Raised bed veggies for the grandchildren
Lisa submitted her Farmsteading experience from Oregon, if you'd like to submit your own to be featured on the blog, visit this form > How are you Farmsteading? Veggies organically in raised beds in the backyard. 1 dog. Urban farming only. LOVE your blog and posts! {thanks Lisa!}
What made you start? Seeking healthy food for the grandbabies, that they help raise!
What are the "perks"? Seeing Grandchildren eating their own grown veggies is the BEST!
Any challenges/lessons learned? Slugs are always a challenge!
Any future Farmsteading goals? Want all of my grandchildren planting in raised beds at their own homes as well as here eventually!
Farmstead Notes: A research study conducted by Saint Louis University interviewed 1,600 parents of preschool-aged children living in rural Missouri. The study found that preschool children were more than twice as likely to eat five servings of fruits and veggies a day when it was homegrown. Source. This is great news since countless studies show that very few of us {looks guilty} are actually getting as many fruits and veggies as we need a day. Source.
Bonus! Fruits and veggies have their highest vitamin immediately after being picked (think how quick the journey is from your garden to your table, no loss there!). And, growing your own food saves money (at least in our experience where we started all our plants from seeds). You don’t need a greenhouse to do this, in fact, my mother did it in her living room where she gets wonderful winter sun. Here's a whole bunch of heirloom tomatoes that were started from seeds saved from the prior year.
If you're interested in building a raised bed of your own check out this awesome handout from GRuB, a local non-profit in Olympia which is doing amazing things around food and youth. You can view their handout by clicking here >>
And as for those pesky slugs...I found this great link on Thirteen ways to Stop Slugs, suitable in an organic garden. Hmmm...I wonder if there's a conflict of interest in using beer with grandchildren present?
Thanks for showing us your inner Farmstead Lisa! Your grandchildren are certainly lucky. Not only are they getting great food they're creating wonderful memories in the garden. {sigh} I remember walking with my Grandpa Mac, who was sooooo tall. He would reach up and grab the cherries from the cherry tree then stoop down soooo low to hand them to little ol' me. Not only were they delicious I will carry the memory of those walks with me forever.
Does anyone else garden with children? Any tips or tricks you'd like to share?