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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Growing the Garden Together as a Family

July 25, 2013 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Growing the Garden Together

Guest Post

Now that it’s summer, I’m finally (mostly) done seeding and nurturing these tiny little plants, making sure none of my peppers or tomatoes gets hurt or hurts itself. I think this is my favorite part of gardening, just watching the plants as they constantly develop (much like my children), putting forth little peppers and hard round green tomatoes that gradually grow and ripen each day.

Although I do most of the work and heavy lifting for our modest backyard vegetable garden, it has been such a pleasure (yet sometimes a challenge!) to get my children involved in the process with me. No matter how old your kids are, or what phase of the garden you’re in, there are some really easy and simple methods I’ve tried to engage my kids in caring for and learning about where their food comes from. Plus, it’s helped me get them to actually eat their veggies!

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(artsy picture from nzgabriel)

Make it Fun

Adding creativity to your garden is important. You can let your children name your new plants and create small signs for them by using popsicle sticks and permanent markers. One idea is to give all of one vegetable a name that starts with the same letter; for example, all the tomatoes could have T names. Your child will look forward to taking care of Timothy, Terry, and Tom the tomatoes. If you need more of your own specificity (if you’re like me and you have lots of different kinds of tomatoes), you can give each Timothy, Terry, and Tom a last name that will tell you what type of tomato it really is.
Add Some Flair

A bright and colorful garden will certainly be more likely to draw your child’s attention than a dull one. Paint the fence around your garden all sorts of colors and add some fun decorations, like a windmill or garden gnome. You can even buy an unpainted garden decoration from your local garden store and have your children decorate it. By adding colors and interactive elements, your kids can go out and play with the windmill or larger-than-life stone frog even if the plants haven’t done anything particularly exciting recently.
Dress the Part

Go shopping with your kids and let them pick out their own garden boots, rakes, shovels, and gloves, or get creative and make your own with your child’s personality in mind. When it becomes time to work in the garden, your little one will be excited to get outfitted in their own gardening gear. (Even dogs get dressed up for yard work!)

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(beekeeping dog photo credit Josh Kennett)

Give Them a Project

If your child is old enough and ready for the responsibility, giving them their own project to focus on, like taking care of all the pepper plants, is a great way to get them invested in their new veggie garden. Let them know that it’s their responsibility to water and take care of these peppers so that they grow big and hearty. Give them tips along the way, of course, and be there in case they need your help, but let them do all the work themselves so they can really see the impact they’re having on growing these plants. My youngest isn’t quite old enough for this, but my 8-year-old boy’s potted tomatoes are doing very well!

But Be Safe

As with any activity, it’s important that you supervise your children while gardening at all times. Make sure that they aren’t getting ahead of themselves by carrying shovels that are too big, trying to lift something that’s too heavy, or making a swamp of your yard with the hose. Also be aware of what you’re putting into your garden that might get onto your children’s hands or even into the food you grow! Garden pests can be tricky to get rid of, and it’s convenient to turn to store-bought pest control methods. Regardless of whether you use a commercial slug-killer or choose instead to use saucers of beer embedded in the ground (a surprising and surprisingly effective solution!), make sure you are aware of what your children might be handling.
Share Your Spoils

When it’s (finally) time to eat, make sure your kids taste a little bit of everything – they’ll probably be excited to taste what they’ve grown, and they might change their mind about liking some veggies! Have them help you prepare a salad or a stir-fry using the bountiful harvest. Also, the next time you go shopping for seeds to grow, make sure you involve the little ones. This will ensure that you’re planting veggies they like while having them involved and hooked from the get-go.

Gardening is a healthy and active project that your children will enjoy right along with you. It might make for a bit more work, but it’ll also be a LOT more fun. So what are you waiting for? Go out there and get your hands dirty!

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(Preposterously adorable little gardener from Monica R)

About the author: Maya Rodgers is an avid amateur gardener and is so excited for her tomatoes and peppers to get ripe this summer. When she isn’t gardening and watching her kids grow, she tries to keep pests out of other people’s homes and gardens as a pest control consultant, whether it’s elaborate bed bug treatment or straightforward slugs and beer. To learn more, connect with her at http://www.petsandpests.com.

Filed Under: guest post Tagged With: Family, garden, gardening, Guest blogging, guest post

Nature Photography: A Natural Red in the Green

July 25, 2012 by Momstart 21 Comments

 

red flower

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: flowers, garden, nature, photography, red flower

Prepare Your Lawn for Summer TruStories TruGreen Sweepstakes & Giveaway

April 21, 2011 by Momstart 272 Comments

Oh wow, it’s Spring, Of course if you live where I live you would hardly know it. My neighbor sent me this the other day and it cracked me up…

INSTALLING SPRING…

███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.

