Gardening used to be a common part of life for most families. My grandparents and my in-laws all reminisced about eating food they grew in their own backyards. They would preserve what they couldn’t eat right away, ensuring they had enough to last through the winter.
Nowadays, when you ask kids where food comes from, many will say something like “the grocery store.” I believe we need to change this and reconnect with gardening.
Gardening offers numerous health benefits. You get Vitamin D from the sun, the immune-boosting benefits of interacting with soil, and a direct connection to your food supply. If you involve your children in gardening, it’s a great way to spend quality, screen-free time together, and it might even encourage them to enjoy vegetables since they helped grow them.
For kids, a garden is an outdoor classroom. Most kids love planting seeds and taking care of plants when given the chance. While some studies suggest that gardening can enhance academic performance, the lasting life lessons and sense of purpose it provides are even more valuable.
With food prices on the rise, gardening is also a cost-effective way to ensure your family has access to organic, high-quality produce.
When my husband and I first got married, and even up until our third child, we lived in an apartment with little or no yard space. A full-sized garden wasn’t possible, but I found that small gardens can work too. We had herbs in the kitchen and some plants in containers both indoors and outdoors. I wish I had thought of making a planter box back then, as it would have helped us grow more in our small space.
Even in a small apartment with a balcony, you can grow some greens in containers or even microgreens on your kitchen counter if there’s no outdoor space. I challenge you to grow something—anything—this year.
I wanted a sturdy planter box to grow herbs, greens, and other plants, which could be moved around for sunlight as needed. My dad and my two boys helped create this planter box, and now it’s home to kale, lettuce, and herbs on our patio. The box is 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 24 inches high and is made from six 5/8” by 6” by 6’ dog-eared cedar fence slats and one 1 by 2 cedar board.
Do you have a garden or a patio planter? What are you growing this year?
