My Junior Gardeners

OK. So I've been gardening my ass off these past few weeks and I'm more addicted than ever to playing in dirt! If it weren't for my horrible allergies this year, I'd be in a state of nirvana, I'm sure. My goal is to turn my girls on to vegetables the same way I was; by getting them involved in the growing of vegetables, then enjoying the fruits (or vegetables) of their labour mere moments after the veggies have been picked... and I'm optimistic that it's going to work. I grew up in a more rural setting and worked on farms from a young age, picking tomatoes, peppers, beans, etc. It was hard work but I developed a taste for ultra fresh, raw vegetables, as a result of some routine, necessary quality control testing that I conducted while toiling away in the fields (*wink*.) You'd be hard pressed to find a vegetable I don't like.

Jaz and Jenna aren't huge fans of cooked vegetables. But let me place a plate of raw, assorted gems like cherry tomatoes, crisp, sweet carrots, even broccoli and cauliflower in front of them and they just light up. Finger foods are almost always a hit with little people. So if it's raw veggies they want, raw veggies is what they'll get! And since all these veggies are in essence free foods, I can let Jenna fill her boots. It's such a win-win situation.

So I'm out there everyday checking our veggie patch to see what is emerging from the soil and I make sure my girls are right there beside me to watch the magic happen. They seem to be loving the whole experience! However, the curiosity and lack of patience that a three and five year old possess is making it necessary for me to explain almost everyday why they can't pull up a radish or carrot just yet since the earth isn't finished making it. I'm just hoping we have something to harvest this summer before curiosity gets the better of them!