The thread under pests:Children, got me curious. (See my post there first.)Most of the adults I know who were forced to garden a lot as a child do not garden now. What was your childhood experience in this area and how did that effect your gardening choices/experiences today?
What was your gardening experience, if any, as a child?
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patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
I was forced to garden a lot as a kid -- required to have my own flower and veg plot, weed mom's veg garden, help transplant, carry orchids back and forth from greenhouse to shade arbor and vice versa, water endless houseplants, etc. Mom was especially big on starting a bazillion annuals from seed and then having to put them out all over the place. I HATED having to help (although of course I still liked looking at mom's flowerbeds and eating the garden produce 
), and swore I would never get sucked into gardening when I grew up.
As an impoverished grad student with a very very well-aged goat manure pile right next to where I spent most of my days while doing field experiments, I decided that perhaps vegetable gardening might have its merits. Tomatoes, tomatillos, hot peppers, okra, melons, beans.
Also as an impoverished grad student, I became aware that the botany dept' greenhouse often threw out divisions of some really really neat obscure plants, which we could have for free if you happened to be around at the right moment. So I started accumulating houseplants, none of this 'spiderplant, philodendron' stuff, more like Rhipsalis and those sort of four-sided succulent things with the flowers that smell like fermenting socks in a latrine (forget the name), that kind of thing.
But no flowers. Til, during my second postdoc, I had an apartment with a balcony that looked horribly bare and concrete-y but did not get enough sun to grow much in the way of veggies. So okay, I got some petunias and all that to clothe it. But I didn't LIKE them, just liked how they looked.
It remained like that til I moved up here and got married and we bought a house with basically zero landscaping. Looked horrible, needed help. I figured that planting some shrub-based ornamental beds was not "gardening", really, it was just making the property look less horrible. Well, you know, of course you also have to plant SOMEthing to fill in BETWEEN the shrubs. And then my husband suggested that the best thing to do with the area over the septic tank (needs to be extensively excavated every few years for pumping) was to make it a wide mulched pathway between perennial beds. And actually, perennials are a lot of fun and low-maintenance and oh look at that one there, gotta have *that* one *too*...
And so here I am today, with at least as much perennial and mixed beds as mom ever had (although mine are not -- yet -- as nice as hers), and about four times the veg garden space she ever had, and I occasionally even start and plant some annuals.
I guess once the seed is planted, it just takes a bit of time to germinate and grow, is all
Pat
), and swore I would never get sucked into gardening when I grew up.As an impoverished grad student with a very very well-aged goat manure pile right next to where I spent most of my days while doing field experiments, I decided that perhaps vegetable gardening might have its merits. Tomatoes, tomatillos, hot peppers, okra, melons, beans.
Also as an impoverished grad student, I became aware that the botany dept' greenhouse often threw out divisions of some really really neat obscure plants, which we could have for free if you happened to be around at the right moment. So I started accumulating houseplants, none of this 'spiderplant, philodendron' stuff, more like Rhipsalis and those sort of four-sided succulent things with the flowers that smell like fermenting socks in a latrine (forget the name), that kind of thing.
But no flowers. Til, during my second postdoc, I had an apartment with a balcony that looked horribly bare and concrete-y but did not get enough sun to grow much in the way of veggies. So okay, I got some petunias and all that to clothe it. But I didn't LIKE them, just liked how they looked.
It remained like that til I moved up here and got married and we bought a house with basically zero landscaping. Looked horrible, needed help. I figured that planting some shrub-based ornamental beds was not "gardening", really, it was just making the property look less horrible. Well, you know, of course you also have to plant SOMEthing to fill in BETWEEN the shrubs. And then my husband suggested that the best thing to do with the area over the septic tank (needs to be extensively excavated every few years for pumping) was to make it a wide mulched pathway between perennial beds. And actually, perennials are a lot of fun and low-maintenance and oh look at that one there, gotta have *that* one *too*...
And so here I am today, with at least as much perennial and mixed beds as mom ever had (although mine are not -- yet -- as nice as hers), and about four times the veg garden space she ever had, and I occasionally even start and plant some annuals.
I guess once the seed is planted, it just takes a bit of time to germinate and grow, is all
Pat
sparkles2307
Garden Ornament
Mom always had a big garden, we lived in Washington and had heavy clay soil so I always thought it was torture to rake and weed. But my brother and I were required to each have our own plot in the main garden with 2 rows of corn and 2 rows of carrots and then a few of whatever else we wanted, and mom did NOT help with those at all. We had to help weed and rake and plant and harvest and water and these were not small gardens by any standard. I hated it. Then we moved to Wyoming, and didnt have a garden because well, in the Red Desert with 30mph wind 24/7/365 plants dont do well... and I missed it SO much. So now, I have 2 large gardens and guess what? My kids voluntarily help! We have ideal MN black light fabulous soil and I love it!
