HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN FOOD

Download Printable Color Page and How to Grow Steps!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE COLOR PAGE & HOW TO GROW STEPS!

---

Gardening is simple – plants need soil, water and sunlight, and a few easy steps:

1)  PICK A PLACE FOR PLANTING

Choose an indoor or outdoor area that gets at least 6 hours of sun a day. Position your garden in an area accessible for watering and harvesting. In the winter, grow some smaller plants indoors using a grow light.

2)  CHOOSE YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Plant vegetables that your family will eat and that you have space for.  Also, be sure you read the plant’s label for how far apart the plants need to be and how deep the soil.  As a general rule, allow 1 sqft per plant and 1ft-1.5ft deep.  Starter plants will certainly speed up the process, but having your child experience growing a plant from seed is a wonderful experience. 

3) PICK A CONTAINER!

If you don’t have much room for a yard garden, container gardens are perfect for small spaces and growing a few favorites. Get crafty – make the containers look like your kitchen dishes, soup/salad bowls, or try to resemble food containers.  You can paint the vegetable on the pot or on a popsicle stick.  When growing with children, it is important to make the connection that this will grow into what you eat.  Go cheap and easy – You can use a baby pool, bucket, or pot.  Just be sure you poke some holes in bottom for drainage (plant will leak).  When choosing a container, be sure to consider the space needed per vegetable. 

4) PREPARE FOR PLANTS BEFORE TRANSPLANTING OUTDOORS:

If you have started from seeds indoors, you must prepare your plants by “hardening off”, which should be scheduled a week before planting outdoors. Before putting your plant outdoors, be sure that the frost dates have passed if not a cold weather crop.  Check labels or use the internet to tell you when you can plant outdoors for certain crops in certain climates. Planting outdoors in mid-May in the Greater Philadelphia area is a safe bet for most plants. Hardening Off helps the plants to get used to the harsh sun, by giving them more time outdoors each day for about a week until it’s time to plant outdoors. Click for a video with some different ways to harden off your plants

5) READY, SET, PLANT!

•SOIL-LESS: Fill with soil-less mix, compost, sand, fertilizer mix. Dirt from ground contains weed seeds and pathogens.

•SEW SEEDS: Sprinkle vegetable seeds on the soil and cover lightly with soil-less mix.

•CULTIVATE: See seed packet for plant-specific spacing information or detailed instructions.

•LABEL: Use popsicle sticks to label plants by writing veggie names or draw picture of vegetable.

•WATER: Gently water the soil with a spray bottle, or a watering can to keep moist while seeds grow. If you are not sure if you should add water, do a Soil Check — Soil should be moist, not puddling. Best to have a container with holes and an underdish to drain into. Note: Plants that are grown in containers dry out faster than plants rooted in the earth. 

•MOISTEN: Cover container with plastic wrap or moistened paper towels to prevent mix from drying out.

•FERTILIZE: To grow healthier and bigger plants, fertilize with organic compost.

•MAINTAIN: As the seedlings begin to grow, thin by cutting excess plants off at the base to prevent root damage.

6) PICK, PREPARE & ENJOY! Thin plants in container gardens by harvesting nutritious sprouts, leaving only a few plants to reach maturity. Use homegrown vegetables in salads, soups, snacks or meals! Once you have harvested all of the plants from your container, reseed your veggies, so that you can have a recurring harvest.

---

---

DON’T FORGET THE 1st CLUB CHALLENGE:

---

---

---