At long last I’ve finally gotten up my strength to stay up late one night and design the child’s garden. I’m really excited about this giveaway, just thinking of a child’s excitement and how fun this will be!
Once again using my favorite garden planning tool, www.growveg.com, I’ve designed this garden to be 4 feet by 4 feet and it doesn’t need to be a fancy raised bed, it can literally be a 4 x 4 section of dirt amended with compost. I’ve chosen a handful of things that I think any child would appreciate with some interest in spring, summer and fall. The varieties are all fairly simple to grow.
You will kick off your spring garden with two varieties of dwarf peas which will ripen in succession, as well as two varieties of carrots and some leaf lettuces that will go all summer. You will have one cool season bush bean (provider) that you’ll start early and then succession plant with a traditional summer bush bean to finish out the season. The Provider beans are great to freeze or pickle.
As the soil warms up you’ll plant Jack o-Lantern pumpkins, sweet heirloom corn and mini cucumbers for eating or pickling. I’ll give you easy directions for tying bamboo stakes together to make a trellis for the cucumbers to grow up and shade the lettuce from the summer’s strong sun. Growing vertically like this allows you to get an extra crop into an already small space as well.
I’ve left spots for basil and cherry tomatoes which would do best as purchased starts from your local garden center.
Although this 4′ X 4′ bed is packed full of food I’m throwing in nasturtium, viola, chamomile, sunflower, marigold and borage seeds to be placed in another spot in your yard that gets full sun or interplant with veggies, or these can be grown just outside the veggie bed boundaries. The nasturtiums and violas are fun to grow and beautiful in salads, the daisy-like chamomile flowers are cheery to the eye and make relaxing “sleepy” tea, and I’ve selected the sunflowers for the edible seeds which can be roasted and salted. The borage will attract garden bees and thereby increase your tomato, cucumber and pumpkin yields and the marigolds will help keep aphids and nematodes away.
I’m hoping a child will have so much fun with this 2010 garden that they might begin a life-long journey digging in the soil and eating real food. And even if you are a grown up with a kid’s heart this would be a great beginner’s garden or a nice postage stamp garden for someone with very limited sun exposure or space. I would prefer to limit the actual giveaway to a child since it includes a pair of child’s gardening gloves but you could always buy these same seeds and start a postage stamp garden of your own.
Here are the list of seeds:
Empress Bushy Snap Bean, Uprising Organics (vigorous plants hang heavy with long 6-7″ pods, crisp and delicous, slow to turn starchy or tough. Great for canning and freezing.) Provider Bush Snap Bean, Uprising Organics (early bean variety, excels in cooler soil, heavy yields with rich green bean taste) Sugar Ann Snap Pea, Uprising Organics (early snap pea, sweet eating, medium sized pods on 24″ vines need no staking) Maestro Shelling Pea, Uprising Organics (sweet, productive, resistant to enation and powdery mildew, long pods on 24″ vines need no staking) Purple Dragon Carrots, Uprising Organics (sweet, spicy full flavor, bright purple skin) Nantes Carrots, Uprising Organics (classically sweet carrot with a rich full flavor, great as baby carrots or for fall storage, juicing and pickling) Merlot Red Loose leaf Lettuce, Uprising Organics (deep burgundy loose head, slow to bolt) Parris Island Cos Romaine Lettuce, Uprising Organics (excellent texture and crunch, vigorous upright habit) Continuity Butterhead Lettuce, Territorial Seed Company (OP, bronze red outer leaves encase a green head, bolts in hot weather) French Sorrel, Territorial Seed Company (OP, member of the buckwheat family, perennial with spinach like, lemon tasting leaves) Alibi Cucumbers, Territorial Seed Company (dependable producer, high yield and disease resistant, excellent for fresh eating or pickling) Golden Bantam Sweet Corn, Territorial Seed Company (OP, an heirloom favorite, early sweet corn that freezes well on the cob) Magic Lantern Pumpkin, Territorial Seed Company (vigorous, compact, resistant to powdery mildew) Empress of India Nasturtiums, Territorial Seed Company (deep regal red flowers will billow and cascade) Johnny Jump Up Violas, Territorial Seed Company (tri-colored purple, lavender and yellow blossoms will re bloom in the fall and reseed) Tarahumara Heirloom Sunflower, Uprising Organics (7-8′ tall stunning flower head with fuzzy lime green center. Delicious white seeds) Chamomile – German (flowers are used fresh or dried to make sleepy time tea, reseeds with abandon) Borage, Peaceful Valley (beautiful edible purple flowers that bees love. This will help attract pollinators to your garden.) Marigolds – French Brocade, Uprising Organics (cheery bright yellow button flowers that will help keep aphids and nematodes at bay.)
