Mint is a good plant for children to grow in the garden, because it is:
* tough – can stand hoeing, pulling etc
* vigorous – grows quickly, so is satisfying
* frequently used – making it seem worthwhile
* safe to handle – no thorns or allergies
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Find a small area which can be handed over to the child.
Mark it off with sticks, stones or bricks
Help clear the weeds & dig the soil
Plant runners of mint, begged from a neighbour, or from the garden center
Water well
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Remember to ask for supplies of mint, from the child gardener, for:
* flavouring new potatoes, peas etc
* salads
* mint sauce – chop the mint, just cover with boiling water, add
Equal quantities of vinegar & a spoon of sugar
* mint jelly – add chopped mint to a lemon jelly, or apple jelly
mint1
Australians are combating childhood obesity by integrating organic gardening, food preparation and healthy eating into the school curriculum. The initiative stems from the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation.
This initiative aims to educate children on healthy eating habits, and it does so without directly naming and shaming students who may be overweight. More information can be found on the foundation’s website.
The challenge to make a vegetable face came from the GreatBigVegetableChallenge
Their collection of vegetable faces was amazing – and inspiring, so this
is the effort from TopVeg.
veg-face
The artwork is built round a beetroot and comprises chives, carrot,
runner bean, and broad bean.
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We have just found “The Garden Song” which sums up vegetable gardening
and everything involved in ‘Grow Your Own’.
The first verse goes:
“Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
All it takes is a rake and a hoe
And a piece of fertile ground”
The rest of the song can be found by clicking this link
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Now is the time to get the children interested in gardening. Give them
a small patch – let them define the shape with string and put stones
around the border.
Choose easy-to-grow plants and as many different ones as you can get
into the small space. Carrots, radishes, spring onions and beetroot
are good vegetable choices.
Help them prepare the soil:
* remove all stones and clods
* dig the patch
* break the soil into small crumbs – they can jump up & down, or use
a fork
Let the young ones design the planting scheme. Do they want:
* plants in rows
* or blocks of plants in different shapes
They can plan it on paper, draw out the design with a stick on the soil,
then sow the seeds.
Keep an eye out for pests, & develop a strategy together for keeping
pests out of the garden patch. Put up bird scarers made from CDs or
ribbons hanging from sticks.
Find a small can or jug which can be used to water the seeds regularly.
Oversee the project to ensure rapid results – which will encourage
further vegetable gardening!!
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Give the kids a seperate patch. Our pumpkins took over the salad strip.
Then we had to decide whether to smother the radish or kill the
enthusiasm of the junior gardener by kerbing the pumpkin shoots.
water
If they have there own patch away from the official veg garden, it is up
to them. Do they prefer a plate of radish at tea-time, or a proud
display of pumkins at Halloween Their young minds will probably find a
way of achieving both!
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Pumpkins make a great kid’s project. You can eat them, join the race for
the biggest pumpkin, and hollow them out to make a lantern at Halloween.
pumpkin-face
They are rampant growers, and just take off. The only problems are
slugs, which eat the young seedlings. Start the seeds off in a pot on
the kitchen window sill. When the seedlings are an inch or so,
transplant into the garden, but surround with a circle of soot. The
slugs don’t like wriggling through this. Cover the seedlings with a big
glass jar to keep the birds off, and after a couple of weeks they should
be safe.
Once you see that there are several fruits, pick one for a pumpkin pie,
or make some jam or chutney. This keeps the interest going until Halloween.
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