Spring is here, and that means planting season for all the green thumbs out there. Even if you’re not inclined to gardening, the following life lessons still hold meaning both in and out of the garden.
1. Have Faith in Something Greater Reality: When you plant a seed in the earth, you don’t know how that sprout grows, or whether it will grow at all. Takeaway: Every sprout is a miracle. Every seed is just untapped potential, waiting to come to life. There is a little bit of faith that goes into each planting, which makes the act that much more significant.
2. Patience Is a Virtue
Reality: Waiting for something to sprout can take time and a lot of patience. Some seeds take longer than others. Takeaway: Sometimes we can do everything right to give seeds what they need, but it’s not up to us to decide when they are ready to show themselves. Patience is key here.
3. Witnessing Something From the Beginning of Its Life Reality: Daily watering, feeding, fertilizing, and pruning are just some of the tasks that go into maintaining a garden. Takeaway: When that seed does finally sprout, it never fails to take my breath away. Watching a plant grow from a seed in your hand to a seedling to a bigger plant that produces fruit or blooms, then cultivating it as it continues through its life cycle is splendid indeed.
4. Failure Is a Stepping Stone Reality: Sometimes seeds don’t take and you have to keep trying again to grow something. Or maybe an animal may come and eat your plants, requiring you to start over. Takeaway: Gardening teaches us that it’s okay to fail as long as we are trying, and trying again.
5. Being Grateful for What Nature Provides for Us—Beauty & Food Reality: Nature constantly provides us with the beauty of the earth in the form of flowers or edible plants. Takeaway: It can be easy to take nature for granted when plants bloom from seed without a second thought. But when we take a moment to revel in the colors, take a deep breath, and truly marvel at the goodness of nature, do we feel truly blessed.
Jen Kathrina-Anne is a blogger, freelance writer, and graphic designer. When she’s not writing or designing, she enjoys spending time outdoors in the California Bay Area where she resides with her husband and two fearless daughters. Find her at www.hautemommyhandbook.com.
Getting kids involved in growing their own fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to also get them to EAT those fruits and vegetables! But convincing kids that gardening isn’t just a chore you’re forcing them to do is another challenge entirely. One of the key strategies you can use to get kids excited about growing their own produce is choosing ones that will capture their attention.
There are four criteria you can use to help your kids choose fruits and vegetables that get them excited:
1. Quick Reward: Focus on produce that grow fairly quickly and will be ready to pick sooner rather than later
2. Kid-Friendly Picking: Focus on food that kids can pick and eat right off the plant, without too much work
3. Yummy Flavor: Choose fruits and veggies that your kids actually like to eat, or might learn to enjoy without too much fuss
4. Unique or Unusual Appearances: Choose produce that look so freaky or funny your kids can’t help but be curious
Another key to choosing which plant to grow—let them be a part of it! The more ownership your child feels over the process of picking and planting produce, the more likely they are to get invested. This is where resisting the urge to correct them or steer their decisions is going to be key. Give them some guidelines about how much space they have, how many plants will fit, and how much money they are allowed to spend. If it helps, give them some choices based on our guidance by telling them a bit about their options.
Great Produce Choices for Kids:
Cucumbers: First, cucumber seeds are recognizable right away because they look exactly like, well, cucumber seeds. Your kid will get a kick out of the fact that they recognize these seeds from when they are eating cucumbers. In addition, cucumbers are one of the fastest seeds to sprout, and they come up with determination. I am always pleasantly surprised to plant cucumbers and come back to seedlings popping up within just a few days. And lastly, cucumbers are often a favorite in kids’ vegetable choices. Consider a small snacking variety that will be ready sooner, and allows your kids to simply pick them off the vine and eat them like apples. They’ll feel like they’re doing something sneaky!
Cherry Tomatoes: There is no better vegetable to grow for snacking right off the vine than cherry tomatoes. The fun thing about this veggie is that they come in way more varieties than you’ll see at a grocery store. And, if you buy a cherry tomato seedling it will be one of the first tomato plants to produce edible fruit. Try a fun sweet variety like Sungold, or go for something dramatic like black cherry. Allow kids to plan their own cherry tomato, choose a cage to support it, and—when ready—eat to their heart’s content without making them collect or save them.
Watermelon: A little bit harder to grow because they need more space, watermelon is still a fun option to try because it makes for a more dramatic result. For quicker satisfaction go for a mini watermelon variety that will be ready a bit sooner, and buy a nice healthy start so that they aren’t waiting for something to start from seed. For best results, look for something seedless or with minimal seeds so that kids aren’t frustrated with seedy flesh. For something a bit more fun and unusual, go for the cucamelon—a fruit that looks like a tiny watermelon and tastes like a cucumber with a hint of lime. They’re tiny bite-sized fruit that kids can pop in their mouths and enjoy while walking through the garden.
