Let's Grow

I want to preface this post by saying : I'm NOT a gardener, BUT in the past couple of years I've been a "wannabe" gardener : )  My mom tried her very hardest to pass on her green thumb to one of her daughters and...she's still waiting.  So if I can do this...YOU can do this.

We started our "Grow"ing journey just a couple of weeks ago.   It all started with the 1) the desire to desire grow, 2) a child who desired to grow AND 3) a children's book to explain HOW to grow (more for me than them!).   

Read.

We started our journey by picking up a kid’s book on gardening.   There are a ton out there but we actually found one at Goodwill that fit our criteria (pictures, step by step process, a map of how it should look…).   We picked up Kids Gardening:a guide to messing around in the dirt.

Grow.

Whatever book you decide to go with will hopefully give you step by step instructions so it’s not so intimidating. 

1Pick out where in your yard you want your garden.  (Where does it get the most sun?  Where will it not get run over?  Where is it most convenient to reach from your kitchen?)

2 Start digging.   This is so great for kids and parents for so many reasons.   Make it a family activity!   We decided to do a raised garden (most people in Texas should!) so we first had to assemble it (we bought a kit from Sam’s Club).   Then you need to cut up the grass below so that roots have a chance to penetrate the ground. 

3Add soil, compost (more on this later, but you can buy this at most lawn and garden stores) and mulch!  

4Buy your seeds.  We chose what I knew we would eat: Tomatoes, Lettuce, Sugar Snap Peas and Peppers.  

5Plant your seeds…make sure to read the package!  Most seeds only need to be an inch below your soil.  

6 Water, water, water! ( I tell my kids to recreate rain so that they don’t flood it).  WARNING: Kids WILL get wet!   : ) 

Cook.

This is probably pretty obvious, but COOK what you GROW!   Ours aren’t quite ready yet, so in the mean time buy the grown version of what you planted and make a salad or side dish so that your kids can see what their finished product will look like (and what to look for in the mean time).  

If this is all TOO overwhelming for you then start with herbs!  Those can be used in so many recipes and don’t take up too much time or space.