In addition to the seeds here’s what you’ll get:
Sowing schedule
Printed garden map
Planting directions and growing tips
Recipe suggestions
Pickling recipes for the carrots, beans and cucumbers
Seed saving directions for flowers, beans, peas, sorrel, tomatoes and corn
If the winner is local to me I’ll also provide you with a cherry tomato and basil start but unfortunately I can’t mail those so I can only do that if you are local.
In addition to giving these things away I’m hoping by this weekend to get this information (map, schedule, planting directions, growing tips, recipe suggestions, pickling recipes, seed saving directions) on my site as handouts so if you don’t win you can still plant this lovely garden. Because you will only need a few of each seed variety if you go in with some friends and order 1 packet of each you will save lots of money that you can put towards a nice bottle of California olive oil to dress your yummy salads with.
Please do feel free to let schools, home school units or friends know about the handouts and the giveaway. I would love for as many children of all ages to employ and enjoy these gardening plans as possible!
To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment below by midnight, Sunday March 7. On Monday, March 8 I will use www.random.org to pick a winner. Again, even if you don’t win you I’d be flattered if you used the garden plan, seed list and other materials to grow your own garden.
Good luck!
159 responses so far ↓
1 Judy // Mar 3, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Oh, My youngest would love this! He is my most ‘outdoorsy’ child and actually likes veggies! He would love to have his own garden!
Thanks for the giveaway!
2 Kayla // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Looks perfect! Thanks for the giveaway!
3 peta // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:43 pm
what fun- my little one would love it!
4 Heather // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:44 pm
This is wonderful. We are planning to branch out of the small bit of container gardening we did last year to a real (small) garden this year–these plans will be perfect to help us get the confidence to get started!
5 Kim // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:46 pm
Sounds like a great project. Thanks.
6 Rachel // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Fantastic! Incentive to do something with our backyard.
7 Robin // Mar 3, 2010 at 11:54 pm
I love this! My eldest started a garden last year and this is inspiring. He would love to have a plan already done up!
8 Anita // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:05 am
My five year old loves “gardering” and the best part about it is that it gets him to eat vegetables! We’re definitely going to design his own plot this spring, thank you for all the tips. I found your blog through NESeattleMoms and really enjoy it. I don’t know what I’m doing, but my dream is to create a huge garden out of my sunny yard…
9 Qarin // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:06 am
This is just the thing, thank you! If we don’t win (and we won’t), I’m definitely going to study your plan and try to implement it with my girls- my 8yo especially wants to plant a real garden this year.
10 afoxymom // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:06 am
What fun
We have a garden plot over at Marymoor park, and I love to have the kids involved in planning, care and harvest. Perhaps this year, they can have their own section and completely grow their own veggies!!!!
11 Kirstin // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:10 am
This sounds like a great plan! Thanks for the tips!
12 animills // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:14 am
cool, thanks for doing this & congrats to the winning family. have FUN!
13 Tami // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:21 am
Oooo! This has got me so excited. We are in the process of building a small raised bed right now and these plans are perfect – thank you for sharing!
14 Jill // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:22 am
Such a great idea! My family would love to try this!
15 Kirsten // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:26 am
What an inspiring blog!
16 Linda // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:27 am
What a great idea! I’d like to use your plan with my kids. Great blog.
17 Marisa // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:27 am
I just found your site and boy would I love to give your plan a try!
18 Tracey // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:31 am
Very inspiring! My 3 yo is very interested in gardening – would be a fun family activity. Thanks for putting this together!
19 Laurie // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:49 am
What a fun plan – I enjoyed finding your blog!