Yard Long Beans: In the category of fun and unusual nothing quite beats the yard-long green bean. They grow on vines that will crawl up a trellis and, when ready, can be up to 12 inches long. Cook them without cutting them so kids can eat them with their fingers and have a little playtime at the dinner table! For added fun, plant any type of green bean on a vertical bean tower—you can literally grow the walls of a fort for the kids to play in!
Decorative Gourds: Another fun one in the looks category are decorative gourds. Basically, like a little pumpkin or squash that has all sorts of bumps and warts, these gourds aren’t usually edible but they are a fun addition to the garden and can be used to decorate at Halloween or Thanksgiving. There are a ton of varieties, or mixed blends of seeds to add diversity to the results.
No matter what you grow, the important thing is to give your child a section of the garden, let them make some choices and gently guide them toward success. Remind them to water and weed when needed so that they don’t lose their veggies entirely, but try not to do it for them.
Carrie Williams Howe is the Executive Director of an educational non-profit by day, and parent, writer, and aspiring homesteader by night and weekend. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, two young children, and a rambunctious border collie. Carrie writes about family, food, parenting, and homesteading.
Portlanders love the outdoors and animals, and with COVID keeping us close to home many families have considered growing and raising animals and plants for fun, hope, and sustenance. New to gardening and want to grow fresh food for your family this summer? Here’s our handy guide to getting your very own urban farm up and running. Read on for all the details on digging in!
You don’t need a ton of space to grow a lot of food! Even a sunny balcony or patio can yield a surprising amount. Be sure to choose a location that allows for maximum sun, but a little shade during part of the day is nice during the summer months, to keep tender veggies from burning. For minimal to no outdoor space, try a kitchen herb box on a windowsill, or contact Portland Parks & Recreation to find out about a low-cost community garden plot in one of more than 30 community gardens all over the city. Have a little more space? Container gardening is a great choice for balconies, patios, rentals, and small spaces. If you have room for a raised bed, there are resources for building a simple box of your own, and Portland Edible Gardens will even build one for you! Maximize space by choosing unused areas like parking strips and grassy medians between driveways. A water-hogging lawn can be transformed into an in-ground garden with a little effort, yielding big results.
Prepare the Soil
Good food grows from the soil up! If you want to feed yourself well, you need to feed the soil first. Portland Nursery has a wealth of information available on their website to help you determine soil health. Metro Master Gardeners, of the OSU Master Garden Extension program, can also help, including soil test kits to figure out the presence of lead and other potentially harmful toxins. Smaller container gardens and raised beds can be topped with bagged potting soil available at local nurseries. For larger raised beds and in-ground gardens, local topsoil options for delivery and pickup include Foster Fuel and Deans. For a slower burn, try lasagne-style sheet mulching to suppress grass and weeds. Layer cardboard, manure, and straw directly over the grass, and wait a month or two to harness the power of earthworms and microbes to turn it all into fertile soil. You can add a layer of topsoil before planting.
Make a Plan
For small raised beds, Square Foot Gardening is a great beginner method with gratifying high-yield results. Choose from dozens of books on the method or browse the official website for resources, including affordable online courses from certified instructors. The OSU Extension program has a short guide on raised bed planting as well. No matter what method you choose, draw a sketch of your garden and mark out what plants you plan to grow. Different plants have different germination-to-harvest rates, meaning you can grow quick-growing veggies like radishes in between rows of slower-growing carrots. You'll also want to think about how much space each plant will require. A sketch will help you estimate space requirements, as well as think ahead to fall and winter crops. Check out Portland Nursery's handy planting calendar for fruits and veggies to learn more. Keep your sketches in a designated folder or notebook so you can refer back to it later. For multiple beds and single beds alike, succession planting will help you rotate your crops and reduce pest pressure in future seasons. Take advantage of online instructional videos like the ones at Portland Edible Gardens.
Before you get your plants in the ground, it's a good idea to think about how you'll water them. Hand-watering with a hose, bucket, or watering can is the simplest choice, appropriate for containers and single raised beds. For multiple raised beds and larger areas, consider a soaker hose that you can wind through plants. Connect one end to your hose and let it irrigate plants while you weed or harvest. Raised bed irrigation kits take automated watering to the next level. Add a timer to take the guesswork out of it. For in-ground gardens, you can purchase irrigation supplies in bulk for more savings.
