Tag Archives: garden

Family Gardening #10: Foraging + Farm Fun

P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan

YUMMY!!!

Pick-your-own strawberry season!

You’ve Got Options!

Your family has so many options in addition to trying to grow your own fruits, veggies, and flowers in your home spaces.

There are plenty of local farms that would love for your family to participate in purchasing veggies or pick-your-own berries as a great outdoor fresh air activity. My hubby just picked 10 lbs of strawberries this morning at a local farm and we treated ourselves to making homemade biscuits and coconut cream to pair with them. Yumalicious!

And even nearer to home there may be many options for you to safely forage for “free” foods simply by using reliable resources like the one above to identify what is OK and edible versus not OK. If in doubt don’t! Check and double check! Safety First!

These strawberries were fun to forage on a hot day in our meadow as the sunshine ripened berries, although tiny, were so full of flavor and very much treasured.

Recently my son found these chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms and easily gathered many pounds in just a few days from one source. He fried it up in our wok and most of the family has been enjoying it all week in sandwiches and stir-fry and the rest easily goes in the freezer (already cooked).

 P.L.A.Y. Check In – How Are Things Growing?

Do you have any foods or flowers that are attracting your attention or perhaps the attention of local bugs, birds, or 4-legged critters?

We are enjoying the challenge of trying to keep up with eating our lettuce greens and our dark kale greens that all are currently coming in abundance. Thankfully we can freeze the dark greens to use in soups and smoothies so we’ve placed an emphasis on the salad green eating.

My daughter’s butterfly garden is blooming quite nicely with a variety of flowers and colors and plenty of winged visitors!

Hope your garden spaces are greening up!

Notes:

  • This series will continue to follow the seasons and growing patterns according to living here in a Zone 5 northern New England climate and you’ll need to adjust accordingly.
  • The specific gardening needs you have can simply be answered using your favorite search engine online seeking DIY instructions as well as library eBooks and audiobooks (especially as we are all asked to continue to P.L.A.Y. in Place at the time of this posting).
  • P.L.A.Y. is here to encourage you and your family on your gardening journey simply by posting some of our experiences as inspiration and basic prompts to growing food and flowers.

More P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan Family Gardening HERE

This P.L.A.Y. series is for everyone! Pass it on!

  • If you are new to gardening this series is designed to encourage you and your family to take small steps towards growing foods and flowers of any kind and any amount.
  • If you’ve tinkered with gardening in the past and things didn’t always work out this series is here to encourage you to try again AND do it as a family focusing on each individuals strengths to help it all come together.
  • This series will offer up suggestions for basic leaping off points where you and your family can begin and choose to deep dive or keep it simple in the world of gardening.
  • Most of all this series will be a source of encouragement and hopefully an inspiration to simply get in the dirt (aka garden) and P.L.A.Y. and the rest will “bee what it will bee”.

Simply BEE!

Summer #31 – Nature Alliteration Adventure

Purchase Here – P.L.A.Y. Nature Alliteration Adventure Guide Books

❤ ❤ ❤

A June treasure quest for you & your curious Capkin

is to search in nature for . . .

“Purple or Pink Pokey Pop-ups”

Bonus – Purple + Pink + Green

❤ ❤ ❤

My curious Capkin & I found this treasure to match the description.

❤ ❤ ❤

What other natural treasures did you find in your P.L.A.Y. today? 🙂

Draw, write, color, and creatively capture your discoveries

on the pages of your Nature Adventure book!

Family Gardening #6: Strengthen Your Seedlings

P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan – Time to Get Growing!

Seedlings just about ready to see their new outdoor home!

WHO?

This is all about you and your family. ❤

Time to P.L.A.Y. and dig in the dirt and get things growing!

WHAT?

Plan A: Your seedlings are just about ready to head outdoors.

Plan B: If your seeds never really took, no worries, head out to your local garden center with a short list of plants you’d like to try and be sure to thank these folks for all their expertise in getting those seeds to grow and providing you with the option of starter plants!

WHERE? WHEN? HOW?

Backyard Bliss!

Plan ahead by checking your local weather conditions as both the plants and your family members will appreciate being outdoors and digging in the new garden when it is “warmer and not wetter”!

In this month of May my family members continue to take their seedling trays of veggie + flower plants in and out of the house as a daily practice.

By placing the seedlings out in mid-morning on the south side of the house they are receiving warmth, sunshine, and getting more sturdy with the gentle breezes.

They bring them back in at night as the temperatures still fall into the 30’s up here in New England.

WHY?

Family Gardening continues to be a perfect P.L.A.Y. in Place Plan as it has been since before Victory Gardens in the early 1900’s with bonus benefits of being in nature throughout the seasons, growing foods and beneficial flowers, and being able to be right in your own backyard!

 P.L.A.Y. Connection Opportunities:

Have your family members look up Victory Gardens and discover their origins and purpose. If you have a multi-generational family living situation you may have the benefit of asking an elder family member what they remember of those times or if their parents had told them stories of that era.

Also, as a side note, be sure to put planting bulbs on your autumn “to do” list so that when spring rolls around next year there will be instant beauty and gardening inspiration popping-up right outside your door! Family members could begin looking up which type of bulbs they would like best and the locations that suit them.

Early blooms from bulbs appear at our home as a Curious Capkin takes in the gorgeous sight and spring scent!

