Eco Gardeners

April 22nd has been celebrated as Earth Day in the United States since 1970 and is now acknowledged in most countries throughout the world. It is the perfect time to reflect on what we are actively doing to help protect the environment and to teach our children ways to be stewards of the Earth.

My children & I have come up with a fun song with 12 activities that you and your family can participate in to prepare for April 22nd. Each day we will highlight the activity of the day & post an interesting article explaining the eco-concept and activity. Enjoy!

The Twelve Days til Earth Day

by Annette Pelliccio, founder The Happy Gardener, & Angela & Christina

On the 12th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“It’s time to get our planet healthy.”

On the 11th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Our home & garden should be phosphate-free.”

On the 10th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“We want to grow & eat organic veggies!”

On the 9th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Making compost is smart & costs us no money.”

On the 8th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Our garden should be full of birdies.”

On the 7th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Soil should be safe for bug & worm families.”

On the 6th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Can we Plant a Row for the Hungry?”

On the 5th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Let’s….plant…a….tree!!!”

On the 4th day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Its a day to cut down on electricity”

On the 3rd day til Earth Day my chidren said to me,

“Today we won’t eat meat or dairy.”

On the 2nd day til Earth Day my children said to me,

“Let’s build a Backyard Habitat in our community”

On April 22nd Earth Day my children said to me,

“We are proud to be an eco-family!”

Written by:  Christa Hines

Transform an ordinary backyard into a captivating, natural wonderland and you’ll harness the curiosity and imagination of your children in a whole new way. With a little ingenuity, you can create a multisensory landscape that provides your children with an enriching, year-round fresh-air retreat.

Annette Pelliccio, founder and chief executive of The Happy Gardener Inc., which provides earth-friendly products to gardeners, says that when her daughters were toddlers she integrated storybook elements in their “play garden,” including a Charlotte’s Web wire in a tree….

To read the whole article go to http://www.carolinaparent.com/articlemain.php?Transform-Your-Backyard-into-a-Natural-Wonderland-for-Kids-2872

One of the most magical gardening projects you can share with a child is planting a “sunflower house,” especially since children adore secret hiding places where their imaginations may flourish. With twelve foot walls and a ceiling of flowers, this bright yellow, brown and green fort will be the summertime hide-a-way of choice for your young gardener. Best of all, both children and children-at-heart will savor planning and planting this naturally cheerful garden spot.

Project List:
    A 10’ x 10’ area with good garden soil that receives at least six hours of sun daily, preferably in a sheltered area with little wind
    Seeds for tall sunflowers reaching 12’ – “Mammoth” are a good choice as the seeds are edible
    Seeds for short 4’-7’ sunflowers
    Seeds for morning glories and colorful, flowering annuals like zinnias
    String/twine and stakes if in a windy area

Directions:
Once the ground is warm enough and all danger of frost has passed, lay out an 8’ x 8’ square to mark the interior. Try not to butt the area up to a wall or a fence as you’ll need to be able to walk around the outside to take care of the plants. Mark a 4’ wide entryway on one side that will remain untouched. Clear and prepare an 12” wide path around the perimeter of the rest of the square, making sure to loosen the soil to a depth of at least 6”. If necessary, augment with compost, coir fiber and THG’s All Purpose Pour n’ Feed to create a good growing medium.
You will be planting two rows of seeds: an inner row of sunflowers and morning glories and an outer row of flowering annuals. For the inner row, begin on one side of the entryway and plant the seeds for the tall sunflowers about 12” apart all around the square. Make sure there is a tall sunflower in each corner. Then plant the short sunflowers in between the tall ones. It is recommended to put two seeds in each hole so there are no gaps where a seed didn’t sprout. When the seedlings are 4-8” tall, snip back the weaker one.
Once the sunflowers have been thinned, plant the morning glory seeds at the base of each tall sunflower. To speed germination, nick each seed and soak overnight in SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ following the directions on the bottle. As they grow, train the vines to climb the tall sunflowers by directing them to the sunflower stems.
When the tall sunflowers are about four feet in height, it is time to create the roof structure. Use string or twine to weave a lattice across the open space in the middle. Go from sunflower to sunflower, from one side to the other, until you have a network of string across the top of the house. The sunflowers will raise the roof as they grow, and the morning glories will grow up the sunflowers and across the string to make a vibrant, colorful ceiling.
After the roof structure is in place, it is time to plant the outer row of flowering annuals. Zinnias are an excellent choice as they grow to be 2½ feet high and will add to the thickness of the walls. They are also superb cut flowers which the children may harvest to create beautiful bouquets.
Be sure to keep the inside of the house raked and weeded. You can also spread a layer of mulch to keep down the weeds. If you are going to grow a house year after year, you may want to plant a bed of clover as a soft ground cover. To finish off your sunflower house, add a blanket and a chair or two. You now have the perfect summer hide-a-way (or morning coffee spot) sure to enchant children and adults alike.

