I love seeing their kids out in the garden, exploring the things we’re growing.
I don’t know about you, but I totally have spring fever! We’ve had a cold and snowy winter, and although I have loved those days too, I’m ready to move on. We’ve had some warm days mixed in with our end-of-winter weather this past week and it’s given us a taste of what’s coming.
Spring is right around the corner!
I truly believe that having all four seasons is a blessing, and it allows us to love and appreciate each season for its differences. To me, there’s nothing like seeing those first buds of spring as they’re starting to make their way through the ground. Seeing the leaves on the trees sprouting and feeling the sunshine and warm wind on your face is exciting to me after the winter days.
As I’ve run my errands over the past week, I’ve started to see it: signs of spring inside too…packets of seeds, seed starter kits, grass fertilizers and outdoor patio furniture. It makes my heart skip a beat when I go past the aisle, thinking of those days being upon us so soon.
This week, a friend posted an article on Facebook called “Advice for eating well on a tight budget from a mom who’s been there.” It’s about a woman who is helping those on public assistance learn how to use fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables to supplement what they get for public assistance and to enhance their eating habits. The woman herself had been on public assistance as a mom of seven and had always tried to utilize things she could grow, in order to help nourish her family. I thought it was a great article and great to see someone who’s “been there,” giving back.
One year we “accidentally” grew pumpkins, and these were our three Halloween pumpkins that year; first time we’d ever grown our own.
Although we have never been on public assistance, we have always had a pretty tight budget and we’ve always had a summer garden which helps us stay below budget on our food spending during the summer months. We grow mostly vegetables, but one year we were able to grow pumpkins, and that’s a fruit! I love seeing the kids take on roles with the garden, helping to plan it, clean it up, plant it, water it, and then to watch them run out every day to see what’s grown and what’s ready to pick. One of my all-time favorite photos from years ago is a picture of two of my daughters out in the garden in their Halloween and dress-up costumes, picking tomatoes off the plants. We had one Minnie Mouse and one Cinderella, outside, in the garden, picking veggies and it was so funny to see; but such a special memory for me as well.
There is absolutely nothing in the world like fresh, garden vegetables in my opinion, and when you’ve grown them yourself, that makes them exponentially better! I love cooking and baking with the things they’ve planted and picked and I love telling them, “This is from our garden!”
A pack of seeds is not expensive and the amount it yields is far more than what you put out financially for the seeds. As soon as last year’s garden was done, I already had a list on the fridge of our successes, so that we wouldn’t forget to plant them again this coming year. The list is still there, and it’s ready to go.
I love to see the kids eating the veggies they’ve picked, right off the vine, all summer long.
I think it’s important too, to make sure that our kids have an understanding of where their food comes from, that it’s not just from the grocery store. I think it’s important that they understand about nutrition and local produce as well. I like to see them eating their snap peas right off the plant outside or eating their cherry tomatoes as they pick them. I like them to know that they can grow their own food, and that you don’t need a lot of space to do it. We don’t have a huge house or a huge yard but we have a really good-sized garden and it teaches them that it doesn’t take much of anything other than hard work, to grow their own food.
So as winter comes to a close, and spring begins, I’m already dreaming of our gardening days. Spring Fever has hit hard, and I can’t wait to start picking out seeds and planning out what we’ll plant, pick and cook all summer long. Take a look at the article above, and think about how you too, can add home-grown fruits and vegetables to your summer menu!
It doesn’t take a lot of space to have a garden, and lots can be done in containers if you don’t have a yard at all.
