Kid's Community Garden Week 1

October 2, 2020.

Our First Kid's Community Garden gathering. 8 kids and 8 adults showed up. Kids were so excited to start gardening with us!

We gave them a garden tour, they played with our goats, and then we got to work! We gave each kid a bucket and a pair of scissors, and taught them how to harvest peppers! They learned how to identify which ones were ready to pick, as well as how to cut them off of the plant. Once they got used to it, they were all about it! Out of nowhere, we started to hear kids laughing and screaming! Guess what they were doing? They were eating hot peppers right off of the plants! Serrano peppers, Thai Hot peppers, Scotch Bonnets, Banana Peppers, Chipotles, Poblanos... You name it! All it takes is one adult kid (my Husband) to start some trouble! Parents were shocked to see their kids, who normally never like eating peppers or "spicy" things start eating them! I was impressed when they didn't even miss a beat! Future chili growers! We do not use any chemicals for our veggies, so they can just wipe them off and eat them! 

From the "Corner Store," we headed to "Juicy Fruit Land" to harvest peanuts! The kids were yanking entire plants out of the ground! Little kids were teaming up with one another and pulling them out! Then, I heard "Gross, WORMS!!!" A teachable moment, the kids learned about "good worms" and "bad worms." Earthworms are very important! After they learned that earthworms are our friends, their fears of wiggling creatures lifted, and they kept right at it!

Next, we sowed Winter Rye and Garbanzo Beans in our "Sacrificial Land" plot. This will help amend the native soil. These crops work to grow bigger crops in the spring, and can be harvested for food. Double win! While we were in the fields, we also played with irrigation lines. We didn't get too wet, which bummed a few kids out. Maybe next spring, they can get soaked when we repair damaged lines! 

We covered a lot in 2 hours!

A moment that warmed my heart was when a family donated a 6 pack of Pansies to the Kid's Garden! We planted 6 Pansies where they decided to plant them. Kids were fighting to put these little plants in the ground!

At the end, everybody took some of their favorite peppers home. They were telling us how they are going to cook them. I am pretty sure parents were shocked to hear kids excited about eating peppers!

​We were so thrilled to see the kids enjoying every minute of their experience! They followed the rules. Especially the one about having fun! Also, washing hands between each task, before the water break, and at the end of our time together. Making sure we have good, clean fun!

We can't wait to see everyone next week! We are off to a great start!