Fall is the perfect time to involve your children in gardening and teach them about healthy eating. When the buzz of “back to school” dies down, make some time to plant something special with your little one. Check out the fun ideas that follow for outdoor garden and cooking ideas for children of all ages.
Try Growing a “theme” garden!

• PIZZA GARDEN: Grow a “pizza garden” with easy-to-grow tomatoes, basil and peppers and create your own pizzas to your taste.

• CAPRESE GARDEN: Grow and harvest fresh basil and tomatoes and purchase some fresh mozzarella to make a caprese salad. Your child(ren) will enjoy layering the slices of cheese and tomato to make an artful design, especially sprinkling the basil across the top.

• SENSORY GARDEN: Young children will appreciate a sensory garden filled with unique things to touch, smell and taste. Consider a small container garden full of soft lambs’ ear to touch, fragrant rosemary and basil to smell and varieties of mint to taste. DID YOU KNOW? Way back when, lambs’ ear was used as bandages? Its soft, velvety touch made it an ideal minor wound cover in the 1700’s when fabric (and certainly gauze) was scarce? Be careful with it though, and plant in a pot or ground cover, as its takes over quickly.

• THREE SISTERS: Plant corn, beans and squash together and watch them thrive. These three staples of the Native American culture are said to grow best when planted together. Harvest these and make a delicious bean salad. Grill the corn and remove from cobs and add to shelled beans for a delicious refreshing salad that’s good for you too.

• RAINBOW GARDEN: This theme works well for either edibles or flowers. Vegetables could include varieties of yellow, pink and purple tomatoes, gorgeous green lettuces and flowering herbs, such as lavender. Flowers could include bright marigolds, sunflowers and zinnias. Cutting these to make a fresh bouquet for your kitchen table makes it that much more special.

Make eating fresh fruits and veggies FUN for your kids!

• Capitalize on the delicious fresh fruits and berries available. Blend berries and bananas in the blender with yogurt for a delicious, icy smoothie- a perfect snack or breakfast, even on the go!

• If your child seems resistant to try a certain fruit, try cutting it into fun shapes. Seeded watermelon looks much more fun once you slice it into cookie cutter “star” or “flower” shapes. Of course you can’t resist the fun of good old fashioned watermelon by the slice…. Kids love spitting out the seeds!

• And speaking of seeds—let older children try fresh cherries for a sweet treat. My five year-old recently found the fun in spitting out the seeds and thinks cherries are great- she’d previously never tried them before!

• As late summer turns into early fall, go apple-picking with your child and make fresh applesauce or slice fresh apples to snack on—they’re filling and also make a great portable snack.

• Have you ever made homemade pesto? The recipe is simple (and easily adaptable to the amount of ingredients you have). Whirl chopped basil, garlic, pine nuts and parmesan cheese in the food processor. Once finely ground, drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil until you get the desired paste-like consistency and add salt and pepper to taste. Pesto stirred into pasta (hot or cold) or in place of red sauce on a pizza crust makes a delicious treat. Can’t find pine nuts? Use walnuts instead. You can even substitute parsley for some of the basil if you’re running low.

• Use all of those tomatoes and peppers to make a fresh, homemade salsa. Here’s another great benefit of making your own: you control the amount of salt and spice--make it mild and share it with the kids.
More ways to “mix things up”…

• Don’t forget--- sometimes a child’s aversion to a particular food can be changed simply by the preparation. For example, while some children may not like cherry tomatoes off the vine, they may love them roasted in the oven or prefer blueberries mixed into their oatmeal or healthy low-fat muffins rather than fresh-picked. (To roast cherry or sungold tomatoes, coat in olive oil and sea salt and roast at 400 degrees for approximately 10-12 minutes).

• Never under-estimate the power of song! While your child may be the type that prefers plain old pasta, singing the song “spaghetti and meatballs” (or reading the book) may spur their interest in making homemade sauce and meatballs and following a fun recipe. This also incorporates math and science skills measuring and estimating.

• Need to do some weeding in the garden? Let the kids water while you work. They can enjoy the fresh air outdoors, play with the water hose AND help you while you tend to other tasks.

• Let them dig in the dirt. Ditch the tools and let kids get their hands dirty, digging rows for planting seeds, harvesting crops and even weeding!

• Kids love art? Help them make mosaic stepping stones for the garden or paint wooden raised beds (or pots) in their own unique colors and designs. Many craft stores now sell complete kits for creating stepping stones and planters.

• Let kids make their own choices at the farmers’ market, produce stand and/or grocery store. If something catches their eye, purchase it and learn together how to prepare a simple dish (or look one up) with their goodies. If a certain color apple or new kind of pepper appeals to them, it’s a great opportunity to cook together.

Local Fall Plant Sales:
This Weekend: Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden: http://www.reflectionriding.org/upcoming_events.html
Sept 18, from 9-4: Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and Festival – Fun for the whole family! http://crabtreefarms.org/events/fall-plant-sale
Free Gardening Talks at Crabtree’s Fall Plant Sale!
10:30 Learn about Home Composting
2:30 Organic Gardening 101

Crabtree Farms is a research and educational project promoting sustainable agriculture. Programs include a community urban farm, gardening education, tours and youth field trips, and an on-site Farm Stand. Crabtree Farms is located near downtown Chattanooga. For additional information and directions to Crabtree Farms, please visit: www.crabtreefarms.org.