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Tips to get kids involved in gardening

Posted: Thursday, March 29, 2012 9:16 am
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Updated: 9:17 am, Thu Mar 29, 2012.

Tips to get kids involved in gardening

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(StatePoint) Spring is here and it’s time to think about your garden again. This year, as you cultivate your thriving plot, think about ways to get your whole family involved in gardening — which makes for a great fresh air activity. Not only is gardening a terrific way to spend time with your kids, but it also regularly gets them outside and away from their TVs and computers. Here are some tips to get your little couch potatoes growing potatoes instead:

Teach: Kids are never too young to learn how plants grow and where their food comes from. In fact, growing a garden is an ideal hands-on lesson in life science, ecology and nutrition, and is a lot more fun than simply hitting the books. However, some of the concepts of gardening may be difficult for younger kids to grasp. Fun age-appropriate learning activities and ideas can be found online, at such websites as MiracleGro.com/kids .

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Thursday, March 29, 2012 9:16 am.

Updated: 9:17 am.

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Written by

Leigh Brock

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Kernersville, NC —  The tulips are in full bloom now.  Maybe yours look fabulous… or maybe they didn’t even make it to the blooming stage. 

If yours didn’t make it very far, squirrels could be the problem.  They love to dig and take your bulbs.  Here’s a way to keep them out according to Adrienne Roethling, Garden Curator at the Paul J Ciener Botanical Gardens in Kernersville.  Before you plant bulbs, get some blood meal.  Most garden stores should have it.  Put the bulbs in a plastic baggie with some blood meal and a little water (just enough to get it a little damp).  Shake it around and then plant!  Squirrels don’t like the smell so hopefully they will stay away. 

At the Botanical Gardens in Kernersville, there are tons of flowers planted in a really small area.  If you want that look- or even if you are planting a container garden, you might want to try “Lasagna Gardening”.  According to Roethling, you should plant the bulbs in layers. Begin with a layer of soil. Add your biggest bulbs at the bottom. Add another layer of soil. Next come the medium sized bulbs… and another layer of soil. Last, top it with the smallest bulbs… and another layer of soil. Your garden will end up looking very full and healthy. 

 

Adrienne Roethling, Paul J Ciener Botanical Gardens

Spring is here and it’s time to think about your garden again. This year, as you cultivate your thriving plot, think about ways to get your whole family involved in gardening — which makes for a great fresh air activity.

Not only is gardening a terrific way to spend time with your kids, but it also regularly gets them outside and away from their TVs and computers. Here are some tips to get your little couch potatoes growing potatoes instead:

 

Teach

Kids are never too young to learn how plants grow and where their food comes from. In fact, growing a garden is an ideal hands-on lesson in life science, ecology and nutrition, and is a lot more fun than simply hitting the books. However, some of the concepts of gardening may be difficult for younger kids to grasp. Fun age-appropriate learning activities and ideas can be found online, at such websites as MiracleGro.com/kids .

 

Grow

Giving your kids their very own gardening projects will help motivate them to cultivate their green thumbs.

A gardening set designed with kids in mind is a great way to get them started. For example, Miracle-Gro Kids offers a variety of flower and vegetable gardening sets that provide an optimal environment for growth, and an opportunity to watch plants progress both indoors and outdoors. Be sure to invest in age-appropriate tools for your children to use, so they can dig in the soil and water the plants right alongside you.

 

Harvest

Now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor, literally. Once your plants are ready for harvest, work with your kids to find great-tasting recipes they will love, incorporating the foods grown by you. From vegetable pizza to salad to fruit smoothies, the nutritious meals you plan and make together will be extra satisfying when you know the ingredients came from your own backyard.

 

Enjoy

You’ve worked hard pruning, weeding and watering your plants, and now, you have a blooming garden to show for it. Don’t forget to teach your children the importance of appreciating the beauty of nature. Take a break to sit back, relax and enjoy your garden, as you contemplate what crops and flowers to include the following year.

Cultivating your garden and watching it grow need not be a solitary activity this spring. By getting your children involved in the process, you will teach them valuable skills they can use for the rest of their lives.

