Time To Get Digging

Spring is finally here.  OK, it's not actually here yet but if the snow would just leave it would be be.  The grass has started to turn green and the trees are budding so I'm going to go ahead and call an end to winter.

I've been in construction for the last 13 years and I still love it.  There is something about watching a piece of dirt transformed to a hole then a foundation then a wood structure then finally to a home that makes me feel like Iv'e really accomplished something.  I think that is why I love gardening so much.  I can start the season with a raised planter with the remains of last year and soon have it groomed into a planting bed ready to produce.  In only a few weeks it will be full of little sprouts and within a month I can start to see the first of the vegetables I will be harvesting.  It gives me an evening activity that lasts all summer and well into fall.  The green spinach and sprouting vines announce that spring is really here.  When the tomatoes and peppers turn red you know summer is in full swing and the orange pumpkins and squashes finally bring in the fall.

One of the greatest things about gardening is the wonderful learning experience it is for children.  Having to plan you garden with the knowledge that plants will change and effect each other and to make considerations like heat tolerance and water needs makes this a great real world lesson.  The constant care of a garden with weeding, watering and fertilizing makes it a long term task that requires dedication.  But the most important lesson of all is finally getting to harvest and eat your hard work.  A child will never enjoy a vegetable as much as when they grow and pick it themselves.

N, P, & G displaying our first full harvest of the year.

So maybe you have never had a garden and don't know where to start.  Don't let that keep you from trying.  I promise it will be worth the effort and you and your kids will get better at it every year.

Here are a few pointers to help you on your way.

• Start small:  Just a few pots on your front porch can provide a huge return with little work.  Try tomatoes, peppers, and herbs in pots.  These are all forgiving plants that yield a lot of crops in a small space.  I started on my front porch at a patio home with no yard.  My 2 pots gave us tomatoes all summer long.
• Take your time:  Don't try to grow 30 different crops your first year.  Start with 2 or 3 and get used to working with them then add a few more vegetables each year.  Within a few years you will be growing  piles of veggies.  I tried the everything approach one year and failed miserably.  I think I killed more plants by not knowing how to take care of them and by planing them in the wrong places.  I've had much better results by getting to know a few plants and focusing on them.
• Do it your way:  Don't worry about what everyone else tells you.  Everyone has a crop that they swear is the best just as they have one that they think is a waste of time.  I've been told countless times that potatoes are a waste of time because of how much space the plant takes up and considering how cheap potatoes are to buy.  But the fact is that my daughters love digging up the small purple variety that we plant and they get a kick out of a huge bush with potato roots.  So every year, we plant more.
• Learn on-line:  There are thousands of videos and blogs dedicated to gardening.  Just search for the specific plant you are interested in and your gardening situation.  Like "growing tomatoes in pots" or "growing cucumbers for pickles".
• Include the kids even at the cost of a perfect garden:  Some of you are like me- you just want it to be right.  It was very hard for me to start letting my kids help.  Seeds are never spaced right and they are always too deep or too shallow.  Tomatoes are always roughly ripped from the vines and carrot tops are puled off without the carrot coming out of the ground.  But the fact is that it does not matter.  They plants will grow and your kids will learn and best of all you will have fun.