PotterWatch
Deeply Rooted
My Mom planted a garden every summer that I can remember growing up and my sister and I were always asked to help with the weeding. I hated doing it, but considering how short the growing season was in Alaska, it probably wasn't all that much to ask. I do remember loving the fresh veggies that came out of that garden so as soon as we had a house with a yard, we put in a garden. I don't remember much about the actual gardening though so I am just learning as I go along right now.
Northernrose
Attractive To Bees
For as long as I can remember, I felt strong intrest in all things growing or living. My mom attepted to grow gardens some years, but never was serious about it. But, I was always trying to plant things and root cuttings.
I rooted my first rose cutting when I was 8, but was told to throw it out because roses HAD to be grafted to grow right
I wish I didn't listen to my dad, the next year our old rose garden (100+ years old) was bulldozed when he added on to our house.
Now I try to restrain myself from getting carried away and "hording" plants. But, I still have tons of plants in pots waiting to be planted.
I rooted my first rose cutting when I was 8, but was told to throw it out because roses HAD to be grafted to grow right
I wish I didn't listen to my dad, the next year our old rose garden (100+ years old) was bulldozed when he added on to our house.Now I try to restrain myself from getting carried away and "hording" plants. But, I still have tons of plants in pots waiting to be planted.
journey11
Garden Master
Our entire 1/2 ac. backyard was a garden when we were kids, plus a large plot for potatoes that we rented from a farmer my dad knew. When I was very young, I remember my dad getting laid off a couple of times and we really depended on our garden to sustain us.
My mom always had (and still does) tons of flowerbeds with everything imaginable in there, perennials, annuals and bushes. She'd plant flowers anywhere there was a bare space begging for it. She always had nasturiums and I remember nibbling on the leaves while I was outside playing.
Here's a pic of my siblings and I, standing in the garden. I am the oldest.
My mom always bought each of us a mixed packet of seeds which the catalogs sold especially for children. We planted and maintained our own 5'x5' plots as we saw fit. I remember being very jealous of my brother one year because he grew a big pumpkin and all I had to boast about was some pretty borage.
We helped carry in the harvests, but I never remember being forced to work. I never had to hoe a row. I think because of that, we looked forward to being allowed to help and had a lot of fun doing it. One of my clearest memories as a child is that of helping my dad gather in the potatoes. We'd go home with an S-10 load full, which we stored in a big, wooden bin in the basement that my dad had built. (As a child I always thought it looked like a coffin!)
I remember heads of broccoli as big a your dinner plate and picking and eating wonderful golden delicious apples right off the tree. I have a lot of fond memories of my parents' big garden.
Now when they divorced, I was 13. That was the end of the gardening. My mom wouldn't do it by herself so I guess it must have really been my dad's thing. She still kept lots of flowers though.
I hear tales from my grandma of working like a slave on her family's farm, picking strawberries and taking them to market and other things. My husband's grandmother also complains that she was forced to work on the farm. For them, it was their families' way of life and a large part of their income and sustenance. The kids had to pitch in and earn their keep. They didn't enjoy it, and while they both tinker with flowers and maybe a tomato plant here and there, they never kept a garden as adults.
Maybe it's easier to understand why so many people in our society prefer to buy it in a can at the Walmart when they have such hard feelings over having had to work in the garden as kids. I don't make my daughter help (currently she's only 3). I want her to want to help. Maybe if she sees that I enjoy it and if I let her poke a few summer squash seeds haphazardly in the dirt without nagging at her, she'll have fond memories of our garden too. I hope she will anyway.
My mom always had (and still does) tons of flowerbeds with everything imaginable in there, perennials, annuals and bushes. She'd plant flowers anywhere there was a bare space begging for it. She always had nasturiums and I remember nibbling on the leaves while I was outside playing.
Here's a pic of my siblings and I, standing in the garden. I am the oldest.
My mom always bought each of us a mixed packet of seeds which the catalogs sold especially for children. We planted and maintained our own 5'x5' plots as we saw fit. I remember being very jealous of my brother one year because he grew a big pumpkin and all I had to boast about was some pretty borage.
We helped carry in the harvests, but I never remember being forced to work. I never had to hoe a row. I think because of that, we looked forward to being allowed to help and had a lot of fun doing it. One of my clearest memories as a child is that of helping my dad gather in the potatoes. We'd go home with an S-10 load full, which we stored in a big, wooden bin in the basement that my dad had built. (As a child I always thought it looked like a coffin!)
I remember heads of broccoli as big a your dinner plate and picking and eating wonderful golden delicious apples right off the tree. I have a lot of fond memories of my parents' big garden.
Now when they divorced, I was 13. That was the end of the gardening. My mom wouldn't do it by herself so I guess it must have really been my dad's thing. She still kept lots of flowers though.
I hear tales from my grandma of working like a slave on her family's farm, picking strawberries and taking them to market and other things. My husband's grandmother also complains that she was forced to work on the farm. For them, it was their families' way of life and a large part of their income and sustenance. The kids had to pitch in and earn their keep. They didn't enjoy it, and while they both tinker with flowers and maybe a tomato plant here and there, they never kept a garden as adults.
