Growing a Rainbow Garden

 

"Rain, rain, go away!  Come again another day!" My children have been singing this for months.  We had a few glorious sun breaks, but the rain still seems to dominate much of our season.  As they pout about not being able to go outside, I attempt to share with them the many great things that the rain does here in the Pacific Northwest.  The rain keeps our grass green and helps our trees and plants to grow.  Plus, without  those dramatic downpours we would never have one of the rain's great rewards, the natural wonder of a rainbow. 

 

For a moment they think I'm incredibly smart and we change our chant to, "April showers, bring May flowers."  Knowing it won't last, and with rainbows and May flowers in mind, we came up with a fun garden project to keep those little hands busy, and give them a little garden grounding so they feel some of the outdoors while confined inside.

We decided on growing a rainbow.  It’s an easy, inexpensive and fun project for kids of all ages.

 

 

Step One:  Go to Al's to pick out your seeds and supplies. In April there are some great seed options that can be started indoors and then transplanted outside in May when the weather is warmer.  Edibles come in a rainbow of colors; there are even rainbow blend varieties.  Part of the fun of growing your rainbow is picking out which seeds to represent your red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.  Look for seeds that are easy to grow and vegetables that your child likes to eat.  Some examples are sugar snap peas, pumpkins, and cherry tomatoes.  You can throw in some fun, unusual varieties such as purple carrots and Easter Egg radishes.  Plant some sunflower seeds to add bright sunshiny yellow to your garden.  The options are only limited by your imagination.  Half of the fun is letting your child help you pick what to grow.    If your kids are young this is a great time for them to learn how color can literally come to life.  In addition to your color selection of seeds, here is complete list of 
supplies you'll  need:
 

* Rainbow Selection of Seeds
* Al’s Premium Organic Potting Soil
* Small Jiffy Pots or 4” Containers
* Plastic Planting Tray
* Plant Labels 

 

Step Two:  Fill your pots with Al’s potting soil.  Dampen the soil lightly with water.  Decide which seeds you want to plant first.  **Important Tip** Write out the labels ahead of time so that you can place them in your pot when you are putting in the seeds. We learned our lesson the hard way, as we were trying to uncover seeds to see which we had in the pot after the happy 2 year olds mixed pots up.  This is also a great time for your kids to practice their spelling and penmanship.

Step Three:  Place 1 or 2 seeds in each pot, depending on the variety.  Read through the information on the seed packet so your child knows how deep to plant the seeds and learns more about each variety.

Step Four:  Place the labeled pots together in a plastic plant tray so that they can be watered without creating a mess inside. 

Step Five:  Set the tray indoors near a sunny window.  You can cover the pots with Saran Wrap to help the seeds germinate faster, but make sure that the pots don’t get too wet.  Now just sit back and watch them grow!  As your seeds begin to sprout, thin out any pots that have more than 1 seedling.  This will help the remaining seedling to become stronger.  Water as needed, but don’t let the pots sit in water.

Once your plants are well rooted and the weather has warmed up enough outside, transplant your seedlings into a raised bed or vegetable garden.  Keep a journal from the seed packets of how long it takes each variety to mature and directions on planting them outdoors.

Note:  If you decide to start this project in May instead of April there are a lot of vegetable and fruit starts that you can plant directly in your garden to grow a rainbow of color, too.

Enjoy the whole process through your child’s experience and remember, when the hot sun is beating down, the pesky rain helped you get to this point.  Once the vegetables are ready to harvest, share the joy of eating your own vegetables fresh from the ground and from your own hands.  Make a salad with a rainbow of vegetables.  You will be surprised at how many more vegetables your child will like and be willing to try when she grew them herself.  *