The winter is a great time to get a head-start on your gardens, as well as teach young ones (hands-on) where some food comes from – organically. There are so many educational & helpful resources out there to make wintersowing & gardening indoors fun & sustainable for all ages.
What is Wintersowing?
Wintersowing is a method of starting seeds outdoors, allowing nature to do its thing. Many perennial plants, cool-season annuals, herbs and even veggies do well when wintersown. Depending on where you live, you may be starting your wintersowing as early as December. You can find more details about wintersowing at WinterSown.org.
Here’s some useful information I recently dug up.
what to plant – top 10 crops for children
Although there are many crops suitable for the young gardener, here are the “top 10″, which are relatively easy to grow, have short growing seasons and are fun to harvest.
sunflower
A must for a child’s garden. Plant just one or two, since they take a lot of room. Sunflowers will sprout in 1 week, become a small seedling in 2 weeks, and should be 2′ tall in a month. In 8 weeks, the buds will flower revealing hundreds of seed kernels. Be sure to gorw ‘confectionery’ sunflowers, the type grown for food. They will dry naturally in the late summer sun; the seeds, rich in protein and iron, can be roasted for snacks. Save a few for next summers’ planting.
lettuce/mescluns
A quick and reliable crop to give the child fast results, and also a good way to interest kids in salads. Lettuce likes part shade; keep soil moist especially during the first two weeks. The seeds will germinate in 7-10 days; growing season is 40-50 days. You can grow ‘head’ (space 8″ apart) or ‘leaf’ (space 4″ apart) varieties; the leaf varieties will mature sooner, about 30-35 days.
radishes
Quick results for the young gardener. Radishes germinate in 3-10 days, and have a very short growing season of 20-30 days. They can be planted closely, 4-6″ apart. Plant in cool weather for a mild radish, or hot weather for a hotter radish.
snow peas
A quick-growing early crop, and fun for kids to eat right off the vine. They take about 10 days to germinate and mature in about 60 days. Peas prefer cooler, partially shaded locations in the garden; they should be sown closely, about 1″ apart at most. Snow peas are popular because the pod is edible and since they are a dwarf plant they can be grown without a trellis.
cherry tomatoes
Gotta have ‘em! These may be the most fun crop for a child, aside from strawberries. Plant in full sun and use seedlings rather than planting from seed. Put in a 2′ stake alongside each seedling; they need to be tied loosely to stakes as they get taller. Add lots of compost. Water at ground level, trying to keep leaves dry. Growing season is 50-75 days. Cherry tomatoes can also be grown in containers.
carrots
Seeds can be sown directly into soil; carrots prefer cooler temperatures. They can be slow to germinate, so be patient. Carrots will mature in about 60 days.The soil should be free of rocks and easy for the carrot to grow ‘down’. Keep well-watered and thin to every 3″ because crowding will produce foliage but no root. Small varieties are recommended for children, as they’re easier to grow and more fun to eat.
potatoes
A ‘never-fail’ crop. You can plant red or white varieties; red will mature faster. Children seem to favor the red variety. Cut seed potatoes into chunks with at least 2 ‘eyes’ per. Plant in furrows, about 12-15″ apart, with eyes pointing upward. Mound soil up around plant as it grows; harvest when plant collapses.
pumpkin
A ‘must’ for a child’s garden, if you have the room. Plant seeds in a small hill; poke three holes in the hill and put one seed in each hole. Seeds will sprout in about 1 week; after a few days, vine leaves begin to form and creep along the ground. Once there are 3 pumpkins on the vine, pick off any new blossoms. Pumpkins take 80 – 120 days to harvest: it’s ready when it feels hard on the outside and sounds hollow when tapped. Let an adult supervise the cutting, using shears. Seeds can be dried to eat, or save for future planting. The meat can be used for pies, and the pumpkin for carving.
Start from seeds. While it’s a convenient shortcut to buy starters, children will learn more by seeing the growing process as it begins, from seed. The care given to sprouting seeds and nurturing the young seedling are a valuable part of the gardening experience. Seeds will need to be started indoors in a warm room and once sprouted they can be transplanted into pots until ready to set out, or they can be placed into a cold frame which is set on top of the garden bed.
http://www.thekidsgarden.co.uk/ImprovingKidsMemoryThroughGardening.html Improving a Child’s Memory Through Gardening
I recently came across these articles on a great blog:
Winter Gardening Tips
Make a windowsill garden
The snow or cold temperatures outside might make it impossible to plant anything in your outdoor garden right now. So instead, bring things indoors with a winter windowsill garden. Find a window in your house that gets some direct sunlight, grab a few containers of soil and get to work. An indoor herb garden is perfect for the windowsill and herbs are easy to grow. You can also grow many veggies indoors in window boxes.
