Weekly Gardening Thread -- Kids in the GArden

Kids Gardening and my pea brain ^ | Feb 8, 2008 | Gabz

[Gabz]

I seriously tried to cheat this week, because I'm running late, but the only source I found for the article I wanted to post is a prohibitted source, so I'm winging it!

My 9 year old daughter loves to help in the garden and has her own spots for whatever she wants to plant (she is much better with flowers than mom!)

The National Gardening Association has lots of ideas for getting kids interested in gardening at its Web site, Kids Gardening.

This month's feature on the website is a "Parents' Primer" which is chock full of ideas...."find out how to engage your children in outdoor explorations that cultivate their love of plants, gardening, and the environment."

[Gabz]

I only discovered this site this morning, but it is a topic I could talk about for hours. I was interviewed by a local newspaper last summer for a feature they were doing about coping with kids and summer vacation boredom and then wound up in a major discussion about it on the paper's blog/forum.

[Gabz]

Garden Ping!!!!!

Last week's thread including the typo in the title

I'm really running late getting this posted today, and I'm also getting ready to leave for a couple hours --- but I'll be BACK!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the article I originally wanted to post, but couldn't because of copyright.

[diamond6]

I have a gardening question!! My bay leaf tree has this funky fungus growing on it. They look like little white dots on the back of all of the leaves, then the top of the leaf gets this powdery like brown stuff on it.

What the heck is it!?

[Gabz]

Yikes - it sure does sound funky. Hopefully some of our resident experts (I am definitely NOT among them) will be popping in and will be able to answer your question.

[metmom]

You just can’t get a kid who HATES bugs into gardening.

But she sure likes to eat what I plant.

[Gabz]

I understand your point, but you never know what might happen — I am grossed out by most bugs and am terrified of getting stung :)

I’ve got to run — we have to get to the insurance agent with a letter from a local fire chief explaining that we do live within the allotted 7 miles from the fire house so that our home owners insurance isn’t cancelled tonight. Be back in a bit.

[gardengirl]

great article, Gabz! Loved the one yest from blam about seed saving.

The easiest way to get kids interested in gardening is to let them follow you around. Some of my best childhood memories involve doing just that—following my gma around, playing with her tools, watching what she did, picking fresh raspberries/strawberries, mimicking.

Children are great imitators, and that’s how they learn. I shadowed my parents in the garden and rode the tractor with dad while he was plowing/harvesting.

The garden center where I work is across the ballfield from the elementary school. The kids love to come over here, and we love to have them. You can tell right away which ones like growing things! As soon as they step inside the greenhouse, it’s immediately apparent. It’s either—Man, it smells so good in here or—it stinks. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground!

Give the kids their own place to plant/tend and let them have at it. Dirt is one of the greatest inventions ever! There’s nothing like walking barefoot in a freshly plowed field, or just working your hands into the soil. My hubby still can’t understand why I refuse to wear gloves!

Just ask Diane! We get paid to play in the dirt all day and watch things grow! How cool is that?!

[gardengirl]

Good luck with the ins! Do you also live in a flood zone?!

[chickpundit]

One fun idea is a sunflower fort: http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_structures_other/article/0,,HGTV_3639_3618592,00.html My kids and I tried one last year. I grew in the sunflowers in a separate container, and they helped me plant them all out. It didn't turn out quite like I had the hoped, but they sunflowers still turned out beautiful. We planted morning glory seeds to fill in the gaps. You're supposed to to tie strings across the tops of the sunflowers so the morning glories can make a roof. Well, not all of the morning glories sprouted, and those that did were victims of my husband's weed wacker :) He thought the MGs were weeds, and I forgot to tell him otherwise. It was still fun for my kids to watch the tremendous growth of the sunflowers. Here's a pic: Sorry, I don't know why my whole post is crowded like this. I'm probably doing something wrong picture-wise.

[gardengirl]

What area do you live in, and are the bays native to your area or something you have transplanted or have in the house?

We have several varieties of native ones here. Not sure what fungus you have, but I know the ones here get galls on their leaves and look terrible close up. It’s just the way they are. :)

The smell of the flowers more than makes up for the ugly plants. They’re an understory tree, don’t like to be out in the open where they’re way too exposed.

[Red_Devil 232]

I received the fig trees I had ordered yesterday afternoon and will be planting them today. The figs I will be planting are a Brown Turkey, Celestial and a Black Jack. I also received a Hood Pear tree as a Lagniappe? I did not order the pear tree.

I want to plant the figs in a line what kind of spacing should I use? I guess I will put the Hood pear tree in the same line. Does it need different spacing?

I looked up the the Hood Pear on the Internet and one article said it needed a pollinator. Other searches and articles did dot say anything about a pollinator. Does it need one and if so what would be the pollinator.

[gardengirl]

Lagniappe is such an all around pleasing word! The sound and the spelling and the way it rolls off your tongue. Don’t you love it?!

On the figs, 10’ is probably good. They get huge here.
Don’t know about the pear tree. I’m not familiar with that variety. The most popular one here is Keiffer. It’s an old keeping pear. Hard, and it comes off about the middle of Aug.

[Red_Devil 232]

It is a great word. I lived in Lafayette - New Iberia, La. area for about 17 years. Langiappe is just one of those nice things happen when you don't expect it. It can be just a small gesture, like when you buy a book and get a book mark. Or it can be small and turn out to be big like when I went to a friends crawfish boil and just happened to meet my future wife.LOL

After posting I did another search and found this on one web site, "Pollinate with COURTHOUSE, FLORDAHOME, BALDWIN, PINEAPPLE or LE CONTE". Looks like I need another Pear tree

[gardengirl]

Some catch!!!

Fruit trees are hard to grow around here because it doesn’t get cold enough and there are just too many bugs and diseases that like fruit as much/more than we do.

Keiffer does well because it doesn’t need a polinator and as far as I can tell, nothing except hurricanes bother them in the least. Don’t need to be sprayed, don’t even seem to care if they’re ever pruned.

There used to be a lot of fruit trees in my town. Some of the older folks still remember, and there’s one pear tree left—across the street from the garden center. I’m guessing all the older varieties did better and they’ve gradually died out. The newer hybrids don’t fare well. Too sissified.

[diamond6]

Fresno.

My tree has never had flowers.

[gardengirl]

Wonder if we’re talking about the same plant? What we have here is a magnolia relative, with big white blooms, not as big as magnolia but still very fragrant. The leaves—big, about hand sized, are glossy green on top and silverish underneath— can be used in cooking, but I don’t know anyone here who does so.

I did some quick research. Didn’t come up with much except that they do well in your area. One article said there were male and female plants.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Children should only be used in the garden as LABOR. However, the trick is to make them think it’s FUN!

How’s that? ;)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Hate to tell ya this, Darlin’, but your Bay Laurel Tree may have Sudden Oak Death:

“In non-oak species, symptoms vary from the appearance of dead spots on leaves, in the case of California bay laurel and madrone...”

http://www.mattole.org/html/publications_article_45.html

I would consult a local arborist, ASAP. They’ll know if it’s serious or not. Hopefully it’s just an “environmental factor” which is the term I use up here when I can’t figure out what is bothering a local tree or shrub. ;)

[tubebender]

That was pretty strange to see a link to my back yard on the SOD here in Humboldt County. We call the Bay tree Pepperwood here in Calif and in Ore they call it Myrtlewood. Beautiful dense wood for making bowls on a lathe.

[cyborg]

I think gardening is a fine thing for kids to do. Gardening is a physical AND spiritual activity.