Plant
Now the fun part! Get those plants in the ground! You can purchase starts (young plants in small containers) for most vegetables, but some plants do better from seed, like carrots and radishes, because they don't like to be moved. You may choose to plant certain things from seed to save money, or experience the magic of watching a plant grow. Consider your timing as well. If you're just getting started in June, for example, you may want to pick up larger tomato starts to ensure you get to eat those tasty ripe fruits before summer wanes. Lay out your plant starts (or draw lines in the soil if planting seeds), following package directions for spacing and seed depth. If you need extra guidance on planting or any of the steps above, Growing Gardens offers virtual consulting to meet your level of experience.
Tend and Harvest
For best results, keep soil loose, moist, and weed-free throughout the growing season. Read up on individual crop preferences. Potatoes, for example, need to dry out at a certain point to keep tubers from rotting underground. Alliums like garlic and onions have similar needs. Plan ahead so you can easily block water to those crops while watering others, using goof plugs on irrigation lines. Watch for pest pressure and consult local experts if you're having trouble defending crops against slugs, caterpillars, or other pests. Many organic methods exist to preserve your harvest while respecting Mother Nature! The Master Gardeners at OSU Extension Programs have a well-established Ask an Expert process for fielding your questions about pest control and many other gardening solutions.
For even more of an urban farm experience, consider hosting your own flock! Portland allows for up to three backyard chickens or ducks without a permit, but roosters are prohibited. Buy chicks, pullets, and ducklings from established nurseries and hatcheries, who do their best to send you home with female birds. (Most offer a 90% sexing guarantee.) Due to recent high demand, you'll want to call ahead or email to join waiting lists. Naomi's Organic Farm Supply is nearing the end of their chick orders, but check the website for updates. They're also a great resource for hen and duck supplies! In Portland and Gresham, Burns Feed Store offers chicks from February through mid-August, and Woodburn's Pete's Hatchery will even mail your chicks to you!
The Portland Metro area is filled with nurseries, farm supply stores, and nonprofits ready to help you get growing. They're working hard during the pandemic to keep customers safe and supplied. So return the favor and buy local whenever possible! With a little planning and some patience, you can get everything you need locally to grow a great garden this year.
OSU Extension Master Gardener Program Visit the website for your local extension office, and for more information on online events including free or low-cost classes in veggie gardening.
Coronavirus specifics: The shop is closed to the public, but open for online orders. Email your order on any day except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when staff closes orders. Emails sent after 5 pm Monday and before opening on Thursday will be deleted. This is to stay on top of orders!
Portland Nursery 5050 SE Stark St. 503-231-5050 9000 SE Division St. 503-788-9000 Online: portlandnursery.com
Tony's Garden Center 10300 SE Holgate Blvd 503-760-7718 Online: tonysgarden.com
Coronavirus specifics: Store is open to the public. Wear a mask and observe social distancing guidelines. Taped markers throughout the nursery show appropriate distancing when waiting in line or browsing. Open Daily 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Garden Fever 3433 NE 24th Ave. info@gardenfever.com Online: gardenfever.com
Coronavirus specifics: Open for paid order pickup Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Download and attach order forms online, and email. Staff will call to collect payment and explain pickup.
Burns Feed Store 29215 SE Orient Drive Gresham, OR 97080 503-663-3246 Online: burnsfeed.com
Pete's Hatchery 13148 NE Portland Rd. Gervais OR 97026 844-307-4777 Online: peteshatchery.com
Mt. Scott Fuel (soil) 6904 SE Foster Rd. 503-774-3241 Online: mtscottfuel.com
Are you looking for a way to get your kiddo into gardening this spring? Lowe’s has an answer! The home improvement store has Garden-To-Go Kits that feature new activities each week.
Even though in-person events are out for the time being, Lowe’s new kits are a way to entertain and educate your children—all in one one convenient place.
The kits change by the week, featuring different fun, family-friendly themes. Kits that are soon to come include a Mystery Garden Pinata Kit with a biodegradable piñata filled with mystery seed bombs, a Tree Giveaway with a real sapling and a Butterfly Quest Kit that comes with the wood needed to assemble a butterfly house, paint, a paintbrush and seeds.
To get your kiddo’s free (yes free!) kit, visit Lowe’s website here. Families must “register” for the free kit online, with one kit given out per family. You must sign-up for the kit at least one week before the kit distribution date. Parents can pick up the kits curbside at their local participating Lowe’s store between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Apr. 15, Apr. 22 or Apr. 29.
Spring is in the air, and that means it’s time to introduce my favorite toddler gardening activities! Gardening is great for kids ages 2-5 because it builds skills, gets them away from screens, and connects them with the big, wide world. Especially now, when there are fewer opportunities to get out and involved in the community, gardening can be another link in their social chain.
While it might sound exhausting to some moms, gardening with toddlers can be a lot of fun if you manage your expectations. Let’s be clear: there will be no Better Homes & Gardens cover images from your backyard. Your toddler will need to learn what they can and can’t do in the garden, and will probably make some mistakes along the way. But you’ll have something better than a pristine backyard: an occupied toddler!