Read about how to grow vegetables without a garden >>
Choose durable plants
Even in freezing weather, some plants can withstand the low temperatures. If your garden area is looking drab, add some evergreen trees (maple, birch or pine) or shrubs (boxwoods or junipers), or liven up the space with some hardy grass or berry bushes.
Read about how to grow vegetables with a garden >>
Visit your local garden center
Your neighborhood garden center probably offers some kid-friendly activities and events all year round. Many of these centers host monthly gardening workshops or clubs for children. Kids can learn about gardening as well as how to build a birdhouse or make a terrarium. At the gardening store, you can also buy seeds and start to grow plants indoors now that can be transplanted outside after the last frost. The staff at the gardening center will be able to pick out which seeds to start right now.
Create a worm farm
Teach kids about the importance of other aspects of gardening — like worms. You can create a worm farm by lining a large cardboard box with a plastic trash bag. Fill it with soil and a couple of worms. Your kids should add kitchen scraps (vegetables) to the box every day. Keep the worm farm in a shady area ensure it stays moist, but not sopping wet. A worm farm is a fun way to create valuable compost for your garden.
Read about how to start composting with your kids >>
Start early next year
No matter where you live, you can find vegetables that will grow outdoors in the wintertime. Start your winter garden in the late summer or early fall, preferably in a south-facing area of your yard. You want to find a gardening spot that is shielded from the elements by a fence, wall or your house. You can also build a cold frame (a miniature greenhouse) to protect your garden in the winter. By starting early, your kids will be able to harvest vegetables and enjoy plants all winter long.
Planning A
Summer Garden
It may seem never-ending, but winter is on the downswing. Baseball spring training has begun, and even though there is likely more snow to come, the days are getting longer and spring is most-definitely on the way. It’s time to plan your garden! While you may not be able to work the ground yet, it’s almost time to start seedlings indoors!
Start dreaming – and researching
What would you like your garden to looks like this year? DO you want a flower garden, a vegetable garden or some combination of both? This is the time for grand dreams, truly! What have you always wanted in the garden? Make a list, and don’t hold back. Yes, even if you live in northern Minnesota, put jasmine on that list if you’ve always wanted one. Personally, I can never get enough of sunflowers and am always looking for new areas of the yard to plant more.
Now, start combing catalogs and looking at websites. Every year new varieties of annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, fruits and vegetables are introduced. There may be a hardier version of a shrub or annual you might be able to use in your garden that will last longer than other varieties. There may a new variety of a favorite perennial to add to your collection
Okay, so maybe in northern Minnesota you’ll never grow a jasmine outdoors, but do you have a sunny spot with space for a larger pot so you could grow it indoors?
Narrow down your choices
Only after days and days of dreaming followed by research do you need to get realistic. My eyes are always bigger than my garden space, so I start narrowing down. It might be fun to three kinds of peppers, but not everyone in the family eats them and so they’d go to waste. Similarly, I consider carefully the size of mature plants. The ground cover junipers might look thin the first year or two, but as they mature to full-size, I don’t want them to be overcrowded.
If you are planting a new area for the first time, consider relative heights and peak show times for all the plants you are considering. The beds should have some interest through the whole season. Even if an area looks fabulous in June, if it’s brown and fading and unappealing in August, something needs to be adjusted.
Create a real plan – and place your orders
Now is the time to do some sketching. I map out the vegetable garden and make sure everything is going to fit. I draw out the ornamental beds and note where existing plants are doing well and where we need some fill-in. There always seems to be a need for some filling in.
If you are going to make any significant garden improvements in location or irrigation, note that, set a time line and create a supply list. This year, we plan to raise some beds in the vegetable garden and add drip irrigation – so we need to get that done before the seedlings are ready to put out.
Once I’ve done all that, I can identify how much I really need to order. I have lists for seeds, for actual plants, and for supplies. Ordering online is quick, easy (be sure to search for discount codes!), and can add a little internal warmth on cold winter days!
Save some of your garden budget for after things get growing later in the spring. A shrub might need to be replaced, or maybe one set of seedlings just don’t make it. You want to be able to fill in later as you need to.
Keep a space just for the kids
As you do all this planning, involve the kids and reserve a space in your garden just for them. Let them choose plants they want to try to grow themselves, and help them do it. I bet they’ll help you with the rest of the gardening chores more willingly if they have a personal stake in and understanding of what it means to grow something. You can go as far as getting them their own watering cans and garden gloves.
With all this preparation, you should be in good shape for the start of the growing season. I can’t promise everything will be perfect, but you will have fun.
