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Growing up in Alabama, my mother always had a garden. When we lived in the country, the garden was on a plot below our house. But when we moved to Birmingham, my mom began gardening on some acreage at my grandfather’s house that was really a flood plain for Five Mile Creek. I ran the roto-tiller so I wouldn’t have to pick vegetables. I hated picking vegetables, especially okra and squash. But I loved the taste of fried okra and fresh tomatoes. As years went by, the vegetables from the grocery stores lost their taste, and soon, it was even hard to find good vegetables at farmer’s markets. I miss the taste of those freshly picked tomatoes, and now that I have young children; I want them to know that real vegetables are best grown at home, not bought at the grocery store.
So I decided to let them help me grow some herbs and tomatoes. Maybe we can find a large spot to grow a pumpkin. We really don’t have a lot of acreage at our disposal anymore. We sold Poppa Lollar’s house after he died, and the lake house is too far away to take care of a productive garden. So I picked up a few of the ubiquitous upside-down planters, and we have planted those with tomatoes, tomatillos, herbs and even peppers to make salsa verde, a favorite of both my daughters. I don’t know how effective we will be with this year’s crop, but I do know the girls will love seeing the plants bear fruit and when they eat what they have grown, it will have a special meaning to them.
For more family gardening post check these out Family Gardening Update Week Three , Garden Update Week Two, The Great Waiting Game for Our Topsy Turvy Vegetables to Ripen, and The Great Pumpkin and the IBEW Strike of 1966.
I too have a limited amount of space for a garden although we have 30 acres of hay. This year I used an old wooden gym set that my grandchildren have out grown. I bought 4 of the Topsy Turvy in which I planted tomatoes and hung them from where the swing chains were located. I then filled, what was once a sandbox on the gym set, with potting soil and planted cukes along with 2 okra plants. The upper section, where the platform for the slide was located, now holds 4 medium pots with banana pepper plants. I then set 3 large pots on the ground under the topsy turvies and planted bell peppers. Next year, I plan to build 2 more planters (4′ x 6′ x 8″) with treated lumber lined with tarps (the cheap kind that will allow water drainage but will protect from the acids released from the lumber) set them on concrete blocks and plant greens and herbs. My grandchildren are enjoying watching the garden grow and helping to water it.
Wow, what a great idea to use the old play-set. This is our first time using the inverted system. I thought it would be a novelty for the kids, but I too was curious. One of our staff here, had planted one last year with bad results. When I asked about what variety of tomato was used, I knew why the tomato had failed. Here in the southeast, our plants are subject to high heat, high humidity and the many maladies this recipe creates. Knowing that certain tomatoes perform better in these conditions I opted for Atkinson, a species developed for the southeast.
I found the first week of watching the inverted plants fascinating. Within one day the plants had turned and begun to grow towards the sun. Instead of inverted growth, the plants have turned skyward. Several of the plants are beginning to have blooms. Days are in the 90s here and nights barely fall into the 60s. So for these types of tomatoes, these are ideal conditions. Yesterday we planted the pepper bag. I was surprised at how much smaller the bag was than the tomato version of the Topsy Turvy. We planted Cowhorn, Anaheim, Poblano, Serrano and Jalapeño varieties. I also planted a Tomatillo in one of the available slots and the kids call this the salsa garden.
We spend weekends at the lake and I want to build a raised garden bed for watermelons and pumpkins there. The neighbors caution me that all I will be feeding are the deer, but with kids, they will get a kick out of watching the deer in the garden. I know your grandchildren will also enjoy helping with the garden and also enjoying the fruits of their labors at harvest time.
We would love to see pictures of the converted playground.
[...] more family gardening post check these out Gardening with Your Kids, Garden Update Week Two, The Great Pumpkin and the IBEW Strike of 1966. June 10, 2010 Post Under [...]
[...] more family gardening post check these out Gardening with Your Kids, Garden Update Week Two, Garden Update Third Week, The Great Pumpkin and the IBEW Strike of [...]
[...] more family gardening post check these out Family Gardening Update Week Three , Begin a Family Garden, Waiting on the Peppers and Tomatoes to Ripen, and The Great Pumpkin and the IBEW Strike of 1966. [...]
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