Stark County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lee Sinclair and fellow Master Gardener Fred Hanacek of Canton will be presenters at an upcoming vegetable-gardening class April 7 at the Exploration Gateway at Sippo Lake.

Reservations are recommended at www.StarkParks.com or 330-409-8096. The class will include planting tips for all types of vegetable gardens, including the popular community gardens that have been springing up around Stark County.

THREE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

1. The free two-hour program will cover creating and planting your garden, when to plant, using seeds and seedlings, preventing and controlling pests, caring for your vegetables, and, of course, the when and how-to of harvesting.

2. This class will feature important information for churches, nonprofit organizations, schools or businesses that might be interested in forming a community garden. Not only will you learn how to get started, participants also will learn how to find land for the garden, assigning responsibilities and gathering resources, establishing goals, and overcoming challenges during the planting year.

3. The “plant a row” concept to provide healthy fresh food for our community’s less fortunate also will be discussed. Stark County’s Master Gardeners have formed a partnership with the Stark County Hunger Task Force to collect donations of extra fresh produce to distribute at Hunger Task Force sites.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

Whether you are an experienced vegetable gardener or a novice, this class will get you off on the right foot for 2012. If you’ve been gardening for many years, you’ll make some new friends that share your passion. Eating more fresh vegetables more often is recommended by all health authorities; perhaps growing your own will encourage you to eat more vegetables and try new ones.

Vegetable gardening with your children and grandchildren is a great way to introduce them to gardening and the joy of being outdoors, being self-sufficient, and learning patience.

Connie Rubin, Stark Parks

 

To ensure happy footings, we have dug in the contents of the latest compost
heap and leaf mould pile, adding grit to alleviate this stone-hard clay
soil, bringing the level from the fence in a slight slope. The bed faces
north-east, with only a few hours filtered sunlight each day, but luckily
these plants are shade lovers. I wanted the background planting to screen
the fence with stunning lime-green vertical stripes, so popped in half a
dozen dogwoods: Cornus stolonifera ‘Flaviramea’ and one orange
‘Sanguinea’ in contrast. Standing back, I realised the stems didn’t show up
enough, so have painted the fence a bluish grey to set them off. I will cut
these dogwoods back every three years, in May, and look forward to a fiery
autumn foliage display.

Next in line come sturdy Euphorbia wulfenii and Robbiae and
three Skimmia japonica plants that made the journey with me here in
pots, with bright red berries against a background of leathery evergreen
leaves and a bonus of creamy fragrant blossom for early bees, all nestled in
among my star performers – the hellebores. I have planted H. x
sternii for its veined leaves on purple stems and creamy white/green
flowers; H. niger ‘Christmas Carol’ for its early performance and
various H. orientalis hybrids for their promiscuity. I even love
native stinking hellebore with its acid-green flowers and striking filigree
cut leaves.

To me, the colours of spring are a lively bright lime-green, a soft buttery
cream and bright sky-blue, so in the foreground we’ve planted variegated
Brunnera ‘Jack Frost’ with heart-shaped leaves and pretty forget-me-not
flowers; Pulmonaria angustifolia ‘Blaues Meer’ with blue and pink
flowers for bees and striking lungwort leaves and Arum italicum
var. pictum with interesting cream spathes, marbled foliage and orange
berries. Naturalised ground cover of snowdrops, snowflakes, veined hardy
cyclamen, ivy and woodbine already exist and I’ll add other woodland bulbs
as time goes on.

WHERE TO BUY

I bought my plants locally from Maytree Nursery, Dunkirk (01227 750353) and
Meadow Grange Garden Centre, Blean (01227 471205). Longacreplants.co.uk
specialises in unusual woodland plants and plants for shade. Bethchattoshop.co.uk
is a legendary nursery with plants for specific conditions.
Plantsforshade.co.uk has a comprehensive catalogue of shade-loving plants.

The Short Hills Home Garden Club invites the public to join them in the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum at 324 Forest Drive, Short Hills, on Monday, April 2 at 10:30 a.m., for a program all about birds and butterflies in the natural garden.

Garden writer and horticulturist Lorrain Kiefer of Triple Oaks Nursery in Franklinville will be the guest speaker.

She’ll discuss how to use herbs, native plants and favorite garden flowers to attract butterflies and birds in the garden.

