This is part of a sponsored collaboration with HBO and DiMe Media.
However, all opinions expressed are my own.
Mommy & Me Outdoors: Spring Edible Container Garden
There are a few things I remember from my childhood that make me happy. Breakfast with my grandma, cooking with my mom, watering my mom’s beautiful plants and flowers, Sesame Street, Double Dutch and lots of sleepovers with my cousins. These are the same things I want Zoë to experience growing up. Just this weekend, she spent the night with my mom or as she calls her “mama”. They called me and Zoë gave me the run down of what they did. It went something like this “mama made oatmeal, we watered the pretty purple flower, we danced to Sesame Street. Zoë was on and mama took me outside.” All I could do was chuckle. She sounds so much like me as a kid.
When I picked Zoë up she asked me if we could water the flowers at home. Well, we don’t have any flowers. I’ve managed to lose my green thumb and a few plants and flowers with it. But little did Zoë know, I was bringing back our edible container garden. When Zoë was a baby, we planted our first edible container garden together. While she was just a baby, I believe she enjoyed this mommy and me time plus I used our garden harvest to make homemade baby food.
I decided to surprise her and pick up all the supplies we needed for our edible container garden while she was at school. Well everything except a mini gardening kit for her. Someone, please tell me where to find one besides ordering online. Anyway, Zoë was so excited to see all the goodies. I’m excited too and this time around, she understands that we are planting things we will eat. We are also trying our hand at some pretty flowers for our front step.
One thing I loved about growing up in Brooklyn, was playing outside. Outside play trumped everything. Homework was done, chores done, outside we went! There were no cell phones, tablets and there was only 1 or two game systems on the market. Atari anyone? Yes, I’m that old. Today, outside play seems to be the exception, not the rule. I am not ok with that so I take every opportunity to get outdoors with my babies. Planting our container garden plus transferring a few of them to the yard means we will be outside more times during the day. From pruning to watering to picking, we will have a blast gathering our goods and then making something good with them. Besides my little girl loves playing outside. Even in the rain, she loves standing out in the rain and jumping puddles.
I also pick up a few herb plants, a beet plant, sweet peppers and a tomato plant so that little miss Z could understand that the seeds we are planting will eventually grow just like these plants. There’s a preschool lesson in everything. We will germinate, plant, water and eventually harvest.
Today we started seeds for:
- Bell Peppers
- Basil
- Green Onions
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Dill
After we got our seeds started, we refilled our bird feeder and then Zoe went on a stick gathering adventure. As you can see, our favorite geese were always nearby.
I’ve designated Saturdays as our Mommy & Me Cooking Days. We will enjoy one of my childhood favorite, the Emmy Award-winning Sesame Street at 9am on HBO, pick a few things from our garden and then make something fun. We will start with some honey mint tea, baby food and once our tomatoes come in a lovely homemade pizza. Check out this cute teaser video of Abby from Sesame Street then enter to win a Sesame Street spring planter set and herb kit.
16 Comments
Katherine Tino
March 31, 2016 at 4:35 PMMy daughter loves picnics, at the park, in the backyard… it doesn’t matter!
M J
March 31, 2016 at 8:44 PMMine too. It’s the perfect quick and fun activity to do. We picnic in our yard all the time.
Manda
April 1, 2016 at 11:17 PMJust being outdoor
Dana Carmel
April 1, 2016 at 11:26 PMI really love the idea of planting seeds with your daughter, watching them grow, and eventually eating the fruit of your harvest. The edible containers are such a great idea! And I totally agree with you about kids not getting enough time outside anymore. It’s pretty sad.
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:52 PMThanks Dana. And yes, our babies deserve to be able to go outside and enjoy the simple life!
Mimi "MimiCuteLips" Green
April 2, 2016 at 12:52 PMThis is really cute, my girl would love to make an edible container garden. Growing up double dutch was a bit part of my childhood. I have such great memories with my grandma that we also called Mama.
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:52 PMAwww I can see your little star in her garden. Grandma’s are the best!
tyra
April 3, 2016 at 11:59 PMThat is so cute! Way to get the kids involved. I cannot keep a plant alive to save my life though.
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:51 PMHerbs are surprisingly easy. Tomatoes are a bit more work but we love it.
Jay | RelaxedThairapy.com
April 4, 2016 at 12:55 AMNow this is a fun bonding trip. My sister in law and niece would enjoy this.
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:50 PMTell them to check it out and then start their own garden. They will love it.
Kiwi
April 4, 2016 at 11:48 AMI wanted to be a gardener so bad as a kid. Now as an adult I want my own garden so great way to enrich your kids and show them the value of nurturing and growth!
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:50 PMThanks Kiwi. Get to planting. I love it just as much as Z does.
Milveen
April 4, 2016 at 1:27 PMGreat idea to borrow! My daughter and I have read Jack and the Beanstalk more times than I can count which might be why she’s eager to plant something of her own this year. We also enjoy visiting local farms in the spring together. Great post.
M J
April 4, 2016 at 9:49 PMThank you Milveen. Go ahead and plant a garden with your daughter. It will be a great bonding experience foe the summer.
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