Thursday, April 02, 2009
April is National Garden Month...
I know that it is a bit hard to comprehend with our below normal temperatures and the new snow on the ground, but April is Garden Month according to the National Gardening Association. The NGA urges us to celebrate gardening during National Garden Month. Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place! Their site even gives 101 Ways to celebrate National Garden Month.
Even though you may not be ready to start planting, there are plenty of crafts and activities you can do or maybe read some books about gardening . You should take the opportunity to celebrate Garden Month. The NGA even has a kid-friendly website called Kids Gardening (don't forget to check out the teacher section of the site). If you like to garden, you can even register to enter a sweepstakes to win a prize package worth $1000.
Remember, the most interactive way to observe National Garden Month is by planting a small garden with children. If you don't have yard space for a garden try planting a container garden with preschoolers. You can explain that in order for seeds to grow they need soil, water, and plenty of sunlight.
I know that it is a bit hard to comprehend with our below normal temperatures and the new snow on the ground, but April is Garden Month according to the National Gardening Association. The NGA urges us to celebrate gardening during National Garden Month. Gardeners know, and research confirms, that nurturing plants is good for us: attitudes toward health and nutrition improve, kids perform better at school, and community spirit grows. Join the celebration and help to make America a greener, healthier, more livable place! Their site even gives 101 Ways to celebrate National Garden Month.
Even though you may not be ready to start planting, there are plenty of crafts and activities you can do or maybe read some books about gardening . You should take the opportunity to celebrate Garden Month. The NGA even has a kid-friendly website called Kids Gardening (don't forget to check out the teacher section of the site). If you like to garden, you can even register to enter a sweepstakes to win a prize package worth $1000.
Remember, the most interactive way to observe National Garden Month is by planting a small garden with children. If you don't have yard space for a garden try planting a container garden with preschoolers. You can explain that in order for seeds to grow they need soil, water, and plenty of sunlight.
- Find some containers and a place with lots of sun that is close to where water can be accessed.
- Fill the pots with a damp organic potting mix.
- Let the children plant seeds in the potting soil. (My favorite seeds to use are beans, but use your imagination.)
- Water and cover the containers with plastic until the plants begin to grow.
- After the plants are growing, let the children take turns watering the plants and monitoring their progress daily.
- Pizza garden: Plant tomatoes, basil, green peppers, onions and oregano. When it is harvest time, use vegetables from the garden to make pizza sauce for a homemade pizza.
- Butterfly garden: Grow butterfly friendly plants (flowers that attract butterflies). Most garden supply stores sell butterfly garden seed mix.
- Stone soup garden: Read the book Stone Soup by Marcia Brown [Aladdin, 1997]. Plant vegetables like onions, carrots, peppers, parsnips, beans, potatoes, and corn. Then make “stone soup” after harvesting the veggies.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 5:10 AM 
