It is midsummer in Ohio, and that means mid-garden season. I’ve been slowly growing in my gardening skills over the years. Growing up my dad was a skilled gardener and we often had so much extra produce that my older brother would fill the wagon with produce and pull it to the nearest busy road to sell. Naturally, this led me to believe that gardening was easy, and my first 3 years of gardens would pay the consequences of this misinformation.
My first garden succumbed to weeds within weeks.
My second garden made it to summertime only to wither in the heat, as I had no idea that it should be watered during the dry summer months.
By the third year of gardening, My plants finally lived all the way till harvest. If only I had the time and patience to pick that which I had sown. The fruits of my labor were more readily enjoyed by the local squirrel population than by my husband and me.
But that’s all ancient history. After taking a few years off from gardening, we started again, and this time we were prepared to do the work. For the last several years, we have grown our garden dimensions a bit each year. Two years ago, we added the trellising.
I love the wild, overgrown look of the summer garden. Several mornings a week, I come out to water and weed. I love the feel of the damp, cool soil in the early mornings. I bring my coffee, and it’s my favorite way to start the morning. Sipping coffee, pulling weeds, tying up cucumber and tomato vines, and watching the kids search for their morning snack.
The kids love to come out and forage for something to eat.
What’s my secret to kids who love their fruits AND veggies? Make them readily available. And what’s more available than snacks you can pick without stopping your play.
This year, the snacks started with the strawberries, then it was the snap peas, and the raspberries. Soon, the cherry tomatoes will be ripening.
I love watching them skitter out in their bare feet, climbing the trellis if necessary. I love their squeals of delight when they find something new. Every day offers a new treasure to pluck up and savor straight off the vines.
I never limit the amount. I don’t make them ask permission. They know that if it’s ripe its fair game. The only requirement is that they share and be gentle with the plants. I want them to love fresh fruits and veggies, and this is one small way that I encourage their enthusiasm for them.