Install delayed….please wait.

Installation failed. Please try again. 404 error: Season not found.

Season "Spring" cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please try again.

Well, for much of the country I’m pretty sure it’s arrived and then summer will be here before you know it, unless you’re already in the 90’s and if feels like summer is upon you. Anyways according to Ben Hamza, Ph.D., director of technical operations at TruGreen, there are a few spring lawn and landscape tips to prepare your yard for a healthy summer:

1. Clean Area: Thoroughly clear dead leaves and debris from flower beds and lawn that may impede new spring growth.

2. Prune: Conduct corrective pruning of trees and shrubs to enhance plant appearance and vigor, and thin rather than top-shear overgrown shrubs and trees to preserve their overall shape. Make sure not to prune trees and shrubs that bloom in early spring, with the exception of removing dead branches.

3. Mulch: When your lawn is actively growing, return grass clippings back to the soil for added lawn nutrients and consider using composted materials to nourish plants. Apply three inches of organic mulch to base of shrubs and trees to help conserve soil moisture and to reduce weed pressure, but be mindful not to cover the flare of the tree base.

4. Right Plant, Right Place: Plant the right type of grass for your lawn to ensure a green, healthy turf. Where grass has difficulty growing, plant shade-adapted ground covers for landscape appeal.

5. Feed: Spring lawn, tree and shrub roots seek nourishment after the dormancy of winter. Keep fertilizer on target to prevent run-off and sweep fertilizer granules that may reach pavement back onto your lawn. Use a trained professional company, such as TruGreen, that offers customized solutions to lawn and landscape problems based on your region’s needs.

6. Check Irrigation: Follow the owner’s operating manual to take an automated sprinkler system out of hibernation. Ensure sprinkler heads and related water lines are working properly. Give your lawn a slow, steady watering about once a week, but adjust depending upon rainfall, grass and soil type in your area. Also ensure the irrigation system covers your landscape efficiently. For example, you can place a one-inch deep food can in the middle of the lawn area to measure the depth of water collected after each watering cycle to ensure uniformity.

7. Protect Against Elements: The beautiful blooms of spring are vulnerable to frost. With an expected cold snap, cover flowering plants before the sun goes down to maximize heat trapped by the plants. Create a tent of warmth with plastic tarps, cardboard, bed sheets or special plant frost protection blankets available at your local nursery or home improvement retailer.

My Botanic Planet.com

TruGreen collaborated with Memphis Botanic Garden to launch My Botanic Planet.com, a free online educator resource to inspire K-5 students’ interest in the diverse plant world. Go towww.mybotanicplanet.comto access national standardized lessons in botany and related games and activities to organize with your children.

mybotanicplanet-trugreen

About the TruStories Sweepstakes:

SweepsLogo

TruGreen wants to know your stories, yes your lawn stories. To celebrate your real stories for creating your ideal outdoor living rooms by offering the TruGreen TruStories Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $25,000 MasterCard reward card, perfect for creating a backyard oasis to share with family and friends. WOW, 25,000.00. what an awesome prize!

In addition, 50 first prize $500 MasterCard reward cards and 38 weekly prize $250 MasterCard reward cards will be awarded. The sweepstakes is open to legal U.S. residents 18 years or older. Go to www.TruGreenSweepstakes.com/winnow through October 16, 2011, to enter and to obtain official sweepstakes rules. Entrants can also participate by printing their name, complete address, daytime and evening phone numbers, age, email address and “The TruStories Sweepstakes” on a 3”x5” card and mail it to: “The TruStories Sweepstakes,” P.O. Box 511215, New Berlin, WI 53151 or “The TruStories Sweepstakes,” P.O. Box 511425, New Berlin, WI 53151. No purchase is necessary to enter or to win.

Here on MomStart…TruGreenTreeandShrubSpecialist

Enter to Win:

$125 TruGreen gift card good for approximately two TruGreen treatments for lawn, tree and shrub care. Because each homeowner’s lawn is different, a licensed TruGreen specialist can recommend what treatment would be best for the card recipient’s yard.

To Enter:

Tell me about your lawn and what it needs?

Extra Entries:

Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

Prepare Your Lawn for Summer TruStories TruGreen Sweepstakes & #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/gRtDG8

and or

Enter to Win 2 TruGreen treatments $125.00 Value #Giveaway @Momstart http://bit.ly/gRtDG8 Ends 5/9 http://fb.me/PpjaUIlB

Subscribe to MomStart
Comment on any non-giveaway post
List this giveaway on any giveaway site, dig, stumble, like or share on Facebook (or use any of the share options listed below)
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This giveaway ends May 9th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: garden, lawn, TruGreen

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