Maybe it's easier to understand why so many people in our society prefer to buy it in a can at the Walmart when they have such hard feelings over having had to work in the garden as kids. I don't make my daughter help (currently she's only 3). I want her to want to help. Maybe if she sees that I enjoy it and if I let her poke a few summer squash seeds haphazardly in the dirt without nagging at her, she'll have fond memories of our garden too. I hope she will anyway.
Cats Critters and Garden
Deeply Rooted
If I remember correctly the little garden started out as my mom's but my mom kills plants (and mowers but that's another story) So I started when I brought home marigolds for mothers day and planted them for her and because I didn't kill them I took over the garden and all other things involving plants. But some years nothing got planted other years only flowers, so it was up to me what, when, and how I wanted to garden.
lesa
Garden Master
Mom always had some kind of garden- more so when we were really small. I don't ever remember her asking us to help. I know she had hard feelings about being forced to help in her Mom's garden...They recently moved into a retirement community and left the gardens behind. Now, I am pleasantly surprised to see how many of the things I have growing came from her garden! Quite a few things over the years- kind of neat that her garden is living on, in mine. Never asked my daughter to help- she just moved away from home and called to tell me she had the perfect place to grow Alyssum, and was planting some! So, maybe I grew a gardener??
ducks4you
Garden Master
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I have wonderful relationships with my 3 daughters. I can afford to be picky about what they do INSIDE, but I don't trust them to do most gardening jobs. One stayed home while I was on vacation and she did a good job watering. WEEDING?!?!? are you KIDDING me? I know they aren't interested enough to learn weed from vegetable.
My grandfather learned to garden during the depression when he had a job but no work and no income. They had to eat, he had time and energy, the neighborhood had empty lots, and so EVERYBODY learned to be a master gardener. I heard about this growing up and got to see his small but magnificent garden (AND his 1 1/2 inch tall specialty grass on his 1/4 acre lot that looked manicured.
My mom grew a good sized garden when we lived on a one acre lot in Pennslvania but I was really little and I just remember the big pumpkins in the fall.
Later she grew a small garden on a 1/2 acre lot, but I didn't help much with that one.
I guess that's why MY garden now gets a lick and a promise, intensely worked, then ignored.
My grandfather learned to garden during the depression when he had a job but no work and no income. They had to eat, he had time and energy, the neighborhood had empty lots, and so EVERYBODY learned to be a master gardener. I heard about this growing up and got to see his small but magnificent garden (AND his 1 1/2 inch tall specialty grass on his 1/4 acre lot that looked manicured.
My mom grew a good sized garden when we lived on a one acre lot in Pennslvania but I was really little and I just remember the big pumpkins in the fall.
Later she grew a small garden on a 1/2 acre lot, but I didn't help much with that one.
I guess that's why MY garden now gets a lick and a promise, intensely worked, then ignored.
curly_kate
Garden Addicted
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I think gardening is hereditary! My dad's dad had a HUGE vegetable garden, and it was such fun when we got to go out there. I wish he was still around because I can remember these beautiful heads of cauliflower - something I have yet to be able to grow. My mom's dad had a beautiful flower garden, and several rose bushes that he prized. My sister lives in his house now, and has no inclination to garden (altho she says it's a matter of time, but I think if you really want to garden, you'll find the time). So what was left of his garden is slowly disappearing.
When I was a kid, we always had a tomato plant or two, and a bean plant or two. Our bean "harvest" was about 2-3 a day, and Mom would have to buy beans at the store to supplement what we picked. We were allowed a small bed in her lovely flower garden where we could plant some annuals. I remember planting petunias one year because I thought they were pretty, but I ended up hating them because I hated deadheading them. Like others, I was not forced to garden, but I always enjoyed helping things grow.
When I moved out, I lived in apartments, so the most I could manage was a few window boxes of flowers and tomatoes. I moved to the 'country' in 2005, and immediately started with tomato plants in pots, and eventually graduated to a full-blown gardening obsession.
This year, my brother who is currently unemployed and lives with my parents, took a few of the tomato seedlings I had started. I'm happy to say that he has taken good care of them, and they are looking really good. My parents have a decent size span of yard that they don't use at all. Maybe my brother will be able to convince them to let him farm it.
When I was a kid, we always had a tomato plant or two, and a bean plant or two. Our bean "harvest" was about 2-3 a day, and Mom would have to buy beans at the store to supplement what we picked.
We were allowed a small bed in her lovely flower garden where we could plant some annuals. I remember planting petunias one year because I thought they were pretty, but I ended up hating them because I hated deadheading them. Like others, I was not forced to garden, but I always enjoyed helping things grow.When I moved out, I lived in apartments, so the most I could manage was a few window boxes of flowers and tomatoes. I moved to the 'country' in 2005, and immediately started with tomato plants in pots, and eventually graduated to a full-blown gardening obsession.
This year, my brother who is currently unemployed and lives with my parents, took a few of the tomato seedlings I had started. I'm happy to say that he has taken good care of them, and they are looking really good. My parents have a decent size span of yard that they don't use at all. Maybe my brother will be able to convince them to let him farm it.
