Starting a Garden

Another great kid- friendly activity your readers would enjoy is to grow a TickleMe Plant from seeds and then watching the plant MOVE when Tickled! As a first grade teacher I no longer plant Lima beans, as the growing of this interactive plant, proved to be much more exciting and educational for my student's. I found my supplies for a classroom kit at www.ticklemeplant.com but they also sell individual greenhouses with everything you need to grow your own TickleMe Plant from seeds. I assure you your kids will be more excited about gardening, and its just fun to watch the expressions of the faces of children (and even adults) when they see the plant close its leaves and droop when tickled,

Great question, Ms Ally. I've constructed one or two gardens in my day so perhaps I can be off assistance. First, think manageable, which really means "small." My best friend, Cornelia, has some good advice about garden starting: "Don't bite off more than you can chew, or hoe." Haha! It's like the first day of Law School -- you don't impatiently yell for the BAR exam right then and there. Patience and nourishment are the virtues required in this endeavor. That, and as mentioned before, an initially modest approach. Start off with a garden no bigger than 9' X 11.' Look, you can always expand later if you can't get enough of those fresh, crispy vegetables. First, choose a location that receives as much sun as possible throughout the day. Northern gardeners should insist on full sun. Now you're ready to work up the soil. Work the soil up sod and all -- in other words don't remove the sod. Removing the sod creates a recess in the soil, resulting in poor drainage (so I've read). If you're stuck with a predominantly sandy or clay soil it will be worth bringing in some topsoil to get you off on the right foot. If you can't afford topsoil, you can amend the soil with compost. Compost includes any biodegradable material which can be broken down into a fine, dark humus. We have a huge compost pile in our garden. We throw everything you can think of in there. Well rotted livestock manure is the best choice for getting a clay or sandy soil into shape. Now, we're ready to plant! And that’s what it’s all about, right? You can purchase seeds from the store or order them through the many catalogs on the market. Whatever you do, buy some quality seeds. I hate to see people spend hours preparing a garden and then go out and purchase 10/$1.00 seeds. In a small garden you may want to avoid some of the space hogs, like corn, squash and pumpkin. However, there are bush type varieties of pumpkin, such as Spirit Bush and Autumn Gold that don't take up much room. Also, summer squashes take up less room then do the winter squash. If you do plant corn, remember to grow this one along the north side of your garden so it doesn't shade the rest of your crops.

Use native plant species. These are naturally drought resistant and do not require fertilizer, so it's less maintenance for you.

"Garden with nature, not against it." I heard that somewhere and thought it was wholly true. I mean, it does all depend on what kind of garden you want. You can choose plants and ivies that will literally engulf everything and create a "Secret Garden"esque landscape OR you can gravel your garden and have loads of potted plants that will just need watering, etc. Then, you have to consider pests. Will you go the pesticide route or be all naturale? And all growing plants make some demands, but these demands are reduced if the right plants are chosen for the conditions.