20 Willow // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:51 am
I would buy this as a packaged kit!! This is incredible, thank you for putting it together. I so want to give my daughter the chance to love gardening, but I am inexperienced and impatient; without direction, I flounder. With your plans, we’ll definitely get more than last year’s yield of a half pint of strawberries, one and a half white pumpkins and a single sunflower that only grew about 12 inches tall!
21 Jennifer // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:51 am
I love the plans! Very helpful. My kids will love to care for their own garden. Thanks!
22 Tarah // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:57 am
Looks delicious and sized right for our deck!
23 Malia // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:20 am
This looks amazing! What a great use of your skills. Congrats ahead of time to the lucky winner.
24 Suzanne // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:35 am
That would be perfect. My 4 year old is going to have a 4×4 spot this summer. He is also REALLY into maps and diagrams. How fun!
25 Heather P // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:37 am
This looks great! Thank you for coming up with this and sharing the idea!
26 Mama M // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:58 am
Thanks for the idea and list of seeds. My daughter is getting into digging this year and we already planted some peas. I’m so excited to garden with her this year!
27 The Burkes // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:15 am
This is awesome. We had a garden last year and it was a big hit with our son, Will, who has muscular dystrophy. He loved watching things grow and eating things like organic carrots. So much fun!
Char Burke charlatte2@comcast.net
28 meg // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:19 am
What a fantastic plan! Thanks for showing everyone what it is…and my 2 yr old would love this! She loves “helping” me plant seeds and plants
29 monica // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:27 am
We would love to have this for my two girls.
30 Jenny // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:31 am
What a great idea!! The best I’ve come up with for my kids garden is peas and grape tomatoes. They would have so much more fun with this than my little pea plants.
31 Jill N // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:55 am
I’m just learning to garden and my two boys love to help!
32 Sandy In Georgia // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:34 am
My youngest is game for some growing. He needs to get his pencil thin legs out in to the sun and get some dirt on his knees. Win or no win we’ll be growing in GA
33 Leslie // Mar 4, 2010 at 8:07 am
How great to develop a garden plan just for kids! It’s compact and will keep them engaged for the entire growing season. Thank you so much!
34 Mica Dibuz // Mar 4, 2010 at 8:34 am
Thanks for all of your work. My little one will love
having her own garden to care for! She is excited about spring and keeps asking to go out and work in the garden.
35 Fiona // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:10 am
this is a great way to teach kids where their food comes from and learn how much time and labor that goes into feeding them.
36 Denise // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:16 am
We are moving to a new area in 2 weeks. What a fabulous way to get us aquainted with our new back yard. A new beginning in many ways.
37 Ellen // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:35 am
This is wonderful. My 3 kids love going to the CSA with me to help “pick” the foods. They would love their own garden. What a wonderful giveaway – thank you for all the work you’ve done!
38 Maia // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:40 am
What a great blog! I love your goals and aspire to join you. Our kids are pretty good vegetable eaters, and I love showing them where food comes from, and the responsibility of growing it.
39 Becky // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:42 am
Wow, what a great plan for a child’s garden (or grown-up for that matter)!
40 Shaughn // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:22 am
Noah would think this was awesome! He loves planting (and worms) and eating what he grows.
41 Monica // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:24 am
Love it! Thanks for all the great ideas!
42 Aletha // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:29 am
I love having such a comprehensive plan to begin with. We’ve enjoyed our version of gardening in bits and pieces, but never have been able to put together a plan. This is great! I’m inspired to try some new things!
43 Aimee // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:34 am
My boys would LOVE their own garden, that I don’t have access too…lol
44 Tracy // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:40 am
This is great – thanks for the great ideas!
45 Lisa // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:41 am
What a great idea Annette! I’ll use something similar for my son’s raised bed.
thanks!
46 Jenn in Seattle // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:42 am
Wow! My kids have so enjoyed gardening, but we have had no real plan, no schedule, etc. My 6 year old particularly loves plans of all kinds, and digging, and harvesting (now if only he would eat more veggies). So thank you for putting it all together in a digestible way, this should be fun.
47 Monika // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:56 am
This is so lovingly planned out! My two little ones (4 & 2 yrs) love to garden. And eat in the garden! I’m going to check out that planning tool — and I’m going to learn more about planning for succession planting!
