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Home › Articles › Preteenagers › How Does Your Garden Grow?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

A Four-step Approach to Gardening with Your Preteen

By Shel Franco

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4. Properly Maintain

  • Thoroughly saturate the ground an average of every three days. Make sure the soil is somewhat dry before watering again.

Help for Novice Gardeners

Sound like too much work? Don't fret. There are passionate planters waiting in the wings to help.

The Food For Everyone Foundation is a charitable foundation "dedicated to helping people throughout the world achieve individual and family self-sufficiency by using the best possible vegetable gardening methods and materials, consistent with a healthy ecology and environment."

The Food For Everyone Web site offers in depth instructions on how to garden using the Mittleider Method. You can also take things a step further and purchase specially designed software, like "The Garden Master CD", which makes a top-notch garden accessible to everyone.

Reaping What You Sow

When it comes to forming a closer family bond, Celia Ardmore has a hunch. "We don't have proof the gardening helped, but I do think the more time you spend together, the better it is for the parent/child relationship," she says. "Now, the next step is learning to be a great grandparent by gardening with my grandkids!"

A Letter to Your Preteen

Dear Preteen:

Do you want to know what you'll learn from growing a garden with Mom and Dad?

First thing, decide right now that you're going to enjoy it and have fun with it! Why? Because you're about to become a creator! You'll help bring about God's creative process – as you prepare the soil, place tiny seeds in the ground, then cover, water and care for them, new life will begin! Then you will nurture that life, and watch as it grows and changes daily. And in only two to three months' time, your plants will complete their life cycle, fulfill their purpose for existence and then return to the earth after feeding you and your family in payment for your loving care.

Plus, gardening is good exercise and very healthy – even before you eat the fresh corn and tomatoes. The fresh air and freshly turned soil smell wonderful. You'll discover there's nothing like it!

You'll also learn from your own experience where all food comes from, and that's something you can use all your life. It will also give you a new, valuable outlook on life and your place in it.

And gardening with your folks will certainly give you great memories of this special time with Mom and Dad, as well. Our daughters are all grown up now, but they still talk about the fun times we shared picking beans, corn and tomatoes. And they especially love to remember the great pumpkins they grew! Heather, our youngest – when she was only 8 years old – ran the garden all summer, and boy, was she proud of all the food she grew!

Just remember this: If you do your job well and learn how to grow a good garden, you'll never need to go hungry! Why? Because you can grow your own healthy food. And no matter where you go or what else you do in life, that knowledge will stay with you and help you. Isn't that great?

The best of success to you! Let me know how you are doing, and if you have questions, e-mail me at jim@growood.com. I'll help you and your folks to have a fabulous garden!

Good Luck,
Jim Kennard, President
Food for Everyone Foundation
"Teaching the world to grow food one family at a time."


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