Organic Gardening Preschool Theme Your Ideas Please!

[SunshineMama]

I am really excited to do an organic vegetable and herb garden with the kids this year!

I'm looking for any tips or advice, stories, etc from any of you who have done this in the past.

What was successful? What would you do different? Any awesome lesson plans or ideas that you liked?

*I am not very great at gardening, so this is also an experiement for me (so gardening tips are also welcome) Today we started our indoor greenhouse, so I have time to plan out a plot, etc.

[VTMom]

This year I bought a CSA at our local organic farmer. I'm planning on doing weekly trips with the kids to pick up our produce and eggs, along with having our own garden. I think it'll be great to have the kids see where the food actually comes from. Having that connection from farm to table is so important (in my opinion).

[SunshineMama]

This year I bought a CSA at our local organic farmer. I'm planning on doing weekly trips with the kids to pick up our produce and eggs, along with having our own garden. I think it'll be great to have the kids see where the food actually comes from. Having that connection from farm to table is so important (in my opinion).

That sounds like so much fun! My group is too big for me to transport on my own for something like that, but I am a full supporter of a CSA! I love the idea of kids knowing where their food came from (besides a pastic package).

[meganlavonnesmommy]

I'm horrible at growing things. But a daycare provider friend posted this, and it looks fun.

http://www.southernplate.com/2009/05/raised-bed-gardens-in-30-minutes.html

kiddy pools are super cheap this time of year. You could even do it with smaller clear rubbermaid type totes, then you can see the dirt and roots,
and have several smaller ones.

[Kim]

I'm horrible at growing things. But a daycare provider friend posted this, and it looks fun.

http://www.southernplate.com/2009/05/raised-bed-gardens-in-30-minutes.html

kiddy pools are super cheap this time of year. You could even do it with smaller clear rubbermaid type totes, then you can see the dirt and roots,
and have several smaller ones.

That is such an awesome idea! I have an old kiddie pool in the shed and I am SO doing this! Thanks for sharing!

[SunshineMama]

I am going to try this as well. Thanks!

[Ariana]

I'm going to be doing this as well! I have never done it before so I'm a newbie too I started Tomatoe plants inside with an Aerogarden and we've got tomatoes already!!

I also got an idea from a blog to have a water barrel for rain water that the kids can access with watering cans. That way they can go and fill up their cans with water and water freely while outside. I loved this idea! Saves me from getting the hose out and "wasting" water.

[MNMum]

I cut and pasted this from the link above:

Why I Chose To Make My Gardens In Kiddie Pools

My ideal raised bed garden would have a wood frame, about 4 feet by 4 feet or two 2 by 4 feet frames and be twelve inches deep. However, there exist among us three types of women.

Type 1 : Declares that she wants a raised bed garden. She writes up a list of supplies, goes to the store and gathers them, comes home and builds it. (You go, girl!)

Type 2: Declares that she wants a raised bed garden. She batts her lashes at various individuals who step forward to build it for her with gladness in their hearts at being able to do such a task on her behalf (meet my sister).

Type 3: Declares that she wants a raised bed garden and hears crickets. She begs and pleads for a raised bed garden to be built and hardly an eyebrow raises. She extols the virtues of a raised bed garden to the rooftops and …is told that they sell tomatoes and bell peppers at nearby grocery stores.

I am currently working on Type 2 with my husband...we have the wood in the basement, needs to be cut and nailed together...

I bought the book Square Foot Gardening. He does all the background work for you. In years past we have had a huge garden. We moved and don't have as much space. I loved it, but it was almost impossible to keep up with the weeds. I think I could keep up with these 4 x4 ft raised beds. They hopefully won't get trampled on. And they will look neater. The author recommends actually making a grid with wooden slats, and then tells you how many of each vegetable (or flower) you can successfully grow in each 1 ft section.

[itlw8]

I do not do organic gardening but my kids grow sunflowers. green beans, radishes and marigolds. each year. all are easy plants to grow.

The USDA has a program you can order on gardening it is free.

[SD DaycareMOM]

My dckids and I planted a garden last year and it was one of my favorite experiences with them so far!!! Every bit of it felt like such a great learning experience. They helped plant, care for, harvest, and eat everything we grew. It was so much fun to hear "Can we go check on our garden?" every day. We are definately doing it again this year! Some of the kids have already started asking about it.

When it was time to plant last year, I had them all gather around out by our garden plot and I would open a package (behind my back so they couldn't see it), pour out a few seeds, and have them try to guess what kind of seeds they were. We had already discussed what we would be planting, and they helped choose what to plant. After each package, I would help one child plant a row(each child planted one row), and then go back and do the guessing game again. THis kept most of them interested throughout the process.

Last year we did corn, carrots, lettuce, green beans, peas, sunflowers, and mini pumpkins. This year they have asked if we can try potatoes and tomatoes, too.

Here is a post from Teach Preschool that I really liked about exploring seeds with kids. Would be fun for right before planting. http://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/0...dening-center/

Have fun gardening!

[Countrygal]

Do you mean actual organic gardening or chemical and pesticide-free gardening? To actually be classified as "organic" there are all kinds of regulations and certifications you must meet.

The kids and I have planted two gardens so far, I'll try to take a pic of them to put on here. I do pesticide-free, but I do fertilize. I try to make my own compost as much as I can, but sometimes I have to add some commercial fertilizer to my big garden.

So, thoughts I had would be that you have a compost pile started ahead of time so you have some fertilizer available. Be sure to thin enough. My mistake is always trying to leave too much in too small of a space. Can't grow much in a 4X4 spot. Maybe stick to small easy-to-grow things like radishes, maybe a bean plant or two, herbs, lettuce, etc. I thought it'd be fun to have a "salad" garden - everything to make salads for the summer in one garden - and other than that, just have FUN!

[kendallina]

One thing I just did with the kiddos was to compare an organic apple and a 'regular' apple with the kids. We looked at the size, color and shapes. Then we made predictions of when they would start to rot (this was after talking about what organic vs. non-organic meant). We're still observing our non-organic apple, it's been 4 weeks and it's only now slightly mushy. The organic apple was a little mushy after a week. The kids loved it and I think they really are starting to understand some of these things--it helps that many of the parents buy organic and talk about the same things.

[AmyLeigh]

This year I bought a CSA at our local organic farmer. I'm planning on doing weekly trips with the kids to pick up our produce and eggs, along with having our own garden. I think it'll be great to have the kids see where the food actually comes from. Having that connection from farm to table is so important (in my opinion).

We are doing this too! Last year, we partook in gardening classes at an organic farm next door to the CSA. We got to plant, weed, and harvest wonderful organic produce. The kids loved going out there until it started getting hot. I grew tired of the constant complaints from dcks, which started my kiddos complaining. That's when I started going out on Saturdays by myself and took them during the week for just a short outing. So CSA it is this year. We can still go out, get the same varities of produce and feed the chickens and goats. The work can still happen, in our backyard garden which is much closer to an air conditioned house! ::

[Bella99]

You can buy herb gardening kits at walmart. Just a little easier than figuring it all out on your own, because they come with instructions.

Maybe when they're all grown, you can make a meal that everyone is apart of, using these gardening ingredients you've grown.

(p.s, go for mint first!!)

[smb757]

I started a square foot garden last year. I'm sure it will take some trial and error, but I did well with my cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and zucchini. This year I plan to put up a little fence Because the rabbits went to town on my lettuce and green beans! The kids love helping me go out and tend to the garden!