48 Sally // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:19 pm
I must admit, I have a brand-new house, a huge garden space, and haven’t grown many edibles (OK, some mint and parsley that my Lebanese mom brought over).
We are vegan so it’s pitiful that I don’t do more, and my 2 1/2 year old son loooves “helping.” So glad I know you exist now!
49 Laura // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:27 pm
I would love to start a garden with my boys!
50 kelly // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:33 pm
we would love this!
51 Mellow // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:38 pm
What a great idea, that would be sweet!
52 Karen // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:47 pm
What a great idea! Thanks for all of the helpful advice on getting a child’s garden started.
53 Michelle Ireton // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:49 pm
This looks doable for someone with a limited outside green thumb – thanks!
54 Nancy // Mar 4, 2010 at 12:54 pm
I can’t believe how much you are packing into a 4×4 space. That is almost exactly what we have–I’m going to try and adapt our shape a bit and see how it might work withyour plan! My 2 young boys (and my older one–aka husband) would be really excited to have a PUMPKIN plant!
55 angela // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:00 pm
Giveaways and gardens, two of my favorite things! Thanks for sharing. Even if I don’t win, this is a great plan. Maybe I can get my little guy to do this as “his” project this summer.
56 Mary // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:26 pm
This is incredible! Thanks for doing the thoughtful planning. I am feeling inspired and can’t wait to get started.
57 Claudia // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Annette, you are amazing with your talents and committment to real food! You truly Amaze me! Emma would LOVE LOVE LOVE her VERY own garden to eat from. We did a really really teeny tiny one last year! Had tons of tomatoes and basil 9which she doesn’t eat…but she sure was excited! -Claudia Pettis
58 Gretchen Korf // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:45 pm
We love to garden. Can’t wait for this year to start. The bulbs are up! My 5 yo daughter tells me regularly, “we should start gardening soon Mom”. She also looks forward to her birthday in June and tells me (as she sees the strawberries and rhubarb coming up) we can make pie for my birthday and pick strawberries. I can’t wait for summer! *SIGH* She is so cute and I love that she likes to get in the dirt with me. Every worm she finds still fills her with excitement! Yours truly in Snoqualmie WA Gretchen
59 JBJ // Mar 4, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Cool!
60 Angela // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:11 pm
We are looking forward to growing more veggies this year! This is such a great idea.
61 Amy and Sloane // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:16 pm
This is brilliant! Thanks for sharing!
62 Jeanine Carlson // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:16 pm
We are moving into a new house and all a flurry with garden plans so these are great! If we win that would be amazing but wither way I am grateful to have these design plans and to have found your blog
The website above is my husbands blog
Cheers!
Jeanine (Mama to Liam, 1 YEAR!!)
63 Linda // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:25 pm
My son is 5 and we just moved into our first very own house this past weekend. I have great ideas for for a garden with native plants and huge vegetable garden, but I really don’t have any skills or know-how. We were out and dug up a small section in the back and planted some garlic (completely off season, I found out) and had the best time. My husband gave me a garden fork for my birthday so it’s all meant to happen I have the tool, the plan (thank you). We will make it happen.
64 Alexa // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I love being in the garden and my 2 1/2 yo son Noah and I finished finding the carrots that grew all of our mild winter. He was so excited to plant more vegies! Great simple ideas!!
Raspberries are really easy to grow too!
65 Julie Redl // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:31 pm
What a great giveaway! I am a gardener and always looking for ways for my boys to do stuff of their own. Thanks!
66 Jen // Mar 4, 2010 at 2:56 pm
What a fabulous idea! Thanks!
67 Erika // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Thanks for the inspiration Annette!
68 eve // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Truly Inspiring! Thanks.
69 Briana // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:11 pm
My son will love this! Last year he ate all the tomatoes before they made it into the house and ate an apple that was still attached to the tree! (video on blog depicts this event)
Now he is all about wearing my gardening gloves. Since he is only 2, it looks really funny.
70 Sarahjess // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:17 pm
We tried a children’s garden last summer, but it was basically just a buffet for the rabbits & deer. This is inspiring enough to build a fence and try again — thank you!
