Concord Kids: Kid Friendly Gardening Opportunities

Head outside and explore Concord in the springtime with these kid-friendly gardening activities

Text adapted from Kids’ Garden (Barefoot Books),written by Whitney Cohen, Life Lab and illustrated by Roberta Arenson

THREE SISTERS GARDEN

Plants, like people, often help one another out. Sometimes known as the “three sisters,” Indigenous peoples in the Concord area and North America discovered that sweet corn, beans, and squash work well when planted together. Let’s plant our own Three Sisters Garden!

YOU’LL NEED:

• spade or fork

• watering can

• bucket of finished, finely sifted compost

• sweet corn seeds

• runner bean seeds

• squash seeds

LET’S GET STARTED:

1. Clear a circular space about 6 feet in diameter in a part of your garden that gets plenty of direct sunlight.

2. Prepare the soil in this area by watering, digging, and adding finished, finely sifted compost until the soil is loose and crumbly.

3. Create a mound of soil about 12 inches high and 5 feet across.

4. Plant 6 sweet corn seeds in the middle of the mound, about 12 inches apart.

5. Water your sweet corn regularly and watch it grow.

6. Approximately 4 – 8 weeks later when the sweet corn is about 8 inches tall, plant the bean seeds in a circle around it about 4 inches away from the sweet corn.

7. At the same time, plant 4 squash seeds spaced evenly around the outer edges of the mound.

8. Watch your Three Sisters work together to grow tall and strong.

When the plants start producing their fruits and seeds, make a soup or stew and enjoy the harvest!

PLANTING A RAINBOW

When people traveled to Concord from England in the late 1700s, they would often bring seeds of their favorite flowers to plant a garden. Use seeds from your favorite colorful flowers to grow a rainbow in your garden!

YOU’LL NEED:

• spade or fork

• watering can

• bucket of finished, finely sifted compost

• string

• seeds for flowers of every shade of the rainbow

LET’S GET STARTED:

1. Clear a space at least 3½ x 3½ feet in a part of your garden that gets plenty of direct sunlight. You can make your rainbow in an arc or choose another shape that fits well in your garden.

2. Prepare the area by watering, digging, and adding finished, finely sifted compost until the soil is loose and crumbly.

3. Lay string down to divide your bed into 7 sections, one for each section of the rainbow.

4. Scatter the seeds for red flowers in the first section, following the seed packet directions.

5. Place different seeds in each section: orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. For the green section, you can plant something with small flowers, like a grass or an herb, to make the green leaves and stems stand out.

6. Cover all of the seeds with soil.

7. Water regularly and watch your rainbow grow!

You can make a rainbow fruit and vegetable garden too! For example, plant red strawberries, orange cherry tomatoes, yellow bell peppers, green cucumbers, and purple cabbage all in one bed to grow a rainbow of edible foods!

FLOWER CROWNS

Flowers use their sweet smells and bright petals to attract pollinators — animals that move pollen from place to place, which helps plants product fruits and seeds. Let’s make a Flower Crown!

YOU’LL NEED:

• 20 flowers

• 20 green leaves

• scissors

• basket

• string

• sharp pencil (for an adult helper)

LET’S GET STARTED:

1. Walk around the garden and look for about 20 flowers and 20 green leaves that you’d like to include on a crown. Flowers with a thick and sturdy middle, such as zinnias or daisies, are ideal.

2. Use your scissors to cut the flowers and leaves at the bases of their stems, collecting them in your basket.

3. Now cut the entire stem off each flower and leaf. If possible, throw your stems in a compost pile.

4. Wrap the string around the top of your head to measure the right length. Add about 4 inches to the end and then cut it.

5. Place your flowers and leaves in the order you want them on your crown.

6. With the help of an adult, use your sharp pencil to make a hole in the middle of each flower and leaf.

7. Now thread your string throughthe holes until all the flowers and leaves are in a line.

8. Use the extra bit of string to tie the ends together in a knot.

9. You’ve now made a Flower Crown! Place the crown on your head. You can wear your crown in places without flowers to bring a little piece of the garden's beauty everywhere you go.

Barefoot Books is an award-winning, 30-year-old independent children’s book publisher based in Concord, MA. Learn more by visiting www.barefootbooks.com.