Gardening – Helping Kids Love Food

It’s May and gardening season is here! Hip hip hooray!

Whether you have a garden in the backyard, you plan a trip to a local farm or you volunteer at a community garden, make sure to get the entire family outside to see how food is made this summer!

Getting your hands dirty is fun and can be educational for everyone. Showing children, teens and even adults that food should come from the ground instead of a bag or box changes everything. They then gain a better understanding of what “real” food is and what their bodies need.

A farm/garden trip:

Farms and gardens are closer than you think: See what is close to you by searching on Google if you don’t know where to find a garden or farm. Reach out to your green thumbed friends (who ALWAYS want to show their hard work off) or start conversations with vendors at the farmers market.
Are you a believer? Before you take the family to the farm make sure you understand the importance in getting food from the ground. You aren’t going to be very convincing if you yourself aren’t a believer…and have a stash of Oreos in your purse. Kids pick up on your passion and beliefs. Do you want your child to be the healthiest he/she can be? Do you want to not have to force vegetables or fruits but instead have your children begging for them? Okay then, believe in the power and perfection of food straight from the ground.
Plan your trip, go somewhere you can get dirty! If you are able to, ask to work in the garden or farm. They will most likely say yes, because who doesn’t want extra free help. Whether it’s just pulling weeds, helping planting or picking ripe fruit, giving kids a first hand look helps build a deep love for food. Getting your hands dirty is like a love spell from Mother Nature.
Key points to cover while on your garden trip:

– Man made vs. nature made: Things that come from bags and boxes often times have chemicals in them that our bodies don’t want or need so we must pay attention to how much processed foods we have. While reminding them that they can still have their favorite cheddar bunnies or cookies but they should be limited because what our body really craves is things from the ground like fruits and vegetables!

– People have been eating things from the ground forever: Long before Cocoa Cola was even a thought in someone’s mind. How do you think Great Grandma and Grandpa (or Great Great Grandma depending your age) got their food? Giving examples that they can refer to helps them grasp what you are saying and really understand.

– How does it happen – the magic trick of seeds to plants: What is required for a seed to grow to a plant that produces fruit? Sun, water and healthy soil. Buy a pack of seeds and have your children see where the plant begins (these are just for show but if you want to go a step further, show them the seeds before you go to the farm/garden and put them in a pot with dirt in there. Only put a few seeds in on loosely packed dirt and cover them lightly with a little dirt. Now watch them grow!) For more information to get you prepped for the trip visit my Gardening 101 post!

– Conventional vs. Organic: Go into this as much as you want depending the ages of your children and your own beliefs. The take away being that they eat fruits/veggies not that they know the difference between these terms. Although, I think it is important for them to have heard of organic and know why some people prefer to eat organic produce (they have not been sprayed with pesticides or chemicals).

– What are GMOS? It’s not just OMG backwards. This would be an intro to this only to get them “in the know.” Play a game to see how many things you can make up with the letters GMO (general mommy offices, gross me out, goofy mummy octopus…hopefully your kids are more cleaver than me) then tell them that GMO actually stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. Lots of big words that means seeds are changed – or another word for that is modified – in a lab by scientists to get a specific trait or characteristic like preventing bugs from liking the fruit/veggie or to grow extra big. I like this website if you are looking for additional information regarding GMOs or are looking for kid friendly wording.
All that hard work…you’ve earned food! After you are tired from working and learning, a picnic makes a perfect relaxing ending to a garden day. Pack a snack with strictly things from the Earth. This will take some creativity and preparation from you. I suggest cut veggies and fruit, plain jane so they can see how they come straight from the ground then mix it up with an avocado/mango salad, roasted sweet potato fries to dip into homemade hummus, frozen grapes, apples and honey, etc.
Reinforce: Throughout the week write a note in their lunches with what local things you were able to put in their lunch or share at dinner what goodies came from the ground. Get it in those little noggins good while it is still fresh!

Remember that you can absolutely do this! It takes time (that most likely you don’t have) but it is completely worth it and you will have fun doing it. Look at it as an opportunity, an exciting adventure…not a chore or another have to.

Smile, get your hands dirty and have fun!

XO,

Cotton fields, Pluto Plantation

A closer look at plants

Allowing kids the opportunity to see how food is grown and literally taste the success of a crop is a wonderful way to help your children kindle a relationship with food.

People have been gardening for a very long time, let your children know that it was even before your grandparents and great grandparents were alive. Once upon a time, there were no food in boxes or bags, there was only food coming right out of the ground! Transparency with kids in regards to food is a good way to build trust so they can let down their food wall and accept the goodness of things coming from the ground.

