Creating a family garden can be a great experience that all family members can enjoy.
We’ve all been spending more time at home over the past year, and just about everyone is looking for inspiration on wholesome, healthy activities to keep the family safe, occupied and engaged. Many, especially those who live at Harvest in Argyle, Texas, are inspired to dig into family gardening to return to a more natural way of life that’s in touch with the earth and our area’s agrarian roots.
Harvest by Hillwood encourages everyone to experience the joy of gardening together. Creating a family garden is a rewarding activity that all ages can enjoy and will keep you and your children busy and healthy. Below you will find some family garden design ideas that are easy and inexpensive to execute. Whether you’re looking for DIY vegetable garden ideas to reduce your dependence on store-bought produce or need planting ideas for kids to keep them entertained, creating a family garden can be a fun, educational experience for all.
Did you know Harvest by Hillwood residents who might want to try some of our fun garden ideas have access to their own raised plot in our community garden? If you do not have a green thumb or are inexperienced with family gardening, Farmer Ross, Harvest’s on-site expert, is ready to provide the guidance you need to enjoy home gardening. Our community garden is just one reason families who value the farm-to-table lifestyle are moving to Harvest! Come see for yourself!
Your family garden will be rewarding if you invest a little bit of time and effort into making it a success. Getting your children involved in gardening activities can be a valuable experience for everyone. Creating a family garden teaches kids the value of hard work and responsibility while educating them about living a more natural lifestyle.
Keep a few things in mind as you formulate your home garden ideas:
If you want to start small, round up a few planting containers of different sizes. Almost any planters will do, just be sure there are drainage holes in the bottom. If there aren’t any holes, just add some with a drill. Add good garden soil then your plants and a top layer of mulch. Each child can tend their own container and if they are large enough, they can try more than one type of veggie!
A fun idea for planting a family garden is to create a pizza garden. This is one of our favorite planting ideas for kids because what kid doesn’t love pizza? The idea is to create a round outline in the garden area, then divide it into “slices” with edging, stones, or any kids of weather and food safe material. Next, plant easy-to-grow vegetables that make good pizza toppings such as peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, basil, etc. You can let each child be in charge of watering and weeding a couple of the slices, then use your harvest to top a homemade pizza! Yum!
Another unique way to plant a family garden is to create a sandbox garden. Use an old plastic sandbox (e.g., Little Tikes Turtle Sandbox, Step2 Naturally Playful Sand Table) as the base. Set it up in a spot that about six hours of sun early in the day and then afternoon shade. Drill holes every six to eight inches all over the bottom of the sandbox. If your sandbox will sit on the ground, set it up on pave stones and place a weed barrier fabric in the base of the sandbox. (If your sandbox is raised off the ground, you can skip this step.) Add a two inch layer of gravel, then some high-quality garden soil. Now add plants and finish with a layer of mulch to help keep the soil cool and retain water. If you want, create a small sandbox garden for each child!
Another of our favorite DIY garden ideas begins with vegetable scraps. Many parts of the vegetables that might normally end up in the compost pile can actually be used as the initial steps in planting a family garden. Celery, lettuce, cabbage, potatoes, green onion, and other veggies can be rooted indoors, and some will grow into edible produce this way.
Cut the base off a bunch of celery and place it in a shallow bowl of water in a sunny spot. The top should protrude from the water. Change the water every few days. The base will fade, but new growth will emerge in the center and soon you will have edible celery!
Green onions grow in a similar way. Place the white bulb with roots in a shallow glass of water with the green ends sticking out. The green shoots will begin to grow and continue to do so. Cut off the green tops and add to salad, pizzas, etc. Just keep changing the water.
Cabbage, romaine lettuce and bok choy can also be grown with the same method as celery. Starting out in a shallow dish of garden soil may be more effective, just keep it well watered for the first couple of weeks.
We’ve all seen potatoes grow eyes and sprout. You can insert toothpicks in a potato to keep just the bottom of the potato in the water. Check daily and add water if needed so the bottom of the potato remains in water. Once there are a good number of sprouts, transfer to the garden.
Harvest by Hillwood believes in farm-to-table living, and we want every family to know the joy that comes from creating a home garden with loved ones. Explore your options for living at Harvest by Hillwood today!