The Reality of Vegetable Gardening: Unveiling the Secrets

The Pressure of Unrealistic Standards for Vegetables

Have you ever found yourself intimidated by fashion magazines filled with beautiful celebrities and models who are then photoshopped to remove every little imperfection? Or perhaps an Instagram account where the home is filled with natural light, dust-free, and no mislaid items anywhere?

I must admit that I don’t like to follow accounts like that as they promote an unrealistic view and leaves me feeling like something is wrong with me when I don’t look perfect and my house doesn’t either.

Escaping Unreal Expectations

This type of unreal perfection extends to the garden too! Just between you and me, I’ve been to many gardens that are highlighted on social media and they never look quite as good in person.

Believe it or not, vegetables also fall into this unrealistic realm when shown in magazines and online. Articles filled with photographs of perfectly-sized vegetables without a speck of dirt on them can be intimidating to the average vegetable gardener.

Unearthing the Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

dirty secrets of vegetable gardening

Well, I’m here to tell you the truth and reveal two dirty secrets of vegetable gardening with some assistance from my little helper. 

My granddaughter, Lily

Meet Lily: A Gardening Companion

This is my granddaughter Lily who loved to help me in the garden when she was little. She was always a willing helper when it came time to harvest vegetables from my garden.

Toward the end of spring, it was time to harvest the last head of broccoli, pick the carrots, pull the garlic, cut parsley, and harvest the first of our blackberries.

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

The Real Harvest

This is what our harvest looked like. Not particularly photo-worthy for a magazine or social media, is it? But, this is the reality of what it looks like.

'secret' about vegetable gardening.

The Dirty Secret: Vegetables Grow in Dirt

If you haven’t guessed the secret about vegetable gardening – it’s that it is DIRTY!

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

Think about it – vegetables grow in the dirt.  They don’t come out clean.  In fact, it can take a while to clean the dirt away.

Lily was excited to help me clean the vegetables, so she would fill her ‘My Little Pony’ cup over and over and pour them over the carrots. 

 harvested vegetables leave

In fact, freshly harvested vegetables leave dirt behind on counters, floors too!

clean garden tools and spotless gloves

And those shiny, clean garden tools and spotless gloves? They don’t exist in a real garden.

Now, here is another secret of vegetable gardening…

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

The Imperfect Shapes and Sizes are Normal

“Not all the vegetables are the same size and come out unblemished.”

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

Here are four carrots that I harvested from the same garden.  As you can see, they are all different sizes.

The tiny ones, came from an area where I accidentally dropped a small pile of seeds. The large one was a result of an area in the garden that received too much water and the carrot was so big that it broke off as I attempted to pull it out.  

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

Of course, any decent photo would display only the ‘normal-sized’ carrots – but that is not necessarily the truth of what a real garden harvest would look like.

Lily’s Tigger was excited to try some carrots.

crop of garlic

Garlic of All Sizes

Here is another example. Our crop of garlic was bountiful. But, notice that there are not all uniform sizes.

crop of garlic

While the majority of the garlic harvest is made up of normal-sized garlic heads – there are some very small and some giant heads.

The Illusion of Garden Perfection

But of course, that is not what you see when people typically show off their garden harvest – especially when they are to be photographed.

First, only the most attractive vegetables are shown – ones with no blemishes and uniform size. Second, all the dirt is removed. And finally, the decorative dish towels come out for an attractive background.   

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

I have several decorative dish towels that have never seen a dish and I use them when I photograph vegetables, herbs, etc.

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

Here is my ‘perfect’ garlic harvest. What is interesting is what you DON’T see. All of them are nicely shaped, roughly the same size, and most of the dirt is gone. This is NOT what they look like when they come in from the garden.

The Dirty Secret of Vegetable Gardening

The Best Advice is to Embrace Imperfection

So remember that vegetables aren’t perfectly clean, they may have blemishes and come in all sizes and shapes. So, when you harvest vegetables, don’t worry about perfect-looking vegetables. Remember, it’s the taste that matters!

My Secret Vegetable Gardening Tool…

planting-with-children

Learning about the natural world and how it works is one of the joys of being a child. I was reminded of this fact the other day with my grandson, Eric. He came over for a visit after preschool and was so excited to show me a science experiment that they had done in class.

