OaklandCityFarmer
Deeply Rooted
So, I thought I'd share this with all of you.
A few months ago, when we started building our chicken coop, the hammering and sawing an drilling attracted a few neighborhood kids. This was great! Free labor! Well over the course of several weeks they helped us put the coop together and do the small things (like climb roofs) that we couldn't or wouldn't do. Naturally I rewarded them with all the iced tea, lemonade, fruit and sandwiches they could drink and eat.
When we first introduced them to the chickens it was an amazing thing. Most of these kids have never even been out of the city, having lived in multi-story apartment buildings with a 10'x10' grassy area to play in. They played with the chickens, the fed them and just had a good time.
The biggest problem I was having though is they would jump the fence to get into our yard and would sometimes trample through the herb garden. I had to explain to them that we were growing things for ourselves to eat and they needed to more careful. Their eyes widened, "you mean you can grow stuff, here?!?!" So I went through this whole thing about explaining all the vegetable plants we had growing in the yard and how they grow and how we harvest them. The more I talked to them about it the more they wanted to know. Finally one kid said that he wanted to grow something. So I went into the house and brought out most of our seeds and told them they could pick anything and I'd pot it and they could take it home. Cherry tomatoes, onions, corn, marigolds, carrots and bell peppers were the selected seeds.
So I found a bunch of pots big enough for the plants they wanted, filled them with a soil mixture, explained to them how seeds work and how they should be taken care of and let them sow away. They all thanked me and took their pots home to grow them.
The other day I was pulling into the drive way and one little girl comes running from her house yelling, "One sprouted! One sprouted!" I congratulated her and told her to keep it moist and keep turning the pot to make sure it gets sun on all sides.
I'm not sure if they will get much from their seeds or how well they'll grow but the kids see to enjoy them and it keeps them busy!
Just thought I'd share.
-Carlos
A few months ago, when we started building our chicken coop, the hammering and sawing an drilling attracted a few neighborhood kids. This was great! Free labor! Well over the course of several weeks they helped us put the coop together and do the small things (like climb roofs) that we couldn't or wouldn't do. Naturally I rewarded them with all the iced tea, lemonade, fruit and sandwiches they could drink and eat.
When we first introduced them to the chickens it was an amazing thing. Most of these kids have never even been out of the city, having lived in multi-story apartment buildings with a 10'x10' grassy area to play in. They played with the chickens, the fed them and just had a good time.
The biggest problem I was having though is they would jump the fence to get into our yard and would sometimes trample through the herb garden. I had to explain to them that we were growing things for ourselves to eat and they needed to more careful. Their eyes widened, "you mean you can grow stuff, here?!?!" So I went through this whole thing about explaining all the vegetable plants we had growing in the yard and how they grow and how we harvest them. The more I talked to them about it the more they wanted to know. Finally one kid said that he wanted to grow something. So I went into the house and brought out most of our seeds and told them they could pick anything and I'd pot it and they could take it home. Cherry tomatoes, onions, corn, marigolds, carrots and bell peppers were the selected seeds.
So I found a bunch of pots big enough for the plants they wanted, filled them with a soil mixture, explained to them how seeds work and how they should be taken care of and let them sow away. They all thanked me and took their pots home to grow them.
The other day I was pulling into the drive way and one little girl comes running from her house yelling, "One sprouted! One sprouted!" I congratulated her and told her to keep it moist and keep turning the pot to make sure it gets sun on all sides.
I'm not sure if they will get much from their seeds or how well they'll grow but the kids see to enjoy them and it keeps them busy!
Just thought I'd share.
-Carlos
