For me, this season is a time to plant. Time to set in store-bought plants, sow seeds, and take care of my garden. By that I mean both flowering plants and shrubs as well as a vegetable garden.

If you’ve followed my blog, you’ll know that in my flower beds, I prefer native varieties as much  as possible, although I do have other types of flowers as well. The idea of native plants means that there’s much less watering needed and it matches our sandy soil where water drains away more quickly than in a clay loam soil.

For today, I’ll focus on planting the vegetable garden. The other beds will show up in another post soon.

 

 

When my granddaughters who are now 8 and 10 helped me plan the garden this year (even if they couldn’t help plant), they asked for tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and zucchini. We will have green beans, but no yellow ones as I wasn’t able to get seeds or plants. And we’ll have zucchini as long as the plants grow well. Some plants were not as available.

It seems that growers sent out fewer plants to nurseries than other years and also more people want to garden in the Covid times. Perhaps not so surprising. And this year, since my youngest daughter requested squash plants, I decided to get a few of those too.

I also am enlarging my herb collection to include our usual parsley, basil, sage and oregano, to include holy basil, which my daughter says is a good plant to have. I will learn more about it. Last summer I got a feverfew plant from my cousin Paul. That plant seems to like our sandy soil.

 

Our gardens have come a long way since we moved to this home. As already mentioned, the soil is sandy and some plants just do not like to grow or can thrive in this kind of soil. That first year that I had a small helper (who was almost 4), I learned that she liked watering plants best, but she didn’t want to get wet. I accidentally splashed her when I filled the water bucket.

“Gandma, you got me wet!” she said with a cross look on her face.

It was a little cool that day after all. In warm weather she might not have minded it so much. But she did like putting the seeds in the ground and covering them.

She and her sister have had four years of helping me plant and it seems they look forward to gardening, even if they are not around a lot during the season to watch the plants grow. However, they have enjoyed the veggies I shared.  The two oldest even like the parsley. They will pick a leaf and nibble on it.

 

Now that I have five potential helpers, this year I planted by myself because of Covid.

The oldest two know what to do and don’t mind a little dirt on their hands. Last year, they worked away with guidance and helped their little cousin who was just 4 years old. I believe in training them young. They get excited about growing plants.

The raised beds have made all the difference and stretched out the long way from the fence into the yard, I have more space than before to plant. The bed farthest back does have some shade during the day time, but the beans didn’t seem to mind it last year.

 

 

Even a child as young as two-and-a-half or three can help and learn about planting. They love to give the plants a drink. They might not be ready to do more than that or drop seeds in the ground and cover them, but they can experience being a helper and learn about things outside themselves. And if they need a drink of water, the plants do too.

 

So now until the children can visit, I watch the plants grow and tend them. My husband helps with watering as he’s done before and I will show our grands that they can watch too, from a distance, at least for now.

 

Enjoy your gardening. Perhaps you will share your experiences as well.