Growing Veggies

[Patch]

My wife is a retired professional. She likes to stay busy. She and some of her friends found an idea on face book about teaching city kids how to grow fruits and veggies. This in their back yards, window boxes, or even indoors......parent permitting. 

She ask me what I thought of the idea. I told her it sounded like a good  plan, especiall for city kids. I replied without knowing much about her plan, while reading a book DIY Tear Drop Campers.  Her next question stopped me in my tracks. She looked me square in the eyes and asked "you have organized some soft ball tournaments, some golf tournaments, you want to help out?" After 42 years of marriage, there I was...stuck, with no way out. 

So TST members, would you let your children attend a seminar on growing fruits and veggies? Do you see any value (time wise) in it?

[14ledo81]

I would let them.. Why not?

They could pick up information they might use someday.

[billchao]

Yes, absolutely. My kids love gardening, planting seeds, pulling weeds, watering. All the good stuff. It teaches them responsibility, patience (hopefully), and gets them outside.

[SavvySwede]

What you need to do is recruit those kids as cheap labor to build and maintain your own backyard golf course. Hey kids you know what is more fun than growing veggies? Growing bentgrass!!

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, billchao said:

Yes, absolutely. My kids love gardening, planting seeds, pulling weeds, watering. All the good stuff. It teaches them responsibility, patience (hopefully), and gets them outside.

When I was a kid, one of our punishments was 'weeding the garden'. This kind of turned me off to it. 

That being said, my mother has the greenest thumb on the planet earth. She can get things to grow that would die anywhere else. She lives near the ocean and her yard will get salt water from coastal flooding every winter or spray from the waves hitting the seawall. Somehow, her garden produces copious amounts of tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, squash, herbs, etc. It is phenomenal. 

I gave her a hibiscus plant for mothers day last year. You know the kind that you order on line. It should have died in a month. It is still going strong. 

I don't think she is human. 

[Ernest Jones]

Absolutely. We have two gardens in the backyard. Tomatoes, cucumbers, chilli peppers, bell peppers, garlic, tons of herbs, we even grew some potatoes last year. At our old house we had asparagus beds too. 

[billchao]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

When I was a kid, one of our punishments was 'weeding the garden'. This kind of turned me off to it. 

My kids love pulling weeds. And grass. And sometimes flowers that they call weeds.

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

That being said, my mother has the greenest thumb on the planet earth. She can get things to grow that would die anywhere else. She lives near the ocean and her yard will get salt water from coastal flooding every winter or spray from the waves hitting the seawall. Somehow, her garden produces copious amounts of tomatoes, all kinds of peppers, squash, herbs, etc. It is phenomenal. 

So her veggies come pre-seasoned? 

Knowledge and experience is huge when it comes to gardening. We finally got a good harvest my last season at my old place after 3 years of gardening and then we moved. Whole new ballgame where we're at now.

16 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

At our old house we had asparagus beds too.

We had asparagus beds, too. I still have access to them so I stop by periodically to harvest them in Spring but they really need to be tended to everyday.

[14ledo81]

2 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

Absolutely. We have two gardens in the backyard. Tomatoes, cucumbers, chilli peppers, bell peppers, garlic, tons of herbs, we even grew some potatoes last year. At our old house we had asparagus beds too. 

Peppers?? In Canada??

I'm impressed...

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, billchao said:

My kids love pulling weeds. And grass. And sometimes flowers that they call weeds.

So her veggies come pre-seasoned? 

Knowledge and experience is huge when it comes to gardening. We finally got a good harvest my last season at my old place after 3 years of gardening and then we moved. Whole new ballgame where we're at now.

We had asparagus beds, too. I still have access to them so I stop by periodically to harvest them in Spring but they really need to be tended to everyday.

Now we just have to figure out how to have the Atlantic ocean contain black pepper and we're all set!

[Abu3baid]

I come from a farming family from The West Bank in Palestine, my grandfather had a huge garden when he first moved to the states and grew all different types of veggies and fruits.  My father continued the tradition at our house with a much smaller version only growing veggies of different types.

I have helped out and understand the basics, but I would love to attend classes to truly understand the science behind everything and how to really maximize growth rates, different soils, and just a deeper understanding of growing cool gardens, and I would definitely encourage my kids as well!

[Gator Hazard]

I think it's great. My grandfather was a transplant to Las Vegas from Nebraska so his family were farmers. He grew radishes green onions carrots and tomatoes. He even grew cantaloup. In the desert. When I moved into a home in Chicago burbs I grew onions bell peppers tomatoes and zucchini. I had started an asparagus bed but it was still developing and only gave me a little bit the first year but the rest of the veggies were amazing.  It was fun 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Gator Hazard

[Buckeyebowman]

Heck, yeah! Anything you can do to get them outdoors and their noses out of those damned Iphones, Ipads, Iwhatevers! Besides, you let them taste a real, ripe, home grown tomato, rather than store bought, they will see the light! Since I started growing my own, I can't bring myself to buy a tomato in a grocery store! I'd rather do without.

[Ernest Jones]

5 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Heck, yeah! Anything you can do to get them outdoors and their noses out of those damned Iphones, Ipads, Iwhatevers! Besides, you let them taste a real, ripe, home grown tomato, rather than store bought, they will see the light! Since I started growing my own, I can't bring myself to buy a tomato in a grocery store! I'd rather do without.

Agreed you cannot compare a sun ripened, garden tomato with those pink things at the store. Fresh from the garden, chopped up and tossed with olive oil, sea salt and high quality balsamic vinegar. Can't be beat. Yum!

Same with home grown cucumbers, out of this world. 

We grow garlic too. Sad how many people have never tasted garlic that hasn't lived in a storage container for six months. 

[Hardspoon]

19 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

Fresh from the garden, chopped up and tossed with olive oil, sea salt and high quality balsamic vinegar. Can't be beat. Yum!

You forgot the fresh mozzarella!

I moved into a new house late last spring...excited to get a garden going this year.