The program will feature plants as well as information on the life cycle of butterflies and moths and the plants that attract them. There will also be handouts and door prizes.

As a lifelong resident of Franklinville and a garden writer for many local papers and garden magazines, Kiefer has also co-authored a book, “Best Garden Plants for New Jersey,” and has written many selections on herbs in the Herb Society of America’s “Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking with Herbs.” As founder and chairwoman of the South Jersey unit of the Herb Society of America, she served on the Horticulture Committee of the National Herb Garden in Washington, D.C., and has written a chapter in the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens book on fragrant plants. She teaches classes at Triple Oaks Nursery and Herb Garden in Franklinville.

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Many homeowners are drawn to the idea of raising backyard chickens because the flavor of fresh eggs can’t be beat.

There are many other benefits, too. Chickens help you garden organically by providing manure and feasting on garden pests. Beyond that, they add character and charm. And like any pet, they can become true gardening companions while you are outside working. Increasingly, urban and suburban dwellers are welcoming feathered friends.

But before joining the trend, there are several things to consider:

— First, examine how chickens would fit into your life. They require daily attention and coop cleaning means dealing with manure, literally. Also ask yourself if you’re really going to use the eggs. Does your family enjoy egg dishes? Do you bake? If your family is not fond of eggs, the expense of chicken-keeping might not be worth the investment.

— If you can use the eggs, and you’re fine with the added work, the next step is investigating your local laws. Many areas do not allow chickens, and some allow them with certain restrictions. Roosters, because of the volume of their crows, are generally not welcome in suburban or urban areas. Many towns limit the number of chickens allowed. Consider starting with three to five chickens.

Some say you need two hens per family member to provide enough eggs, but I find that number high because chickens lay, on average, one egg a day during their peak laying years. However, you should start with at least two chickens, because they are social and need companionship.

— If the regulations are favorable, and you know how many hens you want, shelter is the next thing to plan. A coop protects chickens from predators, and provides shelter from sun, cold and rain. It should have a locking door, a roosting bar and nesting boxes for laying. If you want to build your own, try the book “Building Chicken Coops for Dummies” by Todd Brock, Rob Ludlow and Dave Zook. It includes lots of great designs (including one we built on my show), tips and easy-to-follow instructions.

If you’re not into DIY, you can order a coop online or find a farm store that offers finished coops. Horizonstructures.com and ChickenCoopsource.com are two good online resources that have finished houses as well as kits. Make sure the coop, combined with the run, is large enough that each chicken has adequate space — about 3 square feet per chicken inside and at least 10 square feet per bird outside is ideal. A covered run area is important if you’re not able to free-range your birds daily.

— Special feeders and waterers are helpful. Before bringing the baby chicks home, you’ll need a large container to keep them in and a heat lamp for warmth. Feed baby chicks starter feed from day one. Hatching eggs is fun, but it’s a lot of work and the failure rate is rather high.

Farm stores and hatcheries offer chicks. You can also order them online.

Like any baby, the chicks need to be handled with extreme care. Line the container with wood shavings or newspaper. Keep it clean and provide plenty of fresh water and food. Shelter them from the elements for at least six weeks before moving them into the coop. Depending on several factors, they often won’t start laying eggs for about six months.

Once you install your young hens in the coop, it’s smart to line the coop with shavings, straw or newspaper to make cleaning easier and provide a better environment for your hens. Change the water daily and make sure they have a clean food supply. Chickens enjoy table scraps, such as leftover vegetables and peels, breads and fruits. Even when free-ranging, you’ll need to add chicken feed to their diets.

The bottom line is that chickens are entertaining and you may even find your own sense of humor recharged. And beyond that, you gain helpers that add character to your garden in the process.

(Joe Lamp’l, host of “Growing a Greener World” on PBS, is a master gardener and author. For more information, visit www.joegardener.com. For more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)

THE GARDENER WITHIN

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y — The New York state health department has these suggestions for avoiding tick bite and infections, including Lyme disease.

Prevention

— Wear light-colored clothing with a tight weave to spot ticks easily.

— Wear enclosed shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Tuck pant legs into socks or boots and shirt into pants.

