A[nother] Peek OUTSIDE in our Play Garden: We're Planting Seeds!

Inch by inch, row by row, we're gonna make this garden grow! The play garden has been a major attraction for S as he explores the dirt and worms and slugs, plays in the water-table-turned-mud-kitchen, blows bubbles, doodles with chalk and has good old outdoor fun. He has really wanted to do some planting and once we passed a few good weeks of above-freezing temperatures through the night, I felt it was time.

Last year we did a massive planting experiment, starting a whole bunch of vegetable and herb seeds indoors earlier in the season. The summer was super hot (and I was pregnant with Y) and while all of our seeds sprouted and grew, only certain crops did particularly well. We are still enjoying our chives and some lettuce has returned from having gone to seed last fall. I did not want to bite off more than I can chew this year with over-planting in our little space and I also want it to be more toddler-friendly so that S can continue to play and work in the area throughout the season as our garden grows!

 I saved our seed packets and some seeds from last year for observation. This is such a great learning material! The photographs on seed packets depict the fully grown plant and it is fascinating to compare that to the same species in seed form. I originally snagged the idea last year from this blogger's post and brought my collection into my preschool classroom for the students to observe and explore under magnifying glasses. The packets and seeds fit perfectly into snack sized ziplock bags. It is such great fun to compare the size of the seed to the size of the fully mature plant/fruit. Do big vegetables always come from big seeds? Do the colors of the seed predict the color of the plant or fruit? Do seeds from similar types of vegetables all look the same? When we were done using these in my classroom, I brought them home to begin our garden adventure with a then much younger S. Now S loves to observe and explore the seed packets from last year. He even liked shaking the bags to compare the sound they all made or whether they made a sound at all. And he also really wanted to plant them!

I explained that I was not sure if these older seeds would still grow a year later (having been stored in less than optimal conditions). We made a plan to get some new seeds and S even planned out a few he wanted to grow in particular--beans and peas! Earlier this week we took a trip to our local hardware and garden shop and bought a selection of vegetable seeds to plant that did particularly well last year: beans, peas, carrots, radishes, and sweet peppers. S asked to grow some flowers as well so we picked out a pack of marigold seeds as well. We bought some starter pots but also recycled some of the pots we had left from last year. (This is where we discovered a wonderfully slimy collection of garden slugs to observe!) S helped fill pots with soil, poke holes for seeds, pull some weeds from our garden space and create space for the pots. He especially likes to help water. Y helped in his own right by not getting too annoyed at being outside in the heat and we've shortened our garden visits to accommodate his tolerance span with some enticing indoor activities so we can all make it back in without too many tears in the process!

We have plenty of play tools for the garden but I also enjoy introducing real tools to S along with supervision and instruction on how to use them safely and appropriately. All of our tools are accessible in the play garden for him to use and practice with. We practice using them in areas that open for digging/exploring. This may become more challenging once we transplant some of our plants directly into the garden, so I am glad we are already working on developing this skill.

He loved helping to scoop and pour the soil...

Busy growing (while S is busy playing)...

If it were up to S, we would probably live outside. He loves to play and explore. He also loves to collect natural treasures, like interesting rocks, sticks, acorns and pine cones, flowers that we allow him to pick (weeds) and more... I love having natural materials in the house for display, however, with limited space, we cannot always manage to save every single treasure he brings home. Additionally, I want to accustom him to leaving items from nature in nature for conservation. One way we worked with his infinite curiosity and growing collection was to have him create a special place to store and keep some of his found treasures outdoors. I labeled a small planting pot "S's Tiny Treasures" and he decorated it with some stickers. You can use a larger container if you'd like or choose one that is not breakable if you are concerned. (This was just a dollar store purchase so I'm not too worried.) If you are storing an open container outdoors, I do recommend something with drainage to avoid water collection or a tightly fitting lid if you do not intend to keep it open. S promptly filled his treasure jar with a couple of his favorite found sticks. They are used as "lawnmowers," "wands," "diggers" and more... It also makes it a lot easier to make it back inside when it's time now that S can store his found treasures and not feel sad about "putting it back" and going inside at the same time!

We are eagerly observing our seeds for signs of growth as we water, play, nurture and wait. We hope you'll join us on this journey from seed to plant to (hopefully) table! If you're looking for more great ideas on what to do with extra seeds and seed packets, here is another great article from a fellow blogger. We will see you next time and until then...

Happy Playing!