Clutched in his little hand was a plastic baggie with a moistened paper towel and a sprouted seed. Oh, he was so proud of his little seed and he couldn’t wait to plant it in my vegetable garden.

Such a tiny seed

Such a tiny seed…

Do you remember doing this in school? I do! And the joy of planting a single seed was just one of the ‘sparks’ that ignited my passion and career in gardening.

adding-seed-to-vegetable-garden

We selected the best spot in the garden.

planting-a-seed

Eric dug a little hole and we carefully Planting Seed.

Notice that the seed is located several inches away from a young bean plant. I did that on purpose, so if Eric’s little seedling doesn’t grow, he can ‘adopt’ the nearby bush bean.

Now, to pat down the soil.

Now, to pat down the soil.

watering-new-seed

Eric loves my little blue watering can

watering-seedling

Watering in his little seedling.

Oh, I do hope that his little pea seed begins to grow. Eric has already spent a lot of time out in the garden with me and whether or not he follows in his grandma’s footsteps, he will always experience joy when spending time in the garden.

Have you ever successfully grown a seedling that you grew in school?

Toilet Paper Rolls and Vegetable Seeds…

The Best Garden Gifts for Kids

Christmas tree with disco ball ornaments and packages of garden gifts

We’ve reached the final day of our garden gift lists and today, it’s all about kids.

Cultivating Curiosity with Garden Gifts

Gifts with a garden theme aren’t just for adults; there is no better way to foster the curious spirit of children and lead them on a path of discovery about the natural world around them than the gift of a kid-sized kit with a garden theme. As a mom and grandma, I’ve enjoyed countless hours with young children as they learn about plants and insects. Here are some gift ideas for the young people in your life.

Root viewer garden kit

1. Root Viewer

Foster a love for vegetable gardening by showing kids what goes on beneath the soil. They plant a carrot, onion, and radish seeds and watch the roots develop at the same time that the leafy tops grow. Click here to learn more and purchase. 

2. Butterfly Garden Gift

Join with your kids as you view the miracle of caterpillars transform into butterflies. All you need is inside this best-selling kit, except for the sugar water. I wrote about my experience of doing this with my kids. Needless to say, they loved it! Click here to order. 

butterfly garden terrarium

3. Grow N’ Glow Terrarium

Terrariums are fun for both adults and kids alike, allowing them to view a self-contained world. I like that this kit has all you need to make your own while learning about plants and how they grow. My 6-year-old granddaughter, Lily, asked for this for Christmas. Click here to order. 

mason bee house

4. Mason Bee House

Imagine the delight of your kids when they see little mason bees making their home in this little bee house. Mason bees are important pollinators and don’t sting, making this a safe and fun gift. Click here to order. 

children's tools garden gift

5. Little Diggers Garden Gift Tool Set

Young children like to work alongside adults in the garden, so how about getting them their own set of kid-sized tools? Believe it or not, we bought this when my 32 and 23-year-old daughters were little, and they used them often. All of the tools lasted a long time. In fact, we still have the little shovel! Click here to order. 

The right garden gift for a child can foster a lifelong love of gardening, and you can be the one to begin them on this journey.

This concludes my Four Days of Garden Gifts. If you missed any of them, here they are – Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3.

Lava Soap

Disclosure: This post is paid for by the folks at Lava Soap. The opinions expressed, are my own.

Are you afraid to get your hands dirty when you garden? I’m not. In fact, I seldom wear gardening gloves when I’m working in the soil. Oh, gloves are useful when using pruners, raking, or dealing with thorny plants. However, I find elemental pleasure with working in the soil with my bare hands.

vegetable garden

I especially like to ditch the gloves when I am working in my vegetable garden where whether I am planting seeds, smoothing out a new layer of compost, or harvesting plants – touching the plants and soil with my hands makes me happy.

vegetable garden

Last week, I spent the morning out in the vegetable garden, cleaning out old plants and getting it ready for sowing seeds in mid-September. The experience was not unlike the feeling you get after spring cleaning. I have an almost blank canvas on which to add new vegetables this fall.

compost  bags

After the plants are ripped out, I add several inches of new compost to prepare the beds. I buy my compost in bags, which makes it easier to add just where I want it to go.

compost bags

This year, I am changing things up a bit by adding mushroom compost, which has composted horse manure and straw among other things. I like to try new things to see how they perform and then communicate that information to you.

