Gardening and the Value of Good Food

It may seem strange to be thinking about gardening in November, but that is exactly what I am doing.  We missed our opportunity to get a garden started this past spring, and I want to be sure we get one started as soon as possible.  We currently have a small raised bed that I constructed from some 2x10's a few years back.  We have it fences in, with a make-shift door.  It is a bit difficult to get into and move around in, especially once the vegetables near ripeness.  We have grown peas, beans, carrots, and lettuce with some success in the past.  I know that the girls would love to get some tomatoes to grow, and I would really like to see some cucumbers, yellow squash, and zucchini grow.  And sweet potatoes!

I've been trying to decide what to do next.  I am considering tearing down the raised bed we currently have and building something more aesthetically pleasing and larger.  I found a really cool picture of a bed that I really like, using pavestones similar to those we already have in place around our property.  I think for the area that I am talking about, it may end up to bee too expensive.  I am keeping it in the back of my mind, however.  In continuing my search, I also found this video, made by Menards.  I really like the trellises in this one, and I think we might even be able to add some hanging baskets of grape tomatoes to them.  I'm going to have to play with the ideas.

Beyond this simple vegetable garden, I am hoping to add some other growing areas around our home.  I would like to plant some blueberry and raspberry bushes on the side of the house.   There are some peonies that grow there now, and while I love then, they have not been producing that many flowers the past few years.  We have a dog house in the backyard, built by a previous owner, which is now starting to fall apart.  If we tore it down, it would be the perfect place for a little garden.

So, why post this on a homeschooling blog?  Gardening projects are full of educational experiences.  The kids learn about how plants grow, the different parts of a plant, what plants need to grow, what food are healthy and why, insects, animals that live and travel through our neighborhood... the list goes on and on.  Beyond that, they develop an appreciation for nature and the earth.  They realize why it is important to take care of the earth.  They develop an understanding of where their food comes from, beyond the supermarket.  They become aware of the interdependent relationships that exist in nature.  Those are lessons that are difficult, if not impossible, to teach simply by reading a book.  They are some of the most important lessons they can learn.

I also wanted to share a blog entry by Shannon Hayes, which is some what related to this topic, and inspired me to start thinking about our garden again.  I continued on reading other articles she has posted to her blog, and found more inspiration in this entry.  And then I found a link to to this one.  All of these give me more and more reason to encourage the girls to learn about the value of good, healthy, organic, locally grown food.