71 Carolyn // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:19 pm
This would be perfect for our little ones! We tried something similar last year, but didn’t know enough about timing and harvesting to get it quite right. We would love to give your plan a try.
Thanks!
72 SS // Mar 4, 2010 at 3:56 pm
We don’t have a yard at all right now but hopefully by spring of 2011 we will be in a house with a yard. This is something we’ve always wanted to do (grow all of our own produce as well as our own eggs). Will your plans be available next year?
73 Andrea // Mar 4, 2010 at 4:13 pm
We would love a garden! This might be just the thing to get my picky toddler to eat more! I’d love to start teaching her about how things grow, the environment and cater to her love of digging for worms
Thanks!
Andrea
74 Emily // Mar 4, 2010 at 4:37 pm
My girls would love this!
75 admin // Mar 4, 2010 at 4:43 pm
SS – I’ll be leaving the plans and handouts up permanently. I just need to add a page for how-tos on the side bar.
76 Janice // Mar 4, 2010 at 5:52 pm
My 6-yr old daughter would love this and we have the perfect garden spot. This will be a great guide.
77 Debbie // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:21 pm
What a fantastic giveaway! My picky eater just might eat his veggies after watching them grow.
I just love your blog- thanks!
78 Carrie Pruitt // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:28 pm
This has been our family goal for 2010. My two kids, 9 (boy) and 3 (girl) are very excited that we are finally be starting our very own garden and this is just the information we needed! Thank you!!
79 Amber // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:58 pm
My boys would love this…they are all about helping Daddy outside only now Daddy works really long hours and it’s up to Mommie…who is not as talented outside with the garden planning. This looks like a good start for us. Thanks~
80 Amyq // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:59 pm
We planted our first veggie garden with the kids last summer with some successes and some not-so-successful plant variety choices. Looking forward to finding and planting some of your recommendations! Thanks for putting this together!
81 melissa // Mar 4, 2010 at 7:18 pm
This would make such a great gift for so many people I know!
82 Lori // Mar 4, 2010 at 8:31 pm
With the warm weather we already planted our spring garden. But the list of summer seeds will be helpful as we select what to plant next!
83 Elisa // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Love this!
Thanks for the opportunity!
84 Debra // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:52 pm
The child garden plan is a great idea. My kids (6, 4 and 19 months) would love it. I’ve been trying to get a garden going, but haven’t been very successful. I look forward to see your plans and schedule online.
85 Meghan // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:06 pm
We are going to build a 4×4 bed this weekend, thank you for doing all the lead work on planting ideas! Here’s hoping the 4yo gets as excited about this years growing season as I am
86 Elizabeth // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:16 pm
We have never been so planned and purposeful as this and my kids would end up teaching me a thing or two about gardening. This is great!
87 SP // Mar 4, 2010 at 6:59 pm
We want to start a garden this year and have no idea where to start. This would be perfect. Thanks for the opportunity!
88 B // Mar 4, 2010 at 7:08 pm
I would love this!! We have a big homeschool group here that would put this to good use!
89 Sarah S // Mar 4, 2010 at 7:22 pm
so many cool people are interested in this and I’m one.
90 Marisa // Mar 4, 2010 at 7:29 pm
I’m soooo exicited to plant this garden with my son!!!
Whether or not we win, I’m looking forward to using your plans. MUCH APPRECIATED!!
91 digthesun // Mar 4, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Oooh, count me in. This is excellent!
92 Brooke // Mar 4, 2010 at 8:32 pm
Fantastic! This is an inspiration.
93 Jaimee // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:27 pm
Our preschool just expanded our garden area. We so appreciate your blog and plans as a resource. Thanks for the inspiration!
94 Katie // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:29 pm
I’m just looking for a boost to get my 2 1/2 year old started out in the garden. I can’t wait to see her excitement when her seedlings sprout!
95 Elizabeth // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:36 pm
What an amazing idea and the totally right thing to do for kids, Thank you!
96 chs // Mar 4, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Wow, what fun! I’m impressed by how much you’ve fit into a small space. And I’m intrigued to try that corn variety–after two years of failed corn, I was ready to give up, even though my kids always want to grow it.