Plant Care:
As the plants grow, water and weed as needed. To reduce watering needs and suppress weeds, spread a 3-4” layer of mulch after the plants are established. Sunflowers need water to maintain a root system that can support their height. SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ contains root growth hormones, so watering once a month with a teaspoon diluted in a gallon of water is recommended. Remember to keep an eye out for pests. Our Foliar Feed sprays not only nourish but are also the perfect child-friendly pest control – try the Cinna-mint if you want an amazing aroma as well as ant control.

Notes:
If you plant in a windy area, it is a good idea to stake the sunflowers as once the flowers form, the plants tend to be top heavy.

posted by Jennifer Bateman, Independent THG Distributor

by Jennifer Bateman, Independent THG Distributor

A great way to get your children involved in gardening is to allow them to have ownership of the garden space. Most children love pizza, so planting a pizza garden is a fun activity where they will learn about plants and gardening and growing their own food. They can even give the excess to those in need through the Plant A Row for the Hungry national campaign of which The Happy Gardener is a proud Bronze Sponsor.

Getting Started:

To make things more interesting then the standard row or box, try creating a circular garden that is divided into pie-shaped “pizza slices” for the plants. Since raised beds are best, you can use plastic lawn edging to make a circle or recycle that old kiddy pool that’s been lying under your deck. If using the kiddy pool, be sure to either remove the bottom or make many, many holes to allow excess water to escape. Select a location that receives 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Lay out your circle and then remove all the grass as you don’t want grass popping up in the middle of your pizza. Kids love to dig in the dirt so let them go at it!

Once you’ve removed everything and loosened the top layer of soil, you’ll need to add more dirt to raise the bed above the level of the surrounding area. Since this is a child friendly project, you will need to mix your own chemical free dirt. Mixing equal parts of plain top soil, compost and coir fiber will give you a fantastic growing medium that won’t compact with watering and will allow good water retention and air circulation. Conditioning the soil with a child safe fertilizer like THG’s Pour n’ Feed for Vegetables & Edibles at the start of the growing season will insure that the plants have the nutrients they need.

You’ll then need to mark off the pizza slice sections. This can easily be done with heavy twine and some stakes to hold it in place. Put one stake in the center and the rest on the outside of the edging material. Run the twine from one side to the other wrapping around the center stake. This will provide structural support to keep the sides upright.

Plants:

While starting from seed is a fun activity, children often prefer the instant gratification that comes from seeing plants already growing in their garden. To make a great Italian style pizza, you’ll need at least:

Roma Tomatoes – Sweet Basil – Oregano

If you have a large enough circle or are using a kiddy pool, you’ll want to consider including:

Cherry Tomatoes – Green and Red Bell Peppers – Jalapeno Peppers – Onions – Parsley – Thyme

Make sure you select high quality plants with strong stems and healthy leaves.

Planting and Care:

Since tomatoes are tall, they will need to be staked or caged and placed on the northern most pizza slices so they don’t block the sun from the other plants. The rest of the plants can be spread out in the other slices as everyone “gets along” except onions and parsley so if you’re doing both, plant them as far apart as possible.

Water thoroughly with SeaResults Micronutrient Solution™ as soon as everything is in place to ease transplant shock. Spread a two inch layer of mulch to help suppress weeds and conserve moisture. While any type of organic mulch will work, using straw looks like pizza cheese and is fun for the kids.

Herbs can tolerate low water conditions, but tomatoes require at least one inch of water per week. If you have a problem with pests, make sure you use an organic pest control that is safe for food edibles. THG’s Outdoor Foliar Feed Plus and/or Foliar Feed Plus Garlic will do the job nicely.

Harvest:

With a bit of care, you’ll soon have enough produce to make your very own home-made pizza. The children will enjoy seeing the plants grow, the fruits and flowers form, and, most importantly, eating (sometimes right off the vine) the delicious food they’ve grown themselves. Please remember to donate some of the extra to your local Foodbank to help feed the hungry in your area.

Notes:

If you don’t have a large enough garden area, this activity can still be done in containers on your deck or patio using the largest you can find. You can use the same child safe soil mixture of plain top soil, compost, and coir fiber, but you’ll need additional moisture retention material like THG’s Store n’ Feed Mats and/or Store n’ Feed Gel. Plant one large plant in the center and the smaller ones around the edges. Make sure you don’t over crowd and remember that tomatoes will still need to be staked even if in a pot. Keep an eye on water levels as containers require more watering then gardens.