Garden Preparations

Way back in January, we sat down to plan our garden this summer. In the PNW, we have a late last frost date (end of May, late). Our plans have under gone several changes, but with Memorial Day weekend here. It's time to shift into high gear.

But first, what have we been up to for the last few months?

In March, we sorted through seed packets to find what we already had and what we would need to purchase. We cleaned out our small greenhouse to make room for herb and vegetable starts. This included my husband repairing some of the plastic coverings. The kids helped mix garden soil, filled pots, and helped plant seeds. And then we had to wait. And wait. And watch for which seeds would germinate. Some of our seed packets ended up being too old to get a good start going. So we started another list. Which vegetables do we need to buy starts? And we patiently waited for the starts to appear at the store and added them to the greenhouse, which is now filled to capacity.

In the meantime, the garden has been cleared of any metal and plastic debris we missed when we cleared the garden after last year's harvest. The chicken coop was moved out to the field so they hens could free range in another area. And the soil additions were added. Instead of buying amendments from the store, we use what life gives us. The chickens that wintered in the garden helped keep early weeds down and added their own fertilizer. After they were moved out, we added ashes collected from the fireplace over the winter to add some calcium, potassium, and other minerals. The old manure pile from the barn added some fertilizer and organic material (thank you goats). An order of mulch for the garden and flower areas was delivered. All of this was added over the last few months and then tilled to mix it all together.

Drip line hose has was brought out and stretched and snaked through. As the sun returned, it was time to cover the ground with a black covering to keep the heat in and grass and weeds out.

All of this brings us to a bright, sunny weekend to finish it off. We will be checking the hoses to make sure all the connections are working. Planting all of the starts and the root vegetable seeds.

If you've made it to this point, you may be wondering, what does all of this have to do with parenting and education?

Our kids are involved in all the parts of this process. It helps them learn all the work that goes into putting food on the table. It teaches them delayed gratification. You may want a nice juicy watermelon right now, but that takes time. They also are more willing to try foods that come from the garden they helped grow, then anything from the store. We talk with them about the interconnectedness of our earth. We need the sun and the rain and the bugs and the snakes and the spiders and the bees if we want to eat this delicious food.

Enough for now, it's time to roll up our sleeves.