97 anne // Mar 4, 2010 at 10:33 pm
My two boys love to garden. What fun!!
98 Nauko // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:11 pm
I just started my own little adventure in urban( actually suburban) gardening here in Shoreline. I was just thinking about how to get my kids involved. I like your ideas on what to plant. I’ve always planted peas in the past which have been a big hit with my son, but I like the ideas of flowers and stuff as well.
99 Christina Nelson // Mar 4, 2010 at 11:34 pm
You are amazing! : )
100 Erin // Mar 5, 2010 at 5:12 am
my 2 year old is very excited about building a garden, especially pumpkins! thanks for the great ideas!
101 Sheryl Shomler // Mar 5, 2010 at 7:51 am
We try to garden each year and each year we add one or more things to our rental home that we live in. We are always looking for way to do portable gardening so we can take the grape, apple and other trees with us. Our children would love this project!
102 Anne // Mar 5, 2010 at 8:43 am
Wow, what a wonderful giveaway! This would definitely be 10 steps above our daughters strawberry garden from last summer. I love that you included pumpkins. We had pumpkins all over our cascading wall garden last fall and people would walk by and stop and stare- and the best part was we carved our own jack-o-lanterns and made pumpkin pies from our own yard!
103 Sara // Mar 5, 2010 at 9:09 am
WOW!! Look at the response for this, that is great!! I don’t want to be considered to win, for this year we don’t have enough space and will hopefully be moving mid summer. If that happens, we will definitely need your plans for next year. This is such a great idea!!!
104 Christy // Mar 5, 2010 at 11:15 am
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.. can’t wait to give it a try
105 Becky@BoysRuleMyLife // Mar 5, 2010 at 11:20 am
WOW! This is fantastic! Last year we gardened in containers because we knew we’d be moving during harvest time. This year I hope to have a larger garden now that we also have more land. I hadn’t thought of doing a garden just for the kids – what a great idea!! My boys would be thrilled!! Thanks for sharing!
106 Jamie // Mar 5, 2010 at 11:38 am
What a wonderful idea! I’m currently pregnant (due in June) and have a 5 year old. I have grand plans to plant our first veggie garden soon since I’ll be around this summer to tend it and can really teach my little guy about the joys and process of growing our own food, but have had no clue how to begin. I definitely want something my son can help me with and love the idea of having new things come up throughout the season
107 Beth // Mar 5, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Another great kid- friendly activity your readers would enjoy is to grow a TickleMe Plant from seeds and then watching the plant MOVE when Tickled! As a first grade teacher I no longer plant Lima beans, as the growing of this interactive plant, proved to be much more exciting and educational for my student’s.
I found my supplies for a classroom kit at http://www.ticklemeplant.com but they also sell individual greenhouses and even party favors, with everything you need to grow your own TickleMe Plant from seeds. I assure you your kids will be more excited about gardening, and its just fun to watch the expressions of the faces of children (and even adults) when they see the plant close its leaves and droop when tickled,
108 Sharon // Mar 5, 2010 at 1:39 pm
My kids (10 & 2) would totally dig this…pun intended =)
What a great giveaway!
109 admin // Mar 5, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Beth – thanks for this link! I have an area of the backyard devoted to fun plants for kids and was trying to remember the botanical name of this plant so I could start one. I have lamb’s ears, lavender, chocolate mint and lovage (for drinking straws) back there. That would be the perfect addition!
Everyone, I’m completely in awe of all the responses. I’m deliberately trying not to reply to them all since each time I comment it throws the number counts off but I love, love, love all your comments!!! This is the funnest giveaway I’ve ever done.
110 krista // Mar 5, 2010 at 4:16 pm
I can’t wait for the growing season to start and to get the kids planting as well.
111 Alexandra Gore // Mar 5, 2010 at 5:56 pm
That sounds great! I would love my own little garden
112 Kerrie G // Mar 5, 2010 at 8:13 pm
I have 3 boys who would love this! My oldest son has been begging me to plant a garden so I told him this would be the year. I am clueless as to where to began I think your blog will be a great resource
113 Harmony Harbor // Mar 5, 2010 at 9:51 pm
We’ve gotten 8 new raised beds into place this spring, and have appreciated your real-life garden leading as we learn gardening ourselves. Thanks for the model to use for one of our kid-beds here on the East Renton Highlands.
