardening with Kids' series to be continued.......


This post is sponsored by Indiana's Family of Farmers but all opinions, photos, and ideas are mine. 

Strawberry Picking Tips

Strawberries are in season here in Indiana! We are for sure a strawberry loving family!! There is nothing like fresh strawberries from the field.  We have a small patch that we enjoy fresh strawberries from. I love to mash them, add a teaspoon of sugar and pour a little heavy whipping cream over them.

Each year I make strawberry freezer jam and like a large amount to do the jam all at once. Last week we went to a strawberry farm  about an hour away and picked. My farmer's grandma (she was planning to make jam also),Laner, and myself enjoyed beautiful weather while we picked berries for our freezer jam.

Strawberry picking is a great summer activity to enjoy with your kids, especially when the weather is nice! It's a great way to create fun summer memories!

Strawberry season usually starts mid-June and lasts around 3 weeks depending on the weather and how many people come to pick. U-pick farms around here began their season last week. We had just used the last of our freezer jam I put up last year, so I was anxious to get some more done.

Some tips for your strawberry picking day:

Plan before...
-Call the berry farm before you make your trip to find out hours. Some farms like to cut off entry to the strawberry fields an hour or two before closing and you want to make sure you have enough time.
-Ask their prices. Finding out their prices is nice to know. The patch we went to had a special that if you picked 6 buckets, you only paid for 5.
-Ask if the fields are plentiful. Sometimes with so many pickers, it may take longer for you to pick the quantity you'd like
-Ask if they supply containers. You'd hate to get there and they don't supply containers.

Things to bring...
-Wear sunscreen. Strawberry fields are wide open space, you will be in full sun. You might also wear a hat.
-Don't wear nice clothes and shoes. Usually their is straw between the rows, but depending on how much rain there has been the ground may be moist. If you crawl among the berry plants as your picking, you might get berry juice on your pants. With kids, most likely they will get juice on their clothes, especially if they sample some berries. Your hands will also likely get stained after picking.
-Bring water. In June-July it can get rather hot and with the sun beating down on you, you need to stay hydrated, especially if picking for a while.
-Bring your lunch. You may decide to make a day of it or a fun trip with the kids. Bring a sack lunch and enjoy at the strawberry farm.

While picking...
-Pick red berries. Pick the berries that are completely red. Strawberries ripen on the plant and won't ripen after picked. Leave the berries with some white spots for someone else to pick later.
-Look underneath. Be sure to look underneath the strawberry leaves. This is where you will find most of the strawberries.
-Be a gentle picker. Leaving the caps on helps them last longer. You also don't want to squish or bruise any berries.

When you get home...
-Wait to wash your strawberries. Wash them when you are ready to eat them. This will help them last longer as washing them makes them prone to spoiling.
-Enjoy. Make up your favorite recipes with your strawberries. Strawberry pie, jam, strawberry salads, eat them fresh, the list goes on.
-Best to use strawberries within 3-4 days from picking.
-Freeze them. Wash and hull them (take the green part off). Let them dry and put in plastic bags in the freezer. Strawberries will last for several months in the freezer.
-Freeze for later. For example, I had strawberry puree in my freezer that I was waiting until I had more to do jam all at once. When you're ready to do jam, thaw what you already have prepared and mix with new berries.

To find a local strawberry farm near you check out Local Harvest. You can choose U-pick in the drop down menu and enter strawberries and your location and find a farm close to you. Take your kids and enjoy the time picking strawberries or if time is not available, usually strawberry farms offer them pre-picked as well at a slightly higher cost.

Be sure to enjoy a few while you're there :)