Guest Post: Natural Mama Nell on Whole Family Gardening

{Still babymooning over here, getting stronger every day and enjoying these slow moments together as a family.  I'm thrilled to have Natural Mama Nell from Whole Parenting posting here today, sharing some tips on getting started in family gardening!}

It's late winter and in the air is a hint of spring, of new life, of seedlings, of children playing outdoors without seventeen layers. I'm so happy to guest post here at Small Town Simplicity while Lydia and her family celebrate their own new life. Springtime for our family means prepping the ground for gardening, and sharing this joyful work with our children. I have a whole section on gardening over at my blog: here. Let's talk about gardening, tips to get started and tips to getting your little ones' fingernails dirty in the process!

1) Prep the soil

In preparing the soil in your yard or garden box for maximum growth, ensure you till, hoe, and turn over the dirt at least a foot or two deep. Two feet is better. Literally, take a garden shovel (one with a little bite on the tip) and jump on it with your foot, hefting your weight into it, and overturn the soil. This is where children can get really excited. Give them a little garden hand spade to help you and they'll love it. See how much rich black dirt you have, and how much sand or clay you have. Add more black dirt because that's what you want to plant in. Mix in a little compost if you have some! (More on this later.)

2) Pick the plants

Selecting what to plant is almost as exciting as eating it at the end of the season. It's the beginning of the excitement. Like previews at the movies (my fav part!). Take a gander at the local garden store so your kiddos can see the picture of what the seed will become! Heirloom seed catalogues are wonderful as well. I'd pick things that you know are grow well in your geographic area. For us in Minnesota, we've had good luck with carrots, tomatoes, parsnips, KALE!, spinach, squash, and zucchini. Depending on how long your growing season is, either start from seed (indoors ahead of time if you're really ambitious) or little babe plants from the farmer's market or gardening store.

We've got a little garden bucket for our oldest, who was a toddler last growing season. It housed his spade, his gardening hat, and was where he deposited his booty. That's right, harvesting is one of the biggest delights for children. It also is a great teachable moment about what's safe to eat from outside and what's not, what's ripe and what's not, and how to cook and eat what you grow.

3) Care for the garden

Compost is key. If you don't compost your kitchen scraps because you think you need some fancy dancy plastic bin, you're mistaken! Here's a little primer on composting: Composting for Beginners. Spread compost to prevent weeds from growing, and till it into your soil to promote growth. Watch for errant seeds that will grow in unexpected places! My husband calls that "rouge gardening" when a watermelon pops up in your tomato patch!

Water in the cool of the evening and use your thumb to diffuse a harsh spray. Let your children water (preferably naked or in a swim suit!) the plants and you just made their day! Weed as necessary. Harvest & enjoy!

A garden, howsoever large or small, is a chance to connect with God's creational tasks and instill a love of labor and healthy food in your children. 

{Natural Mama Nell lives in the great city of Saint Paul, Minnesota with her husband and two little ones. She is a lawyer turned stay-at-home mom who loves to blog over at Whole Parenting Family and runs an organicky mama-baby etsy shop called Whole Parenting Goods. Her fav fresh-from-the-garden foods are kale for making kale chips and strawberries for feeling like a queen!}

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