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Show 1 O O CL T5 ( w h- D Z z uu Q uu O c Homegrown lessons await children in the garden this summer By Debra Hart As school lets out and kids seek treatment for boredom, bore-dom, count on them to help out in the garden. A garden can provide a great "summer school" in the fresh air. Planting and harvest time offer chances to help young children practice counting, sorting and matching skills. Older children will find lots of homegrown lessons in math with counting the seeds, plants and harvest; planning scheduling plantings, fertilizing, watering and harvesting; learning the economics of buying the seeds, fertilizer, tools along with selling the harvest and providing food for the family; and charity in sharing the garden's excess with others. Together, Lisa Harrell and her 5-year-old son Austen, of Saratoga Springs, recently started a variety of seeds indoors for their summer garden. As they read the planting directions direc-tions together, they discussed measurements and depth using Austen's pinky finger to estimate the depths of a quarter and half inch for planting their seeds. They also practiced counting as they planted and studied the passage of time while marking their garden's schedule on the calendar. "He was able to comprehend the calendar and count how many days it should take for his seeds to come up," said Lisa. "He learned you have to follow directions and do things in sequence." "It is seeing where food comes from and what is involved," said Mary Lifferth of Eagle Mountain. "I like that they experience working work-ing and seeing the results of their work." She involves her five children in organizing, preparing, planting, watering and harvesting their family's garden. Equipped with the correct tools and enough imagination, kids are great weed warriors and bug busters. Make a game of it to see who can gather the most weeds, the tallest weed, the weed with the longest root, the biggest tomato hornworm, the most squash bugs, etc. Harvest time is the most rewarding adventure as each child helps pick the fruits of their labor. "(The kids) really enjoy picking, it's like a big party to go down and pick the food," said Lifferth. As a mother, she is thrilled because her children seem to eat more vegetables vegeta-bles when they come from their own garden. "If you do it as a family, and it's not just a chore, they are apt to enjoy it more," said Kevin Card of Highland. "If it is something they like to eat, that tends to get them more excited. Another thing that gets (kids) excited is unusual things such as giant pumpkins, giant sunflowers or giant corn stalks." Involving your kids in gardening will keep their minds and hands active during the summer. It will also give you a chance to count your blessings while you harvest special memories of your children's youth and food for your table. Debra Hart can be reached at Leosbanjoaol.com when she is not sowing her garden in Eagle Mountain. Keep your roots right By Debra Hart The Lindsay family of Eagle Mountain has figured out the perfect way to keep their homegrown root vegetables garden crisp and fresh all winter long. They purchased a junk refrigerator refrigera-tor with the Freon removed and cut off the back side with a saw (with a blade designed for metal). In then-back then-back yard, the family dug a deep hole and buried the ice box, backside down, with the lid at ground level to create a root cellar. The lid conveniently opens up for easy access and the vegetables are stored in mesh bags on the raw dirt below. "It has worked wonderfully for cold crops such as carrots and potatoes," pota-toes," said Mark Lindsay. Mark ventilated the refrigerator's lid with two pipes to allow air to circulate cir-culate underground (with a J bend on top to keep out rain and snow). He also recommends a non-locking door, so kids cannot get trapped inside. According to Lindsay, the family used to store potatoes in the cold storage area of their home. However, half way through winter, the spuds would get soft and begin to sprout. With their outdoor, ice boxroot cellar, potatoes stay crisp and just-picked just-picked fresh all winter long. "They've stayed perfect," said Mark. "I'm really pleased with it." u i t K . i - , ' ' T - w . '-w f," m1 Photo By Debra Hart Suzanne Lindsay of Eagle Mountain, on left, works with Richard, 5, to add a row of cabbage seeds to their starter plants for their summer garden. Plant something in your yard that will get noticed. . . www.buywisereaItor.com I (Si ' Prudential I: e 2 i i I I i 1 Sellers! With over 4000 homes on the market in Utah Valley, you need a professional to help get your home SOLD---' Buyers! Weeding through the market can be tough -1 can help you find your dream home! . Gail Uhhii l 01.376.900 Prudential Utah Real Estate i i,. J, m Linda , Affi61tflifff!a!! sense! |