All told, we added a total of 6 inches of regular and mushroom composts to the garden.

desert tortoise, Aesop

Our desert tortoise, Aesop, came out to see what we were doing. Unfortunately, we discovered that he is able to climb up into the vegetable garden, which we don’t want as he will eat our leafy greens. So, we will have to replace the short wood sides with taller ones.

 my grandson, Eric

As if my hands weren’t dirty enough after pulling out plants, they became more so as I smoothed out the newly added mulch around the few plants that remained. Of course, any chance of getting his hands dirty, brings out my grandson, Eric, to help me out in the garden.

Lava Soap

Back in the house, we had two pairs of messy hands. So, out came my favorite hand cleaner that I reserve for the dirtiest of messes. Lava Soap is the most effective way that I have found to get rid of the ground in garden dirt from my hands, and Eric was anxious to get started first. Within a couple of minutes, his little hands were nice and squeaky clean.

bar of Lava

My hands were worse than Eric’s, coated with soil and plant debris and I knew from experience that regular soap wouldn’t do the job. So I grabbed my bar of Lava and got started.

bar of Lava

That is a lot of dirt!

Lava Soap

Almost done!

Lava Soap

Finished!

In the past, whenever I would use regular soap, it never got them completely clean, and I would have dirt remaining in the small cracks in my hands. I also didn’t like how dried out my hands would feel after working in the garden.

Lava Soap

Lava Soap not only gets my hands (and Eric’s) cleaner than regular soap, it doesn’t dry them out either. Most of us have heard of this famous cleaning bar and how it is useful for getting rid of grease, paint, and glue due to the pumice that within it. However, I’m here to state that it also did a fabulous job removing the garden soil from my hands while leaving them moisturized afterward.

Lava Soap

So, ditch the garden gloves, reach your hands into the soil and experience the joy of gardening. Just be sure to have some Lava Soap ready to help you clean up afterward.

Lava Soap is available at retailers across the country, including Ace, Walmart, Dollar General, and Family Dollar. To find a store near you, visit LavaSoap.com and click on the Where to Buy button.

strawberries and cherries.

Vacations are a time that I love to spend with my family doing things that we don’t normally have time for with the busyness of school and work that predominates throughout much of the year. This summer, we spent a couple of weeks in Michigan visiting my oldest daughter and her family. In planning our trip, we list what we want to do and number one on the list for our summer adventures was going to a farm and picking our own strawberries and cherries.

Kiteley Farm

So, on a sunny Tuesday morning, we headed out along a back country road and visited Kiteley Farm ready to pick strawberries. 

 Kiteley Farm

I must admit that I have never picked strawberries, other than in my own garden, and couldn’t wait to experience to harvest them myself. Initially, my 15-year-old son couldn’t figure out why we were going to pick them when it was easier to buy them in the supermarket. But, I told him to just wait and see – I promised him that he would change his mind afterward.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

We were given instructions on where the strawberry fields were located and grabbed our boxes, ready to fill them up with sweet, delicious strawberries.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

The entry to the farm is flanked by blue bachelor’s button and the orange flowers of honeysuckle.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

The strawberry field was very large and we all got started, hunting underneath the leaves for glimpses of bright red fruit.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries
Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

It’s no surprise that the strawberries that you buy at the store are often large and not particularly sweet, which aids in transporting them to the store without getting bruised. However, berries at pick-your-own farms are smaller and incredibly sweet. 

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

My granddaughter Lily got right into picking strawberries.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

The edge of the field was shaded by tall trees and we discovered that the berries were larger in this part of the field.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

The key to finding the best berries is to look at the lowest berry which is usually the ripest.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

After about an hour, we had 11 pounds of strawberries. Not bad for amateur strawberry pickers.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

Next, it was time to pick cherries. Michigan has a large percentage of the cherry growing market and because cherries don’t grow in my neck of the woods, I always take advantage of being able to pick them whenever I visit in July.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

There are several farms where you can go and pick your own cherries and all you have to pay for is the fruit you pick.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

The trees were heavily laden with bright red cherries, which were easier to pick than strawberries as we didn’t have to bend over.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

Lily was just as good at picking cherries as she was with strawberries.

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

At the end of a busy morning, we had plenty of fruit and I was excited to take them back and make sweet things with them.