Here are 7 concrete ways to get your toddler gardening that will keep them busy for at least fifteen minutes.
1. Planting
If you’re sowing plants with big seeds, call up the toddler troops. Pea, bean, squash, and sunflower seeds are the perfect sizes for little hands with limited coordination.
Start by grabbing a muffin tin and pressing it into the ground. This makes perfectly spaced indentations as a guide for your child. Have them poke one hole in each indentation (or one hole per pot if you’re gardening with containers). This will be about half the length of their pointer finger. Then they can practice putting one seed in each hole and covering it. In a few days, they’ll be rewarded with adorable green sprouts.
2. Watering
You know your kids best, so you can judge what exactly they can handle. Some toddlers might be able to use a partially filled adult-sized watering can. Others might be better suited to a toy watering can, or holding the hose with you. You can also make homemade watering cans using a milk jug with holes poked in the side. Finally, you might have a very young toddler whose best bet is a measuring cup filled and emptied over and over on some very sturdy plants.
3. Bug checks
One of the best ways to keep your garden pest-free is regularly picking bugs off your plants by hand. This is the perfect job for toddlers in the garden, especially those who love creepy-crawlies. I know my toddler just loves this job. (Well actually, she might just enjoy eating beetles.)
Teach your little one to identify good bugs like spiders, ladybugs, praying mantises. Then, learn what common bad bugs look like, including tomato hornworms, Japanese beetles, squash bugs. When you go out, bring a bucket of warm, soapy water around your garden. Every time they find one, have them drop it in the bucket.
4. Weeding
Of all the toddler gardening activities, this is the most dubious. After all, you don’t want your prized, heirloom tomato seedlings yanked up by an eager three-year-old!
I suggest only letting toddlers join your weeding team in July or later. Your veggies should be quite large by then, and the weeds are (hopefully) much smaller. Most older toddlers can follow a simple rule of “only pull the little ones.”
The other challenge with letting toddlers help weed is that they’re unlikely to have great technique. Instead of digging in and pulling weeds out by the roots, they’re likely to only yank aboveground leaves. If you’re making weeding a regular part of your daily schedule (or even just once or twice a week) this will be fine. Pulling weeds often is what prevents them from taking over.
5. Loading wheelbarrows
Sometimes, you just want to do all the weeding yourself. That’s okay, because kids can still get involved by loading up wheelbarrows. Have them follow behind you, gleefully chucking little handfuls of weeds into the wheelbarrow.
Warning: some handfuls will probably end up on you, the toddler, or other passing siblings.
6. Harvesting
Is there anything more rewarding than picking your fruits and vegetables after weeks of hard work? Get your little guys used to that joy and excitement by letting them help with the fun stuff, not just the work.
Obviously, some plants are less-suited to toddler harvesting than others. Plants that could be damaged by rough pulling are probably not a good bet for independent gathering. Toddlers should also be supervised to make sure they only pick ripe fruits.
7. Fall clean up
When the summer has passed and all that’s left of your garden is dried vines and stalks, it’s time to put your beds to bed. Toddlers are easily amused by the idea that gardens go “nighty night” for the winter and need to be tucked in, so let them help.
Have them wear those cute little gardening gloves (or snow mittens, if that’s easier) and yank up all non-perennial plants. I recommend using gloves because some common plants like squashes, cucumbers, and pumpkins, have very prickly vines.
Once everything’s out of the ground, have them help put compost on the beds. Fall is a great time to add nutrients to your garden because weeds won’t immediately grow and deplete them. Plus, the cold weather gives your compost time to fully break down and mix into the soil.
Have your little tike help you shovel 2-3 inches of fresh compost onto your beds. This job is ideal for toddlers because it requires no accuracy, serious muscles, or dexterity. If your kid can chuck their dinner off the table, they’ll do just fine with compost.
As a bonus, they get messy! (Ok, maybe that’s not a selling point…)
Hillary is a former high school teacher who went rogue and became a freelance writer. She's also a certified doula and yes, she'd love to hear your birth story. When not offering support and advice to families, she tends to her garden, two tiny humans, husband, and cat.
Never mind the snow: spring is coming! It might seem early to be making plans to garden with the kids, but the truth is, it’s almost time to start seeds indoors! (A cool, educational thing to do with kids in the final days of winter.) Lots of families learned the joy of urban gardening when it swept NYC last year, and rest assured: anyone can grow and nurture plants with some research and the right advice. We spoke to local experts about how you can garden with kids in NYC whether you have a windowsill or a wide open field. Read on to get growing!
You know this from grammar school—heck, your kids know this from grammar school—but just to review, these are the key ingredients for happy, healthy plants.
