When I was growing up my mom always grew food in her garden, and I loved participating in the process, and of course, eating the proceeds! I have tried very hard to pass on this love of homegrown foods and gardening (both the growing, and the eating) to my kids.
So, I was excited to hear about a book called We Grew It, Let’s Eat It. It was written by two young twins in Washington, DC who learned about the White House Garden and wanted to start one of their own – but they lived in an apartment with no outdoor space. They started their project at a Community Garden – planting, tending, harvesting, and preparing their homegrown food, and writing about it.
Help your kids get excited about gardening and homegrown food!
Simply put, We Grew It, Let’s Eat It illustrates how exciting and rewarding creating and enjoying homegrown food can be to little ones. And, this weekend (April 14th at 3:00 pm) at the Tenley Friendship Library (Wisconsin Ave at Albemarle St) the twin authors Annie and Veda will be reading excerpts from their book and talking to fellow gardeners (young and old) about their experience. Bring your little ones and learn and help them get excited about gardening!
To learn more about Tenley Circle Press, the publishers of We Grew It, Let’s Eat It!, check out their website.
Did you plant your garden yet this summer? I planted my tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, basil, and flowers about a month ago. So far we’ve got some little tomatoes, and baby jalapenos, lots of basil, and some pretty flowers.
Cameron helps to water the plants (sort of) with a small watering can I bought from the Home and U store on Myrtle (near Vanderbuilt). It’s the perfect size for him! We also weed the garden sometimes in the mornings. I pull the weeds and hand them to Cameron to throw in a small bucket we use for trash. I think he really likes helping out! If you have even a small spot for a garden, get one going, and get your little one involved! Check out my previous post for some gardening and tomato planting tips.
My mom is an avid gardener, and I grew up helping her in the garden, and eating vegetables that we grew. I think it’s really great for kids to see where food comes from, so this year I’ve got my garden going – and I plan to involve Cameron as much as possible. I got my tomato plants at the Fort Greene Farmer’s Market. I decided to go for 2 cherry-type varieties mostly because I find I have much more success with these varieties. It takes a lot of effort to grow one perfect brandywine tomato, and a lot less to make a whole bunch of little guys! Plus I like how they taste. If I want a big tomato, I just pick one up at the Farmer’s Market.
I have a roof deck, and I grow my plants in containers (I get the “self watering” ones from gardeners.com). I think the major failures that people have when it comes to gardening are:
1)They don’t give the plant the correct amount of sunshine. Tomatoes need a lot of sun. Not all plants do – so ask the person you are buying them from, or read the label on the plant. FYI – most veggies DO need lots of sun.
2)They don’t water the plants enough. It gets REALLY hot on my deck in the summer, and even though my planters are “self watering” (this means there is a reservoir at the bottom that holds water) I will still generally water once a day. Watering means putting water on until the water seeps out the bottom – not just a little sip of water. Also, try not to get the leaves too wet when you water – stick to watering at the base of the plant.
3)They don’t give the plants enough space to grow. A tomato plant might start small, but it grows really large! I only put in one plant per planter. That way it doesn’t have to fight for space or water.
Here’s a few pictures of my tomato plants. As you can see I have taken off the lowest sets of leaves, and then I bury the plants deep. This is a little unusual – generally when you plant something you want to plant it even with the soil level. But if you plant your tomatoes deep, then roots will grow off what used to be the stem of the plant. Just leave a few leaves above the surface so the plant can make food from the sunshine. After planting, be sure to water. And then keep watering! Occasionally, I use fertilizer. Miracle Grow is ok, or you can find some organic solutions as well.
I’ll be sure to share more pictures later as the plants get bigger! And hopefully, Cameron will be excited to try his first home grown tomato.
We were in Washington DC over labor day weekend visiting Cameron’s grand parents. Grandma is an avid gardener and gave me some butternut squash to bring back to Brooklyn. At first I was going to puree it, but then I thought I should go the finger food route.
I roasted chunks of the squash at 425 for about 30 minutes with a little olive oil until it was golden brown and nice and soft. I turned it once while it was in the oven. I put it in a tupperware in the fridge and now at meal time I bring out a few chunks for Cameron to eat. He loves it! Roasting the squash really helped to bring out its natural sweetness. Yum!