For me, the best part of that morning was when my son said, “That was so fun. We need to do it again next year.” 

Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries

Don’t they look delicious? And perfect for…

strawberry shortcake

…strawberry shortcake!

*You don’t have to grow fruit (or vegetables) in your own garden to be able to enjoy the experience of picking your own produce. No matter where you live, there is likely a farm nearby where you can experience the fun of picking your own!

Disclaimer: This garden adventure to Savannah was provided by Troy-Bilt at no cost to me, however, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

After our first full day in Savannah, we woke to a beautiful morning and got ready for a day working at the Savannah Botanical Gardens.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

The folks at Troy-Bilt organized this service project, along with the organization, Planet In Action, whose purpose was to donate materials and labor for the Children’s Garden section. As part of a group of garden bloggers, who are Troy-Bilt ambassadors, I was eager to take part in this event.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

The garden suffered damage from Hurricane Matthew last year, and we were asked to create additional feature areas for the children’s section. 

bed of flowers

Existing garden features included a fun twist on a ‘bed of flowers.’

'pizza garden'

A ‘pizza garden’ filled with plants that are frequently found on top of a pizza.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

A fun spot to pose for a picture with friends.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

Instructions were given, and we paired off to work on one of four projects. They included creating a dedicated seating area for the kids (complete with new benches), planting an orchard, adding a berry patch, and a new path between the main gardens and the children’s section.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

We had worked on the design for the new spaces ahead of time, so were able to get right to work, once we arrived.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

I worked on the berry patch planting blueberries and thornless blackberries. Using an auger made it easy to dig holes – I wonder if I can ask for one for Christmas?

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

The orchard was planted with lemon, orange, and fig trees.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

New planting beds were added around the corners of the concrete pad.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

Benches were installed once planting was finished.

ornamental grasses

A pathway was created, leading to the main gardens and the children’s with daylilies and ornamental grasses.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

A film crew recorded the transformation of the garden and the story behind it.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

We took a quick pause to take a photo of our original Troy-Bilt group with Amy Andrychowicz of Get Busy Gardening, Helen Yoest of Gardening With Confidence, Dave Townsend, of Growing the Home Garden, and myself. This is the third time that we have gathered together working with Troy-Bilt.

ribbon-cutting ceremony

Once the projects were finished, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for the new areas, and Troy-Bilt gifted the gardens with a check to assist with their upkeep.

Gardening Adventures in Savannah Botanical Gardens

The Savannah Botanical Gardens is a hidden gem that offers free admission to all and it was a pleasure to work with the folks who volunteer their time and talents to keep it running. 

We joined with new garden blogger friends to create these new areas, including Teresa O’Connor of Seasonal Wisdom, Rochelle Greayer of Pith & Vigor, Kenny Point of Veggie Gardening Tips, Eric Rochow of Garden Fork TV, Erin Schanen of The Impatient Gardener, and Kim Wilson of Sand & Sisal.

If you ever find yourself in Savannah, I encourage you to visit this special garden.

Gardening With Kids

Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks

Have you ever invited a child outside to help you in the garden? They are naturally curious about the outdoors, and most kids jump at the chance to explore the landscape. That is why, whenever I get the chance, I invite my grandkids to come with me when I’m working outdoors.

Gardening With Kids

However, if you are expecting them to unleash their curiosity on the plants in the garden, when there are rocks nearby, you are apt to be disappointed. Children tend to focus on the rocks scattered throughout the landscape rather than on the lovely, flowering plants nearby.

My grandson, Eric, took the water bowl from our desert tortoise, took my hand shovel and proceeded to fill it up with rocks.

 A Love Affair With Rocks

Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks

Several years ago, my granddaughter, Lily, went through the same stage – grabbing rocks and playing with them. That small pile of rocks kept her occupied for a long time while I was planting containers.

Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks

I believe that it is the texture of rocks and their weight that attract children. Of course, rocks also make noise when you fill up a metal bowl with them.  

Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks

Rocks come in all sizes, and big ones are perfect for climbing on.

Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks

The outdoor environment is filled with wonders that children are anxious to discover – including the discovery that water comes out of hoses.

*Do your kids play with rocks? What else do they like to play with outdoors?

Do you remember exploring your backyard as a child?  I do.

