Friday, April 15, 2011

Kinder Garden

My son's teacher has graciously allowed this gardening fanatic to transform one little plot of roughly 1x8x6 triangle of dirt into a thriving food center.

I'm very excited to do my lesson in biodynamic farming for the class. I can't wait to ask them where they think carrots come from, or the chicken they eat every night and plant the seeds in their little minds that farming needs to be a symbiosis - not a dump of petrochemicals and poisons.

We'll talk about worms, castings, compost, humus, and the difference between the super market, the farmers market, a CSA (community supported agriculture) and your own back yard. We'll talk about animals and their role in making the food we eat. I can't wait to start brainwashing them into the correct way of treating our Earth if we want to survive.

Oh, little minds are like sponges. Can't wait until they go home to their parents who send them to school with snacks of moon pies, orange peanut butter crackers, and Cheetos, and say, "Mom, can we have a garden?" or "Mom, I want to go to the farmers market." "Haha - I've won!" I'll say to myself when this little exercise ifs over.

But we all know the truth, I'll only reach 1% of the class, and that's 3 kids. One of the kids will be my own, the others will be kids of families who already do it the way I do. The sad fact of the matter is - most kids love instantaneous fatty sugary high empty caloric low nutrition food. It satiates our addictive natures, fills our quick energy needs and fat stores, starting the starving response - I WANT MORE!!! We eat more and then want more...the cycle never ends.

I digress. This is my chance to make a difference and it feels INCREDIBLE. I want to do this for our Earth, for their bellies and minds and for their SPIRIT. Growing food is incredibly satisfying and wonderfully healthy when done correctly.

We're growing:
Strawberries, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, zucchini, peas, sage, parsley, rosemary, thyme, and marigolds.

I am using starts so that by June, we'll have something to show for ourselves.

I'll be using some interesting techniques to use every inch of space given to us, including the fence. I would have loved more, but the plot is small, and we want to make food for our garden party out of our veggies and fruit.

I'm going to take pictures of our excited!

1 comment:

Courtney said...

I love it!!! Good for you for doing something wonderful for your son and his friends!!! I think kids are so smart and many times all we have to do is plant the seeds in their head and sooner or later it will grow! You are a true inspiration!
Good Luck!