Emily Carter, Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Children’s Garden Assistant Coordinator, stresses that getting these basic plant needs right will lead to a good experience for both your family and the plants: "Remember that sun, water, and nutrients (healthy soil) are the fundamentals of happy plants, so focus on how you can provide those basics."
Location, location, location First, some good news: You can grow many things indoors, as long as you pick your plants carefully. If you're gardening for the first time, that's the first thing you'll need to consider — your available space.
Where will you put your plants? You can grow plants indoors, grow them in-ground or in pots outdoors, use a window box, or some combination of these. The space you have for your little garden will determine what kinds of plants you get, so give it some thought before you go seed shopping!
Sunlight Another important factor to consider is the sunlight available in your space.
Does your place get a lot of natural light throughout the day, or are you working with a square foot of direct sunlight for an hour in the morning? (That's the experience of this writer, and we still managed to get some plants to grow, so don't be disheartened!) Even if you have outdoor space, think about how often it's in shadow. Depending on the amount of sunlight you have at your disposal, you can consider supplementing the natural sunlight with some grow lights, but it's often easier to choose to grow plants that suitable to the conditions you have.
Quality soil Not all soil is made equal! The NYC Parks Department describes the best potting soils as containing "peat, sphagnum moss, perlite, and vermiculite." Stay away from the dollar store stuff and invest in a quality soil that contains those components listed as primary ingredients. It really makes all the difference!
Water Once you get your plants situated, you'll need to water them, of course. You don't need any special sources or water here: Tap water — and NYC tap water in particular — should be perfectly safe for your plants, though it's recommended that you leave the water sitting until it's room temperature to reduce the chances of shock from the temperature shift in the soil.
You might think that the more water, the better but the truth is actually closer to the opposite: Many first time plant owners tend to overwater their plants, causing them to die! Juliette Vassilkioti, founder of NYC-based indoor plant experts My City Plants, recommends that you make sure top of soil is completely dry before watering your plant. (You can stick a finger into the top inch of soil to make sure it's dry — a task the kids are sure to love taking part in!)
Are you getting plants because you think they’re beautiful or delicious? Do you want your kids to actively participate or do you plan to turn the experience into a full teaching moment? Your reasons for starting a garden (indoor or out) will guide your plant- and seed-purchasing decisions.
Set yourself up for success by picking plants that are more forgiving of beginners.Here are some of the best starter plants for first-time gardeners and budding young botanists.
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Vegetables & Herbs
Davor Denkovski via Unsplash
Both Carter from the BBG and the gardeners at Wave Hill recommend leafy greens and culinary herbs for growing plants with kids. Plants like lettuce, arugula, mesclun, mustard greens, basil, thyme, mint, and oregano are not only easy to grow, but they also "put on growth that kids can harvest at any stage and don't have to wait for a whole season," point out Wave Hill experts.
Carter notes that "These plants have edible leaves, which means they require less solar energy and time to be edible. Plants like tomatoes require much more solar energy and time to grow leaves, flowers, fruits, etc. Therefore, they are not the best match for small indoor spaces." (In general, vegetables and fruits need a lot of direct sunlight.)
If you do have an outdoor space that gets six to eight hours of sun available, Wave Hill and the BBG name eggplant, pepper, and tomato as good plants to start indoors. Move them outside when the weather warms, whether your plan is to replant them in the ground or into larger pots. You can either start these from seed (more on that below) or buy "starter", or smaller plants at your local garden center. If you do plan on potting your plants in containers, know that some varieties have been developed specifically for growing in containers, which means you'll likely have more success with them.
If you have the luxury of a patch of sunny soil, Carter recommends radishes and carrots. "If you can grow in-ground, many radish varieties have a quick harvest turnaround and carrots come in lots of exciting colors."
Beans and other legumes are a good choice for beginning botany. Per Wave Hill, "[They are] a fun crop because they offer an introduction to seed biology and plant structure. The large seeds produce cotyledons and roots that help kids visualize how seeds can transform into full-grown plants."
You can also settle somewhere in between by planting the BBG's recommended choices for large outdoor pots, whether that's in your garden or in a window box: Herbs like rosemary, lavender, lemon balm, cilantro, and dill. (Hot tip: cilantro often "bolts" or produces seeds, especially as the weather warms; one way to maintain a supply is to periodically seed throughout the season.)
Flowers
Robert Zunikoff via Unsplash
If you're looking to brighten up your space and attract wildlife and insects, flowers are a great choice. BBG's Carter recommends marigolds (shown above)— their seeds germinate easily indoors and they can be moved into larger outdoor pots later in the spring. Nasturtium are also a good choice— you'll need to soak their seeds overnight then start them indoors or plant them directly outside in May. (Once they flower, you can add their vibrant flowers to your salads!) "And don’t forget your giant sunflowers," adds Carter. These are definitely outdoor plants, as they can grow up to 16 feet tall depending on the variety! (Smaller varieties are available as well.)
