Tuesday, March 16, 2010

because i want playing in the dirt to be as much fun as possible...

it's hard to believe, but this long, cold winter finally seems to be drawing to an end. and with the arrival of DST, we can enjoy the longer days in all our sleep deprived glory!

as usual, we feel as if we're running just a tad bit behind here, but now that we're "almost" over the hump of "finishing" the schoolroom and putting the house back to "normal", I've been concentrating my efforts outside.

*working in the high tunnel
*planting the cold frames with lettuce, spinach and radishes
*supervising the building of our raised beds
*hauling manure hither and yon

of course, the girls are eager and very willing to help. A is 3½ this year, and B is 2. both girls, but especially B, are too young to understand the concept of walking between the garden rows.

as opposed to smashing every delicate plant and seed in sight.

*ahem*

we were working in the high tunnel this afternoon, planting more lettuce, spinach and radishes, as well as beans and peas, and i had an idea. what if i clearly marked the rows where the girls could walk?

i took a roll of orange surveyor's tape and laid it down between the rows in the high tunnel, lining the rows where the girls could safely walk.


this simple idea greatly reduced the frustration level, and enables the girls to be in there working with me- whether planting, picking rocks, weeding, harvesting or watering.


happy little gardeners works for me!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is such a good idea to mark the rows.
It seems amazing that it could be planting time already. I hope your crops do really good! I can't wait to start my garden!

Renae said...

What an awesome greenhouse! I am still in the thinking stages of our garden, but my littlest one wants gardening tools for her upcoming birthday. We'll be out there in no time!

Thanks for the tip. I have a feeling that will help out more than just the little ones around here. ;)

Annie @ Sister Wisdom said...

Yay plantung time! I stumbled on this concept last year and you're right, it really helped! I'd love any other gardening with kids tips you've got... like, how do you teach them what to weed and what NOT to weed?

LinkWithin

Related Posts Widget for Blogs by LinkWithin