Having a healthy garden is very similar to having a healthy body. Having a healthy body involves your entire body, from toes to head. Having a healthy garden depends on if you have a healthy soil or not. Nutrient dense soil (one way to get this is from composting), followed by sunlight and the cooperation of the weather are ways to insure your garden is taken care of. Different parts of the plant all work together to make the plant grow and be healthy.

Soil Food Web

The process goes a little something like this:

manufacture food through photosynthesis
Gas/air exchange (CO2 to Oxygen)
Protect vegetative and floral buds
Transport water
Store food during germinations
Collect water for roots
Provide shade for roots and stem
Flat to provide a lot of surface area for photosynthesis, gas exchange and water transportation.

Now that you have an overall idea of what all plants need to grow and what’s going on behind the scenes, let’s break down plant parts so little ears can understand. There are activities and snack ideas to assist you while you teach them about the wonders of plants! Remember to have fun. 🙂

Printable plant parts coloring page!

Introduction to the seed:

“I can hold 250 tomatoes in my hand.”

“How is this possible?”

The seed is made up of three main parts: embryo, endosperm and seed coat. Make the correlation between planting seeds and eating them. How good some seeds are for you loaded with protein and healthy fats.

Germenation is the resumption of active embryo growth. The embryo is basically a miniature plant. The endosperm is the built-in food supply, which is made up of proteins, carbohydrates or fats. The testa (seed coat) is the hard out covering, which protects the seed from disease and insects. It also prevents water from entering the seed, which would initiate the germination process before the proper time.

Vocab:

Seed coat – provides protection for the seeds
Embryonic Root – First part of the seed to grow and will turn into the root
Cotyledon – First set of “leaves” to emerge and provides nutrients for the tiny plant. They look unlike the rest of the leaves that will emerge.
First Leaves – These are the first true leaves and emerge after the cotyledons.

Hands on seed activity: Dissect a bean seed

To dissect the bean carefully remove the seed coat with your fingernails. Then separate the two halves (cotyledons). Inside you should find the tiny first leaves and the embryonic root.
Take this time to go over the parts of a seed – see below.
Now you can germinate the seeds to figure out if they are viable. You need a moist paper towel folded into quarters and 10 seeds of your liking. Place the seeds on the edge of the towel. Roll up the towel and place in a plastic bag. Level with the date and seed variety.
Once a day for the next week, have your child unroll the towel and blow on the seeds to give them one carbon dioxide.
Seeds are viable if 60% germinate within 5-7 days. Below 50% germination, seeds are considered non-viable.

Hands on seed activity 2: Grow an avocado tree

Does your family eat avocados? If not, you should start because they are the very best nutritionally and you can do so much with them. Ever heard of chocolate avocado brownies? Absolutely delicious. Avocados make everything better.

With all the avocado pits I end up with I thought that there must be something fun to do with them. Which brings me to growing your own avocado tree with just a few easy steps, some tooth picks, a glass of water and an avocado seed. Check the steps out here!

Growing an avocado tree is easy!

Snack ideas to focus on seeds:

Black bean hummus – I suggest adding pumpkin seeds to top it off!
Chia pudding – Chia seeds are delicious and nutritious. If your child doesn’t like the texture of chia seeds, simply throw them in the blender!

What are roots:

“What is your favorite root?”

“Carrots?!?”

Roots anchor and provide support for the plant.
Roots absorb the water and nutrients necessary for plant growth.
Roots prevent soil from eroding.
Roots increase organic material and help with moisture retention as they decompose (acting like a blanket).
Roots store sugars and carbohydrates.

Hands on root activity:

Cut off 2″ from the top of each carrot. Remove any old leaves. Place the carrot top cut side down in a plastic cup. Add water until the carrot is halfway covered. Place rocks around the carrot to hold it in place. Put the bowl in a bright place, but not too sunny or too hot. Make sure there is always water in the container.
Have your child predict what will happen to the carrot.

Snack idea to focus on roots:

Coat carrots in coconut oil then roast them in your oven at 350 for 30 minutes, if using the large carrots (do not overcook – mushy carrots are yuck). Once they have cooked, have your child season each one differently! I suggest trying salt, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, red pepper or even just toss one in butter.

Fun Root Fact:

Did you know? Aspen trees that grow near each other often share the same roots. This makes Pando, an Aspen tree grove in Utah, the world’s largest organism. It includes 47,000 stems and covers 107 acres. It is thought to be 80,000 years old!

Charlie pointing to some beautiful Aspen trees!

They will slowly but surely start to like plants. Persistence and education are your friend. Be patient, you are doing the very best you can. Plant those seeds of wisdom in your kids, they will start to grow soon.

You are doing the best you can. No one did anything worthwhile and life changing in one day! 😉 It takes time. You can do this! -ML

Category: Gardening

Dirt is a love spell from Mother Nature

From Seed to Plate