Planting flowers native to this area is also a good bet, as they are more likely to thrive in conditions here. For outdoor containers like window boxes, balcony pots, or gardens, NYC Parks suggests planting native perennials, which return every year, such as milkweed... bee balm, and native grasses which are great for bees, butterflies, and moths."
A mix of flowers and herbs can also be used to create a sensory garden with plants that stimulate the senses with "Strong smells (basil, mint), unique textures (nasturtium, snap dragons), beautiful colors that attract pollinators (zinnias, marigolds, and other flowers)."
When to plant inside For plants you plan to move outdoors, start them from seeds about six weeks before the last frost, which typically occurs in NYC in April. So if you plan to move your plants outdoors in early May (past May 7 is officially listed as a "safe" time to plant without fear of frost), you'll need to start your seeds around late March.
Wave Hill's gardeners add that "many warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes and eggplant benefit from transplanting seedlings. But most vegetables and flowers that are recommended to be started indoors can also be direct-sown, you just have to be a little more patient. The most important factor in timing seed starting is your area’s last, frost-free date and the specific needs of each plant."
Some seeds may need extra help Know what your plant needs to do its thing. For example, some plants like basil, tomato, and pepper can only germinate when the soil is warm (between 65- and 85-degrees Fahrenheit), so if you're planting inside to get things started, consider buying a heat mat or placing the seed tray above your heater.
When to plant outside If you're planting your seeds directly in the ground outdoors, they'll require a bit more care. In addition to choosing your planting time based on the need of each plant, you'll also need to consider compost, mulch, and pest control.
Mid-April to mid-May is a good time to start planting outdoors, since you're likely to be safe from frost by then. According to NYC Parks, April and May are also when you'd typically plant flowering plants like dahlias, sunflowers, and cosmos.
But at the end of the day, each plant has its own needs and requirements. "Remember," says Carter, "The back of seed packets and a quick internet search of the plants you hope to grow will let you know exactly what each plant needs, to better guide your decisions."
Additional food for thought Whether you're sowing outside or starting your seeds indoors, Carter also has some more intuitive advice if you want your little garden to yield vegetables and other edible goodies: "If you are hoping to grow outside, a good way to gauge timing is to think about what is 'in-season' in your grocery store throughout the year. Radish peas, beets, and arugula are the freshest in the spring, which means that starting your seeds in late winter will allow you to have a harvest several months later. Tomato, pepper, zucchini, beans, and eggplant is fresh and abundant at the farmers market in the summer. They like to grow in warm temperatures, which tells you that starting those seeds may be best in early to mid-spring so that they can grow big in the summer heat."
"Again," says Carter, "refer to your seed packets when you are thinking about timing for your plants! Agricultural extension webpages can give more specific seed starting times for the region that you live in, but it’s also exciting to think intuitively and follow the weather patterns of your area."
The easiest places to get seeds and starter plants are plant nurseries, hardware stores, and garden centers. There are also many, many seed resources online (packages from one of our favorites Hudson Valley Seed Company shown here), but it can be fun to go to a store and pick out the seed packets with the kids. Know that the hard-core gardeners are already snapping up packets online and some seeds are selling out.
Beyond shopping around, there's one other excellent place where you can get some great plants to start with: Your kitchen. "Get creative!" says Carter. "You can use kitchen scraps to experiment with regrowing plants, try planting nuts and seeds you find outside, and reuse milk cartons or plastic drink containers to house your plants." Be sure to punch drainage holes at the base of recycled containers.
See What Works
Tilth Alliance @ Good Shepherd Center, Children's Garden
In the end, it's important to remember that while science is a big part of gardening, it's not an exact science. Any seasoned gardener will tell you that trial and error is part of the process; it often takes seeing what doesn't work to find out what does. "The best lesson that we have learned in our gardening journeys is to 'give it a try!'," says Carter of the BBG. "Plants are very resilient and the best way to learn is to put a seed in soil and keep track of what happens. Some may die and others may thrive, but diving right into the experience is the best way to learn."
Don’t let your skin reflect the cold dreary winter weather outside your window. As the weather gets colder, the constant fluctuation between harsh winds outside and central heating inside can wreak havoc on our skin and immune system. Hello Bello, Kristen Bell + Dax Shephard’s family brand, has the perfect products to keep us all hydrated and healthy all season long.
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There’s been quite a bit of talk about death at our house lately. It hasn’t been prompted by anybody’s funeral—it’s just a natural rite of passage, part of growing up and realizing that, well, you’re alive. You keep having birthday parties every year, and your rudimentary math skills and interactions with great grandparents suggest that one day you’ll be very old like them, and very old people eventually die. Long gone are the days when you firmly believed that people lived to be 100 years old, and after that, they became babies again.