— Check clothes and any exposed skin frequently for ticks while outdoors.

— Consider using insect repellent.

— Stay on cleared, well-traveled trails. Walk in the center of trails. Avoid dense woods and bushy areas.

— Avoid sitting directly on the ground or on stone walls.

— Keep long hair tied back, especially when gardening.

— Bathe or shower as soon as possible after going indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that may be on you.

— Do a final, full-body tick check at the end of the day (also check children and pets), and remove ticks promptly.

Lyme disease

The early symptoms of Lyme disease may be mild and easily missed. If you find a tick attached to your skin, remove it with tweezers and watch for the symptoms of Lyme disease. In 60 to 80 percent of cases the first symptom is a rash, known as erythema migrans, that:

— Occurs at or near the site of the tick bite.

— Is a “bulls-eye” circular patch or solid red patch that grows larger.

— Appears between three days and one month after the tick bite.

— Has a diameter of two to six inches.

— Lasts for about three to five weeks.

— May or may not be warm to the touch.

— Is usually not painful or itchy.

— Sometimes leads to multiple rashes.

— The disease is treated with antibiotics.

___

Source: New York State Department of Health

—Copyright 2012 Associated Press

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ORONO, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — The warm weather has a lot of people chomping at the bit to get out into their gardens.   That’s why we asked John Jameson, a soil expert with the UMaine Cooperative Extension for advice.  Jameson says it’s a good idea to do some cleaning and weeding in your gardens and to turn over the soil in your beds if its not too wet. If you’re worried about how your perennials might be affected by this early warmup, he says don’t clean out your beds just yet.

“I wouldn’t be in a hurry to rake some of the leaves off them just yet because the leaves gives them a little insulation it might keep the soil a little cooler it might keep them from coming up. if they’re already up there’s not too too much you can do, maybe cover them if you know we’re going to have a frost with a little white sheet or something.but once you have a whole lot of them and they’re all coming up there’s not much you can do,” Jameson said.

 If you’d like more gardening tips, the Umaine Cooperative extension has a lot of useful information on it’s website

NEWS CENTER

Rochester, NY, March 24, 2012 –(PR.com)– It’s time to dust off the garden tools. The Harris Seeds staff is offering helpful gardening tips on the Paul Parent Garden Club Radio Show on Sundays in March and April 2012. Harris Seeds kicked off the gardening segments in March with lessons about starting vegetable seeds and flower seeds indoors and organic gardening with Worm Power organic fertilizer. Product experts will wrap up the month with direct-seeding vegetables and flowers into the garden. In April, listeners will hear about growing fresh fruit and unusual vegetables at home, building raised beds and space-saving gardens, and container gardening on decks and patios. The final program will offer garden care tips for the summer months.

Each week, Harris Seeds will offer a “Tune In and Save!” listeners-only promotion. Weekly promotions include free shipping and handling, money-saving discounts, and free seeds with purchase.

Paul Parent has been providing gardening advice to listeners in New England for the last 27 years. Paul’s expert gardening advice is now heard on stations all over the country by one half million loyal listeners.

To listen, gardeners may go to Paul Parent’s website on Sunday morning from 6am – 10am Eastern Time, and click on “‘Listen Live!” They also may view a listing of radio stations nationwide, or listen to past shows by clicking on “Garden Podcasts.”

Harris Seeds website: www.harrisseeds.com

Paul Parent’s website: www.paulparent.com

About Harris Seeds

The Harris Seeds Company began long ago in 1879 in the fertile Genesee Valley of Western New York. Over the next century, it became a leader in the development and distribution of flowers and vegetables for the home garden and professional grower marketplace. Located in Rochester, New York, the company specializes in high quality vegetable and flower seeds, plants and growing supplies. The company publishes over 500,000 catalogs every year, serving the home gardener and professional grower. Quality has been the hallmark of Harris Seeds for over 132 years. It was the very first company in America to test for quality germination and print the results on every package of seed sold. Harris Seeds places extreme importance in providing the finest products available, coupled with service that goes unmatched in the industry.

Harris Seeds
gardeners@harrisseeds.com
355 Paul Road
Rochester, NY 14624
(800) 544-7938