Garden
Garden season was another hit and kept everyone (mostly me) busy with things to plant, weed, water, pick and harvest. The kids were best with planting and then harvesting. lol. Everything in the middle was pretty boring and I get that. The swales and perennial trees and bushes really did well and the kids loved munching on the berries and cherries. The garden did well and I will look to expand the footprint. Its a lot of work right now, but the kids are really starting to get it.
In the late weeks of March and April, I enjoy anything that resembles spring. Tying flies, calling turkeys, and watching Penguins hockey will keep me going until spring peaks around the corner. But, I've really come to love planting seeds each spring with the kids. Doing this for a few years now really gives me a benchmark on how much they have retained in terms of their understanding about nature and how things work. It also give me a benchmark on their dexterity and ability to follow instruction, as seeds are microscopic! I remember trying to give them seeds this small my first year and it was a mess. As a word of advice, stick with pumpkin, watermelon, and zucchini the first few years.
But, this was a great little winter break and once we planted, we made sure to revisit and water and eventually plug in the grow lights. Every morning they want to run downstairs to the basement to see what has sprouted and how much bigger they've gotten. They surely are interested and I cant wait to remind them of what all their hard work is turning into in the late summer / fall.
If the kids like to plant seeds and water plants, they LOVE doing the harvest. They love trying to carry the huge zucchinis, loading up their trucks with garlic and finding red tomatoes (though they havent learned to eat them yet). Though, by far, they love picking (eating!) all the blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. they have procduced on a daily cadence in just their first year. And the wild black raspberries were such a treat.
The kids are garden machines and love it!
Each year, the kids are learning more and more about where their food comes from and how to grow plants from seeds and that they need sun and water and some TLC. they are so proud of their little plants and really get into it!
We wanted to grow some pumpkins for the kids this year, so we planted a couple plants on the perimeter of the property. We had 3 pumpkins grow and each day the kids went and checked on their pumpkins. Ironically, the farm directly across the road planted about 40 acres of pumpkins, so there was no shortage of pumpkins or seeds, but glad we plant our own little patch.
It's tomato picking time with the kids! In my opinion, there isn't anything more fun and satisfying than watching them enjoy picking some fresh garden veggies. This isn't always the most productive harvest, but it sure is a whole lot of fun!
We grew a garden and the kids helped pick the first harvest of the season. We had beets, carrots, and lots of snap peas! The twins loved pulling a surprise out of the ground and the boys ate enough peas to get a stomach ache. We had a great time harvesting what they helped to plant.
