This morning we celebrated spring in one of my favorite ways. We started seeds. Nothing fancy, just cilantro, basil, morning glories and moon flowers. The cilantro and basil are for summer cooking, for salsa and pesto. And the flowers are for my gazebo. I have visions of being greeted in the morning by the sweet fragrance of morning glories trailing up the sides – and at night being treated to the soft smells of moon flowers. I hope the flowers sprout and grow. Gardening in Colorado is a challenge. We have a short growing season with an average last frost of May 15th. Add to that summer hail storms and very little rain, and you can see why it’s a challenge to get anything to grow.
I love to garden with kids, though. I want them to know what food actually looks like when it is growing. That it doesn’t appear magically on the grocery store shelves. I like to show them the marvel of a seed. My boys all love to plant things. Sure, it’s an excuse to dig in the dirt, but I think it’s more than that. One of my nine year olds expressed his surprise this morning that the dirt smelled good. And it did. Sure, it smelled like dirt – but also of spring and fresh growing things.
Starting seeds can actually be very easy. We used peat pellets. They are little plugs of peat and soil. You water them and let them expand. Poke a hole in the dirt, and plant your seed. Kids can do the watering, the poking, and the planting. Herbs are great for a beginner garden. Beans grow fast and are fun to do for that reason, but they don’t transplant very well. Zinnias and sunflowers are both fast growing flowers, too. It’s fun to shop the seed racks and decide. Look for quick germinators (which means the time the seed takes to sprout), and quick growers.
Just remember to water your planted seeds and keep them warm. And have fun showing your kids this miracle of nature.
Also See:
Herb Gardening
Grow Your Own Carrots