This spring I decided to take our side yard and give it a makeover. It went from ugly non-used space to a wonderful area filled with raised garden beds! It has become where we spend most of our time during the day.
We are learning how to care for our plants, watering them daily. Learning patience as we watch the seeds start to sprout. Waiting for the fruit or vegetable to appear. We are excited and curious and proud. 
My daughters are thrilled when a new plant appears, squealing over any ‘baby sprout’. I never get tired of hearing the shouts of “Mommy, quick come look!”. I hear my five year old explaining to her friends that growing food takes time. We’ve read books about seeds and plants. 
We’ve looked up the right time to harvest broccoli. Which is at any signs of yellowing no matter the size because that means it’s gotten too warm and will shoot up and flower. New broccoli heads will shoot off the main stalk. 🙂
My daughters pick salad every night for daddy and I and continue to ‘try’ lettuce daily just to see if maybe they like it yet 🙂
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Sometimes while they play they will decide they need a snack and will head to the garden. Carefully assessing whether something is ready to pick. Is it ripe enough? Big enough? Then savoring their choice. So far the only choices have been lettuce or broccoli 😉 
I love that we are doing this. Together. Our garden continues to teach us daily and I am extremely grateful ❤
Should send Chris to work with salad 🙂
Don’t forget herbs. Not too late for basil.
Craig
Ha! Hi 🙂 Yes, I should. Thanks for the tip. Herbs would be very nice. I’d probably use more of them then…
It’s great for the kids to see how things grow, especially when you get to eat it too. I love home grown broccoli, although so do the caterpillars. I couldn’t believe last year how many I found on just one head of broccoli. That’s organic for you, I guess!
Yes! The caterpillars here this year were horrible. They liked our raspberries more than the broccoli and we would spend time each day pulling them off the leaves. (Thankfully that is mostly over) We can’t wait for the rest of our garden to bear fruit. We still have potatoes, beets, peppers, kale, lemon cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, cherry tomatoes, baby watermelon, raspberries, strawberries and figs to look forward to! yum!!
Wow that’s a full market stall of produce! You lucky things. Do you have ideas on what to do with the excess though? One year we were so inundated with courgettes, we were eating them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, in cakes, you name it!
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