Brightly Green: Top Ten Reasons Gardening is a Good Green Family Project!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Top Ten Reasons Gardening is a Good Green Family Project!

Growing up my parents always had a garden as did their parents. A couple of years after I got married my husband and I started a garden of our own. When children came into our lives, they began to help us in the garden too; the tradition lives on!

Nothing! And I mean nothing, tastes better than fresh tomatoes and lettuce right from the garden. Our children always enjoyed running out to pick lettuce for supper, or zucchini to fry up in flour and butter.

So what’s the big deal about gardening??

Here are my TOP TEN reasons gardening is a good green family project:

1. Get some FRESH AIR! It’s good for you!

2.) Family bonding: when all are outside in the garden working together

3.) Physical Exercise: Weeding, hoeing, raking, watering—all involves using muscles!

4.) Teaches responsibility: Watering & Weeding are essential for crop production

5.) Teaches delayed gratification: Growing produce takes time!

6.) Helps reduce boredom: adds some structure to kids summer days

7.) Satisfaction of a job well done! --when you place your produce on the table!

8.) A bountiful crop can be canned, frozen, or given to neighbors and friends: teaching kids how to save and give away

9.) Creates family memories.

10.) Teaches your children a skill they will be able to use when they become adults!

Gardening Green-cleanup:

Wash-up with Baby Harmony Pure & Free Hand Soap, or use Brightly Green All Natural Dish Wash and a nail brush (dirt likes to get under fingernails). Wash your gardening clothes with Brightly Green All Natural Laundry Wash!

All natural foods and all natural cleaners go hand-in-hand!

Treat your family to ice-cream at your local ice cream shop;

topping off all the hot, hard work they did!

Is it too late to start a garden?

If you think it’s too late to plant, it is not! In fact, you can find plants at greatly reduced prices. Don’t wait too much longer, though, or there won’t be any left.

Just last week my kids and I planted a strawberry patch, and today raspberry bushes. We will have very delayed gratification as these won’t be producing this year, but that’s ok. We have great expectations for next year, and the year after that!

Garden tools needed:

A spade shovel, hand spade, hoe, garden rake, hose or watering can, gardening gloves (opt.)

A rototiller is a necessary piece of gardening equipment, especially if you decide to make your garden anywhere from 4-5ft. X 10-12ft. We have never had a rototiller, but have had wonderful neighbors and friends who offered to till up our garden space. (Maybe you could borrow one from a friend or family member.) I have heard of some who rented a rototiller from their local hardware store too.

Maybe digging up the ground is an overwhelming thought to you, or you simply don’t have ground to dig up; consider planter gardening.

Give each of your children a decent-sized pot, some top soil and their choice (or yours) of what plant to stick in the pot. Help them develop the habit of watering and weeding their potted plants.