Notes:

  • This series will continue to follow the seasons and growing patterns according to living here in a Zone 5 northern New England climate and you’ll need to adjust accordingly.
  • The specific gardening needs you have can simply be answered using your favorite search engine online seeking DIY instructions as well as library eBooks and audiobooks (especially as we are all asked to continue to P.L.A.Y. in Place at the time of this posting).
  • P.L.A.Y. is here to encourage you and your family on your gardening journey simply by posting some of our experiences as inspiration and basic prompts to growing food and flowers.

More P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan Family Gardening HERE

This P.L.A.Y. series is for everyone! Pass it on!

  • If you are new to gardening this series is designed to encourage you and your family to take small steps towards growing foods and flowers of any kind and any amount.
  • If you’ve tinkered with gardening in the past and things didn’t always work out this series is here to encourage you to try again AND do it as a family focusing on each individuals strengths to help it all come together.
  • This series will offer up suggestions for basic leaping off points where you and your family can begin and choose to deep dive or keep it simple in the world of gardening.
  • Most of all this series will be a source of encouragement and hopefully an inspiration to simply get in the dirt (aka garden) and P.L.A.Y. and the rest will “bee what it will bee”.

Simply BEE!

Family Gardening #4: Keep Sowing Seeds to Make Seedlings!!

P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan – Time to Get Growing!

WHO?

This is all about you and your family. Time to P.L.A.Y. and Grow!

WHAT?

This week continue to sow seeds and magically make seedlings!

~ More Inspiration Below Next Photo! ~

Reminder: This series will continue to follow the seasons and growing patterns according to living here in a Zone 5 northern New England climate and you’ll need to adjust accordingly.

WHY?

P.L.A.Y. is here to encourage you and your family on your gardening journey simply by posting some of our experiences as inspiration and basic prompts to growing food and flowers.

WHERE? WHEN? HOW?

The specific gardening needs you have, including how to specifically sow and tend to seedlings, can simply be answered using your favorite search engine online seeking DIY instructions as well as library eBooks and audiobooks (especially as we are all asked to continue to P.L.A.Y. in Place at the time of this posting).

Nothing fancy required simply some containers, soil, water, seeds and sunlight!

Sowing Seeds to Magically Make SEEDLINGS!

  1. Refer to posts #1, #2, and #3 in this Family Gardening series to get up to speed on making seedlings.
  2. Start to plan where the seedlings will be planted outdoors including how much space and most ideal conditions for the types of plants you chose. With foods consider having some fencing to keep critters out and how much space you need between plants. With flowers consider if they will go in the ground or in pots and how the colors will compliment each other.
  3. While you patiently wait for the seedlings to grow and for the ground outside to be ready to receive them also consider trying more of the following ideas to engage with your family and the plant process.

Creative P.L.A.Y.-filled Connection Opportunities:

  • Suggest family members take photos or keep a garden journal to record the growing process including what seems to be working, what needs to be worked on, how things look – height, size, color, and the overall seedling process.
  • Write stories or poems or silly sentences about the seedlings and how they grew. I’ve always found it funny to call some of the seedlings “leggy” when they get too thin and tall.
  • If you have a family member that loves making calculations they can start charting how much food might be produced from a single seedling or the cost of the seeds and materials vs. the cost to purchase the food at the store. Loads of data sifting could begin now and in the future for those that are drawn to plotting and graphing things out (one of my own family members comes to mind!)
  • Start discussing recipes you might like to look up and try that make use of your garden foods as then it will be easier to jump right into the kitchen when the food ripens.

More P.L.A.Y. in Place with a Plan – Family Gardening HERE

This P.L.A.Y. series is an offering to ALL:

  • If you are new to gardening this series is designed to encourage you and your family to take small steps towards growing foods and flowers of any kind and any amount.
  • If you’ve tinkered with gardening in the past and things didn’t always work out this series is here to encourage you to try again AND do it as a family focusing on each individuals strengths to help it all come together.
  • This series will offer up suggestions for basic leaping off points where you and your family can begin and choose to deep dive or keep it simple in the world of gardening.
  • Most of all this series will be a source of encouragement and hopefully an inspiration to simply get in the dirt (aka garden) and P.L.A.Y. and the rest will “bee what it will bee”.

Simply BEE!

BOOK LOOK – Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller & Anne Wilsdorf

 ~ ~ ~ BOOK LOOK ~ ~ ~

Sophie’s Squash

by Pat Zietlow Miller & Anne Wilsdorf

Karen’s short + long of it with P.L.A.Y.ful story preview & P.L.A.Y.-filled activity adventure suggestions.

P.L.A.Y.ful story preview (short):

Farmer’s Market Friend

Sophie’s Right Size Squash

Friends For Life – Growing a Friendship Garden

U-Be-U

P.L.A.Y.-filled activity adventure suggestions (long):

  • Challenge: If you were to make friends with a fruit/vegetable/flower/plant in the garden or at a farmer’s market what would it be? What would you name it?
  • Super Challenge: Set up a picnic or serve tea near to your new garden friend and talk about all the amazing adventures you will have once the fruit/vegetable/flower/plant is full grown.
  • Super-Duper Challenge: Sometimes P.L.A.Y. requires patience like saving seeds from this year’s garden friend to plant more next year. If you’d like to try Sophie’s choice and have a butternut squash to plant in the spring to watch new “friends” grow try this: Wash the seeds to remove the sticky parts and lay them out in a single layer to let air dry for up to a week (do not dry in direct sunlight). Place in labeled envelopes for spring/summer gardening adventures.

*Special Shout going out to Emma S. who is a Super butternut Squash grower and lover of Squash the whole year through! Hugs & Smiles~KLW

Capkins LOVE to be read to – especially playful nature themed story books!

  Be sure to visit and support your local library = All Good! ❤ ❤ ❤