We have customers of all ages. Maybe two of our youngest gardeners, very active gardeners, are brother and sister Kai & Isla. Kai is a third grader and Isla a first grader, both attending Windsor Park Elementary.
It’s no surprise, they’ve grown up watching their parents and grandparents garden. And it seems they all love to experiment with what they plant, where they plant it and how they take care of it.
I asked the kids what they are thankful this Thanksgiving. Kai said he is thankful for nature and camping; Isla for being outside, NOT watching TV & NOT eating fast food!
For starters, they prefer raised beds. They use sandy loam topsoil mixed with Nature’s Blend from Gill’s and then they add compost between crops. Kai says their compost is made up of kitchen scraps (veggie peels, egg shells, strawberry tops, etc…) mixed with leaves and grass clippings.
The kids have three different growing areas in their backyard. One garden is behind the garage along the back fence where they grow veggies on a string trellis. They have a crop of green beans ready to harvest right now!
The second garden is along the side of their house where they have huge tomato plants mixed with marigolds and lots and lots of basil.
Their third garden is in the back corner where Jeff, their dad, built a L shaped raised garden. It was a gift to his wife Erika! It’s the largest garden and has the most diversity with different greens, radishes, herbs, carrots, kale, kohlrabi, pumpkin, broccoli & Bok Choy.
And to top it off, they have a big pot of beautiful fresh spearmint on their patio next to a pot of pineapple and a grow bag with potatoes they’re experimenting with!
I asked them if they liked to eat what they grow. Yes, they do! One of Isla’s favorite recipes is fresh kale from the garden mixed with olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic and lemon. Yum! They also love simply munching on leaves while playing in the backyard!
I thought my visit was going to just be about plants, until they asked me if I wanted to see their chickens. They have four chickens, soon to be producing eggs. One of their fun pastimes is picking worms off their greens to feed their chickens!
Kai & Isla both seem to love digging in the dirt, watching veggies grow, and eating healthy food! So this Thanksgiving week, one of the many things I will give thanks for is parents that share the miracles of nature, gardening and good old healthy living with their children!
-Sally