114 beth morrison // Mar 5, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Wow, lots of people interested in this one – I will use the garden plan for my sons garden even if we dont win, very neat
115 Elizabeth // Mar 6, 2010 at 9:46 am
Love this! I’m starting my first vegetable garden this spring and I have a special spot picked out for my three boys to grow their very own vegetables (they’ve claimed the blueberries as well!).
116 Nataly // Mar 6, 2010 at 9:50 am
My 4 year old would be so excited!
117 Beth // Mar 6, 2010 at 10:04 am
This is terrific! I enjoy gardening with my grandchildren.
118 Lynn Anne Cutler // Mar 6, 2010 at 10:16 am
Ooooh, this would be fantastic! I have NEVER heard of that garden planning tool…thanks for recommending it! I have a smaller space but love to plant with the kids…I’m hoping (of course!) to win the giveaway, but if not I think I’m going to head over and check it out
119 Rachel // Mar 6, 2010 at 10:25 am
My 6- and 4- year old boys have been talking about planting their own garden this year. This is definitely incentive. Thanks for the giveaway!
120 Karen // Mar 6, 2010 at 10:41 am
What a nice giveaway! My family would love this. You have wonderful ideas.
121 Cyndy // Mar 6, 2010 at 10:52 am
Although almost a teen, my daughter would love this. For many years she has scratched around trying to grow a veg garden. Because I am somewhat poor in both planning and executing I have not been much help. With a plan like this, even I could do it!
122 Julie // Mar 6, 2010 at 11:57 am
my kids would LOVE this! well my two oldest anyway-my youngest is a little ‘too young’ but it is never to early to start right?! We love (attempting) to grow a garden and love freezing all our goodies we grow in addition to eating fresh, and sharing with friends and family!
123 Michelle // Mar 6, 2010 at 1:44 pm
WOW – what an amazing idea! We would love to take this on in Toronto, Ontario!
124 Susanna Coco // Mar 6, 2010 at 1:46 pm
That looks like fun!
125 Wendy W. // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Sounds like a great activity! My daughter’s school just developed a “Reading Garden” outside the library last year, and I think they would really enjoy incorporating some of these ideas. Thanks for the resources, and the opportunity to win!
126 Hollie // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Oh wow, I’ve love this! I just bought a gardening book for my son and daughter, and we go outside and look at the flowers in our front yard every day. I’ve been planning on getting them some veggies and let them raise up some salad.
127 Louise // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:46 pm
wow, this is fab
Found this page from Facebook and will be popping back often, thanks for all your effort!
128 Claire // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:50 pm
This is just so fab x My 21 month old little chick would love this – I want her to grow up knowing exactly where food comes from… Just hope my big chick chooks don’t eat the veggies that I intend to plant in the garden – they demolish enough as it is lol!
129 Emily Cook // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Would love to share the love of gardening with kids! Thanks for your hard work!
130 Tracey // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:56 pm
I have three kids who have been bugging me nonstop to help with the upcoming gardening season, so they would be so excited to know they could have their “own” garden to tend!
Great idea!
131 Andrea // Mar 6, 2010 at 2:56 pm
This sounds great. I use grow veg too, but not nearly as well as you do. I really want this season to be the one my 3 year old truly gets into growing.
132 1916home // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Count us in! Thanks!
133 Amber Scollick // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:12 pm
This is such a great idea ! My little lady would just love it !
134 Joanne Salomone // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:13 pm
My grandkids love helping in my yard They would have so much fun with this . Unless it turns out like the strawberries and raspberries we planted they eat them faster than they grow . Love teh idea
135 Roo // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Wow my little girl would love this. I’m just making her own patch on the allotment and this would get it moving nicely.
136 reva skie // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:29 pm
What a great way to instill natural, organic, and sustainability to our children, by gardening together.
137 Sybil Berkley // Mar 6, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Website on it’s way, have a woman in our program who has a child, would be great to let her garden too!
S. Berkley
138 Teresa Smith // Mar 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Too much fun!!! my children love to dig in teh dirt!!