When I was the same age as my kids, around 9 or 10, I remember being freaked out by the same realizations. I went to my parents, as one does at that age, certain that they’d have all the answers. But my parents basically dismissed my fears, I guess in an effort to make me forget about them. They seemed almost amused that I was upset, which made me feel embarrassed. No reason for me to worry about that, death was part of life, they said, and that was that. So I did what most introverted kids would do—I sucked it up and didn’t mention it again, and tried to figure things out on my own.
My parents’ heart was in the right place, but their reaction did nothing to soothe my anxiety. Dealing with those fears at a young age isn’t easy, and I was determined that when I had kids, I would listen to them and help them sort things out. By that time, I figured, I would have all the answers, I would share my adult wisdom with my kids, and everything would be just fine.
Now that I’m an adult with children of my own, I don’t have as many answers as I’d like, but I have earned my humble share of wisdom. One of the things my kids have taught me is that, as much as we’d love for them to be happy all the time, they are people, not fragile figurines,living in the real world. It can be scary, but being honest with them is always a better route than dressing everything up with fairytales and marshmallows. My goal has always been for my children to never be embarrassed to come to me with questions or fears. Which is a wonderful goal when most of what you’ve had to deal with is along the lines of monsters under the bed, but one evening recently, as I was tucking my youngest into bed, he blurted this one out:
“Are dead people dead forever?”
We had been talking about The Beatles just a minute before, discussing why Ringo Starr chose to change his name from Richard Starsky. You don’t see these conversations coming, because children often jump from one thought to the next with a speed that I can’t match no matter how many cups of coffee I pour in the morning. So you don’t get that moment of, “ah, yes, let’s talk about that,” when you sit your kiddo on your lap and you launch into your well-thought-out speech, which is emotional but grounded, beyond soothing, and will comfort them for the rest of their lives.
No, it doesn’t go like that. Instead, you’re at the very edge of a twin bed, holding a dog-eared book on your lap. You are way more tired than he is. But that’s the thing about parenthood, you have to be on your toes and ready to go to bat at all times.
So you hold him close and you answer honestly — yes, dead people are dead forever. And that’s okay. What you need to know is that life is a gift. We can choose to complain and be unhappy, or we can make the most of our gift. Living is the only thing we know how to do. So I would say, let’s get really good at that. And let’s treasure the people we love, while we have them and long after they’re gone. Let’s honor them by learning from them, carrying their memories and lessons with us, and loving every minute of this awesome gift we have.
The worst thing we can do with tough conversations is to answer their questions by not answering them. Evasive, vague stories and niceties don’t work with children. They might not see right through you today, but they will eventually. If a child is asking if dead people are dead forever, telling her that we keep uncle Tony alive in our thoughts is only going to leave her confused. It might tie her over for a while, but the thing is, kids are people. Eventually, as we all do, they figure things out. And they value honesty. Meeting them at an age-appropriate level and being honest, reassuring, and kind is the best seed we can plant for our kids to confidently go on to find answers on their own.
“Is bisabuela gonna die soon?” asked my youngest about my 91-year-old grandmother. Again, this one comes completely out of nowhere, as we’re walking back from school. He had just been telling me about the bean and tomato dip they made in the classroom. It’s hard to know where to start when you’re caught off guard. When in doubt though, it always works to simply answer the question. So I told him that nobody knows when they’re going to die, but bisabuela will likely die in a few years as her health is not what it used to be. She’s one heck of a tough cookie though, so we get to enjoy her company for a while longer still. I told him I’m so happy that he gets to spend time with her, and that she absolutely loves it every time she sees him. He said he would be sad when she dies, and I said I would be sad too.
And with that, he was satisfied and moved on to lobbying for a snack as soon as we got home.
YouTube is giving families the tools to better understand and talk about civic engagement and the democratic process with their children. Kid Correspondent – a new four-part election special was just launched on YouTube and YouTube Kids. Part 1 and 2 are free-to-stream today and part 3 and 4 will premiere on Mon., Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. ET on the SoulPancake channel.
Kid Correspondent, from SoulPancake, is an inquiry-based kids and family program from the creators of Kid President. The 4-part special features Riah and a crew of correspondents that find inspiration in the democratic process and learn life lessons like how to have healthy disagreements, or how to use a decision tree to make the tough decisions kids are thinking about.
Kid Correspondent will also feature guest appearances from celebrities and YouTube Creators including Kristen Bell, Mandy Moore, Rainn Wilson, Soledad O’Brien, Robin Roberts, Lisa Loeb, Rosanna Pansino and more. This is the second program that launched this month as part of YouTube’s work to help users access helpful, authoritative voting-related information. YouChoose 2020 premiered Oct. 6.
