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Post by johno on Jun 20, 2010 1:04:48 GMT -5
I have a young and precocious niece whom I don't know very well who is interested in heirloom gardening. I want to foster her interest and send her seeds, etc. I heard that while she was away at camp her cucumber plants died of wilt. That made me think about trying to make sure I send her seeds of bulletproof heirlooms to prevent discouragement until she becomes a more experienced gardener. Any suggestions? Her climate is quite warm, maybe zone 8-ish.
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Post by lavandulagirl on Jun 20, 2010 10:32:45 GMT -5
Johno - what are her favorites? (No point sending seeds for veggies she hates, right?) There are some great radishes she could plant in fall, that don't take long to grow (instant gratification, almost). I can go through my seeds this week and check them too. She may be behind the 8 ball planting wise, dependent on how long her season is, unless her eye is turned towards late fall crops.
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Post by johno on Jun 20, 2010 16:17:37 GMT -5
Johno - what are her favorites? (No point sending seeds for veggies she hates, right?) There are some great radishes she could plant in fall, that don't take long to grow (instant gratification, almost). I can go through my seeds this week and check them too. She may be behind the 8 ball planting wise, dependent on how long her season is, unless her eye is turned towards late fall crops. I am so glad I asked.  I hadn't thought of any of that. So far I've only learned as much as I know through her mom, through my wife. When she gets home from camp I'll start communicating with her directly. I think they live near Dallas, but not 100% sure yet. That should be a pretty long season. I do think some fall stuff would be appropriate at this point. My guess is her garden is small, but it's only a guess until I talk to her. I have Sugar snap peas, various brassicas, etc., but you're right - no sense sending something she won't eat, no matter how easy it is to grow. Thanks, lav. |
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Post by flowerpower on Jun 21, 2010 6:03:54 GMT -5
Lettuce would be a good fall crop also.
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Post by wildseed57 on Jun 28, 2010 13:09:36 GMT -5
Hi I donated about 200 seeds this year to the 3rd,4th and 5th graders at school the ones they liked best was watermelons which were small personally types that got just big enough for a kid to eat the whole thing and tomatoes which I gave them two types a mix of cherry and pear tomatoes and some big sweet pineapple tomato seeds, the others that I gave away were sweet peppers Golden Marconi and to my surprise Eggplant seeds which a good many asked for, I had a few hundred Ping Tung eggplant seeds. I live in a farming and dairy area so a lot of kids do some sort of gardening, but that kind of gives you a Ideas what your Niece, might like also I built a small 4'X4' X2 foot tall raised bed so that My Grand daughter could grow her own watermelons, I couldn't find any Golden Miget or Royal golden watermelons The rinds turn a golden yellow when they are ripe, so i ended up growing a Mickey Lee and a OrangeGlo watermelon for her. The Raised bed is actually to small for the watermelons, but I plan to just let the vines run. Also I plan next year (if I can get a good deal on them) some Yacon plants they are very expencive to buy here but I'm hoping to find someone that will give me a brake as they will go to school kids. I live in Missouri which is Z5-6 and just a bit short in the season for Yacon, but the Zone 7-9 would be just right to grow them and the growing shoots that will produce the next seasons crop could be left in the ground and overwindered, I can't do that here. As Dallas is a big city you also might think about what she could grow in a containes if they don't have a area for a garden. I love helping kids get started with their own garden, and seeing the look on their faces when they pick there fist vegetable or melon. the hardest part is keeping them interested.
George
Dalis
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Post by WesTex on Jul 12, 2010 22:05:04 GMT -5
Well, Dallas is more humid than my part of texas, but some good seeds for kids are: Strawberry popcorn, dark green zucchini (this is smaller than others and she still has time for a harvest if she grows it now), rattlesnake pole beans (they look cool too), any of the lettuces, and Sunspot Dwarf Sunflowers. She still has enough time to plant the sunflowers too maybe. They're only 2 ft tall, but produce edible seeds. hope this helps!
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I hadn't thought of any of that.