I loved smelling my dad’s roses, digging into the soil for worms and hoping to find some interesting bugs (not spiders).  My mother would give me a little margarine tub to put in any insects that I found along with some torn grass and leaves for them to eat.  Sound familiar to anyone else’s childhood experience?

Last month, while in Michigan visiting my oldest daughter and her family, my granddaughter, Lily, showed me her little bug container, which was filled with bits of grass and leaves and a bug that I honestly couldn’t see.

It was during our trip that I found myself at the local store where I saw a plastic magnifying glass just for kids.  So, I did what any self-respecting grandma would do and bought it.

Plastic Magnifying Glass

Plastic Magnifying Glass

Lily could hardly wait to get home and explore the front garden with her new toy.

First, we had to examine the intricacies of a dandelion.

white daisies

And then, the little white daisies at the base of the maple tree.

Plastic Magnifying Glass

An ant hill was next on her list as she watched them busily scurrying about.

Plastic Magnifying Glass

When I told her that these were lily flowers, she was delighted since they share the same name as she does.

Plastic Magnifying Glass

I admit, that I had so much fun watching Lily explore the world around her and it did bring back some fond childhood memories of my own.

All said, it was probably the best $5 I’ve spent in a long while.

*What did you use to explore your garden when you were young?

Goodbye Arizona…Hello Michigan!

Did you ever garden when you were a child?

I did.  My dad gave my siblings and me, each a small raised bed in the backyard.  We would spend hours leafing through the latest Burpee catalog, deciding what seeds we would buy to plant in our little gardens.

I never forgot my introduction to gardening under my father’s guidance, and I enjoy doing the same thing with my granddaughter, Lily.  

Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot

Lily, and her mom and dad, just moved into their first house, and she was very excited to be able to garden.

So, I took her to the local nursery in their town of Petoskey, Michigan and told her that she could pick two types of flowers.

After some deliberation, Lily decided on cosmos and marigolds.

Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot

Gardening With Kids

We brought them home and got ready to create a pot filled with flowers.

The pot was purchased from the local big box store and painted a bright shade of blue using spray paint.

The first step was filling the pot with planting mix, which is specially formulated for container gardening as it holds onto just the right amount of soil as opposed to potting soil, which can become soggy.

we planted the flowers

As we planted the flowers, I took the time to explain to 4-year-old Lily how the roots help the top part of the plant grow and flower.

Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot

I dug the holes, and she would put each plant inside.

Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot

Gardening With Kids

Then we patted down the soil and watered them well.

Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot

When we were finished, we had a colorful pot filled with cosmos and marigolds ready to sit by the front door.

As the flowers mature and eventually dry out, Lily will collect the seed and save it for next year’s garden.

We had a lovely time and Lily would call me “Plant Lady” and herself the “Plant Girl”.  I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon.

Have you ever spent time teaching kids to garden?  What did you plant?

Gardening With Lily…

houseplants

houseplants

Who knew that you could grow ‘houseplants’ using kitchen scraps?

I was inspired to find gardening projects that could be done indoors, for those gardeners who are stuck inside during cold winters.

The photos below were taken over a 14 day period from planting, to what they look like just 2 weeks later.  I must admit that I am quite impressed.

I started with growing a radish…

houseplants

I am hoping that my radish plant will flower at some point because I have heard that radish flowers are quite pretty.

houseplants

My garlic cloves grew quickly and I will use the greens as a garnish, much like I would use green onions.  Garlic greens have a mild garlic flavor.

Kitchen Scraps

My lentils are quite pretty and delicate looking.  I am waiting for them to flower, which will make them even prettier.

Kitchen Scraps

I realize that many people have grown a vine from a sweet potato – but I hadn’t tried it.  After it grows, the vine will be a pretty addition to my kitchen windowsill garden.  Now that the roots are growing, I will hopefully see some green sprouting on top.

Kitchen Scraps

I did have one plant that didn’t come up.  The book that I was inspired by said that you could plant fresh green beans, but mine didn’t grow.

**You can also plant dried beans after soaking them overnight and they should come up.

The goal of this project wasn’t to grow ‘food’, but to enjoy the foliage of the plants themselves and brighten up a dreary winter for those who live in cold climates.

I really had fun with this project.  I think it would be a great activity to do with kids, don’t you?