Kid Correspondent is the latest addition to Participants Vote, Participant’s yearlong civic engagement campaign designed to deepen understanding of different forms of civic engagement and seed critical conversations around participating in the democratic process. Participant is the leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires audiences to engage in positive social action.
After an unprecedented spring and summer our habits have changed exponentially. Whole Foods Market global buyers and experts unveiled their top 10 anticipated food trends for 2021 in the retailer’s sixth annual trends predictions. Hard kombucha, upcycled foods, leveled-up breakfasts and jerky made from produce are among the food influences expected to take off in the next year.
Significantly influenced by the state of the food industry, the 2021 trends report reveals some of the early ways the food industry is adapting and innovating in response to COVID-19 for a post-pandemic food world.
“There have been radical shifts in consumer habits in 2020. For example, shoppers have found new passions for cooking, they’ve purchased more items related to health and wellness, and more are eating breakfast at home every day compared to pre-COVID,” said Sonya Gafsi Oblisk, Chief Marketing Officer at Whole Foods Market. “Food trends are a sign of the times, and our 2021 trends are no exception.”
While Whole Foods Market’s predictions for 2020, including regenerative agriculture, new varieties of flour and meat-plant blends, continue to evolve, the 2021 trends represent what’s new and next for the coming year and what consumers should expect to see on the food scene.
Whole Foods Market’s top 10 food trend predictions for 2021:
Well-Being Is Served
The lines are blurring between the supplement and grocery aisles, and that trend will accelerate in 2021. That means superfoods, probiotics, broths and sauerkrauts. Suppliers are incorporating functional ingredients like vitamin C, mushrooms and adaptogens to foster a calm headspace and support the immune system. For obvious reasons, people want this pronto.
Epic Breakfast Every Day
With more people working from home, the most important meal is getting the attention it deserves, not just on weekends, but every day. There’s a whole new lineup of innovative products tailored to people paying more attention to what they eat in the morning. Think pancakes on weekdays, sous vide egg bites and even “eggs” made from mung beans.
Basics on Fire
With more time in the kitchen, home chefs are looking for hot, new takes on pantry staples. Pasta, sauces, spices — the basics will never be boring again. Get ready for reimagined classics like hearts of palm pasta, applewood-smoked salt and “meaty” vegan soup.
Coffee Beyond the Mug
The love affair between humans and coffee burns way beyond a brewed pot of joe. That’s right, java is giving a jolt to all kinds of food. You can now get your coffee fix in the form of coffee-flavored bars and granolas, smoothie boosters and booze, even coffee yogurt for those looking to crank up that breakfast parfait.
Baby Food, All Grown Up
Thanks to some inspired culinary innovation, parents have never had a wider or richer range of ingredients to choose from. We’re talking portable, on-the-go squeeze pouches full of rhubarb, rosemary, purple carrots and omega-3-rich flaxseeds. Little eaters, big flavors.
Upcycled Foods
Peels and stems have come a long way from the compost bin. We’re seeing a huge rise in packaged products that use neglected and underused parts of an ingredient as a path to reducing food waste. Upcycled foods, made from ingredients that would have otherwise been food waste, help to maximize the energy used to produce, transport and prepare that ingredient. Dig in, do good.
Oil Change
Slide over, olive oil. There’s a different crop of oils coming for that place in the skillet or salad dressing. At-home chefs are branching out with oils that each add their own unique flavor and properties. Walnut and pumpkin seed oils lend a delicious nutty flavor, while sunflower seed oil is hitting the shelves in a bunch of new products and is versatile enough to use at high temps or in salad dressing.
Boozed-Up Booch
We tipped you off about hard seltzer bursting on the scene in 2018, and now alcoholic kombucha is making a strong flex on the beverage aisle. Hard kombucha checks all the boxes: It’s gluten-free, it’s super bubbly and can be filled with live probiotic cultures. Cheers to that!
The Mighty Chickpea
You can chickpea anything. Yep, the time has come to think beyond hummus and falafel, and even chickpea pasta. Rich in fiber and plant-based protein, chickpeas are the new cauliflower — popping up in products like chickpea tofu, chickpea flour and even chickpea cereal. That’s garbanzo-bonkers.
Fruit and Veggie Jerky
Jerky isn’t just for meat lovers anymore. Now all kinds of produce from mushrooms to jackfruit are being served jerky-style, providing a new, shelf-stable way to enjoy fruits and veggies. The produce is dried at the peak freshness to preserve nutrients and yumminess. If that’s not enough, suppliers are literally spicing things up with finishes of chili, salt, ginger and cacao drizzle.
