You can tell that spring is around the corner when Wal-Mart and K-Mart put out the garden displays. This spring why not start a fun summer-long project with your kids of any age: plant a garden in the backyard.

Go to the backyard and let your child pick a small patch of ground to be his or her garden. Then, go to Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Rural King, or wherever and let your child pick out a few seed packets to plant. You may have to help them make appropriate choices for your garden size and climate, but mostly let them decide. When the soil temperature is just right go out and work the soil in a fun way and plant the seeds. Use a calendar to set aside time to water and weed the garden. Also, mark on the calendar when the time of harvest should be, which is usually found on the back of the seed packets.

Use the garden to teach how different plants take longer to grow, how some only bear one fruit (radish), while others bear fruit all season long (tomatoes).  Teach them how some plants have to die and dry out before you use them, such as beans that you want to dry on the vine before you pick, so you can make soup later in the year. At the end of the season you can teach how some plants go to seed for next year (lettuce). There are many things you can teach with a garden, and have fun while doing it. (03/13/2000)

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