Teresa
139 Helen Emerson // Mar 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I would love to have this for my two grand kids which i live durning the week with as the nannie ,this will be the frist year they have a home/yard to plan and graden in,4yr old and 6 yr old we have been talking and looking in to things we can fill the yard up with,Her dream is a cherry tree LOL so we will be check lots of online ideal and planing out are specail area very soon!
140 Eric // Mar 6, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Great idea! Thanks for the inspiration!
141 Wendy // Mar 6, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Wow, this would be awesome! We just started our first garden and it has been an adventure to say the least. My girls would love to have their own place to work on.
142 leeanna // Mar 6, 2010 at 5:35 pm
My grandsons live in an apartment, with no room for a garden. Caden my 4 year old and I plant flowers every year and this year he wants to” plant food and watermelon of my own”. This would be a fantastic introduction into gardening for the boys.What a wonderful idea!!!
143 Nikki // Mar 6, 2010 at 6:33 pm
My children love working in the garden with my father and this would be a great thing for them to have their very own section!
144 Andrea // Mar 6, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Hi,
My oldest daughter is having a birthday party this month and we are talking about printing the garden plans and putting some seeds together to give as “gift bags” to her friends rather than cheap toys/trinkets…she seems excited about the idea…she’s a 4th grader.
145 Deepali Baumann // Mar 6, 2010 at 8:49 pm
What an inspiration. I’ve been wanting to do this for years and there’s always an ‘excuse’ even though once I do it I’ll ask myself why I waited so long. : )
146 christel // Mar 7, 2010 at 12:43 am
My 3 boys love to garden! What a neat idea! We are not organized and have never canned or pickled yet. Thanks!!!
147 Victoria // Mar 7, 2010 at 4:31 am
OMG….I would love to give this to my grandchildren. What a wonderful gift!
Thanks!!
148 Emily // Mar 7, 2010 at 5:11 am
My son would love this. He tried to do his own garden one year with the Cooperative Extension, but we were in a drought and only have water by a well, so we couldn’t water it like it needed. As much rain as we’ve had this year, he could manage. Thanks for the opportunity!
Great Idea!!
149 Michelle // Mar 7, 2010 at 5:45 am
We had a garden last year, but the plan for this one seems much better (not everything we planted grew). My daughters would love this! Thanks for the post
150 Cathy // Mar 7, 2010 at 5:51 am
What a great idea – I will be using your plan for my boy’s little patch on the allotment, thank you!
151 Lisa // Mar 7, 2010 at 6:57 am
wow, what a nice garden design. My son would love doing this and I think that we will do some like this here. Joey will love it !
152 Lori // Mar 7, 2010 at 7:28 am
My daughter would love this she always asks me for her own garden!
153 Cindy // Mar 7, 2010 at 8:34 am
Annette–get publishing! This is an amazing collection of info. Thank you for all your time and efforts towards inspiring so many people to get out and garden with children.
154 Cindi ♥ // Mar 7, 2010 at 8:52 am
My lil’ kiddos would love to have a lil’ garden. Such a great idea and educational as well.
155 amy // Mar 7, 2010 at 10:28 am
wow! this would take our meager gardening forays to a new level!! love love your site!
156 sarah // Mar 7, 2010 at 11:14 am
hi, we have no gardening experience but my 5 and 3 year old love playing around in the mud, we homeschool and hope this year our things will grow! We keep trying things but no so lucky yet!
157 Christy // Mar 7, 2010 at 11:21 am
What a fabulous giveaway and an even more fabulous blog!!! I’m so glad I found you! I became gluten free several years ago and my daughter – who loves to garden but has a mom with a black thumb has celiac. We’ve quickly learned food from the earth is the best for us!! I plan to bookmark and return to this site often!!
158 Lynne // Mar 8, 2010 at 12:10 am
We just built a raised bed outside my daughter’s window and are trying to figure out what to put in it. Love the ideas!
159 admin // Mar 8, 2010 at 12:18 am
Hi Lynne, unfortunately I have to close comments at midnight and you missed it by 10 minutes! I did post all the plans so you can use the list and plans for her garden. I’m so sorry!