Hello Tribe,
Spring is on our horizon!
It can be an amazing and educational experience for your child to watch nature at its finest. As our weather warms, flowers start to bloom and fruit begins to blossom. This means its the time of year to start your garden. Did you know that it is so incredibly easy to grow vegetables in pots? Living an urban life does not mean we have to give up the joys of nature. It is so fun and rewarding to garden with the kiddos. What a great experience for them to to watch a vegetable they planted grow from a seed. I love to give this educational experience to a child so they can understand the simplicity of how nature works. From the beginning steps of putting a small seed into dirt, to farming, then putting it on their plate.
We planted our first seeds on Sunday. I am sure like most of our urban families we have a very small yard and have to do with what we have. If you have even a small space in your yard or an a balcony that has at least 7-8 hours of sunlight you can grow a salad. With it still being a little chilly outside, this is the time of the season to pant seeds indoors then transplant them outside when it warms.
For the first 6-8 weeks all you need is an egg carton, dirt, seeds, water, sun, and love. Most hardware supply stores will only supply seeds that grow in your region. Being new to the neighborhood, I asked to make sure. The lady at the counter gave me a weird look when I asked, and Chris says ” She just wants to make sure she doesn’t get hosed!” haha, Just a little garden humor.
We planted 2 kinds of tomatoes, sugar snap peas, romain lettuce, bib lettuce, and zucchini. All of these vegetables can be grown in pots or small planter beds. I found a very educational page on pinterest about how to grow vegetables in containers.
Heres What You Need:
I prefer to grow organically, so the products we used are only on preference.
egg carton- organic potting soil (This is the brand I prefer)
- seeds of choice ( These are the seeds I used?
- tooth pics
- paper
- tape
- pen
- water
- sun
- love
These Are Your First Steps
- Fill egg carton with dirt
- Place seeds in dirt according to package depth
- Make signs for each vegetable, place in according seed placment
- Water lightly
- Place in sun
- Water daily
- Give lots of love
Its still a little cold so we placed some ceran wrap over the carton to keep some warmth in.
Enjoy this process with the kids. This project not only gives them excitement of looking forward to something every day, but also educates them on where our food comes from. They also get to enjoy something they grew on their own and eat it.
I will update you as The Nanny Tribes garden grows. I will also try to help teach your family step by step how to grow your own urban garden.
Good luck and happy growing!
The Nanny Tribe is always hungry for education. Please email us or visit our forum to help us grow.