Fakin' It

My Thumb is Neither Green or Orange

The last few years I have tried my hand at gardening, usually unsuccessfully. So why I expected this year to yield a hardy harvest, I have no idea!

My middle child LOVES carrots! I mean really loves them. One morning I surprised the kids with donuts from THE BEST donut shop and J asks if he can eat a carrot instead. Sure-right after I get you DNA tested because there must have been some mix up at the hospital.

To make a long story short, J got carrot seeds in his Easter basket which we planted together.

 
We weren't sure exactly when to pick them but when we saw these beautiful lush green stems, we figured the carrots were ready.

 
OOPS! Apparently you are not supposed to put all the seeds in the same hole and assume they will spread out on their own.

 
Major Carrot Fail! I do think we will try this again next year now that I know what NOT to do.

Hope my blunders bring you joy because there has to be a good reason I have so many of them:)

 

May Day Magic Surprise

I found a new blog that I love!! It's called Nothing But Country and I found this cool idea and pdf there.

 
The kids received flower pots and veggie seeds for Easter and these magic jelly beans were included. My husband printed these out for me at work b/c the color part of my printer doesn't work. The kids were guessing that the "seeds" would grow more jelly beans or jelly bean trees.

 
When we finally had a day without rain we went outside to start planting. WARNING: gardening can be dangerous and protective head gear should be worn at all times.

 
At this point the kids used gardening shovels and topped off their seeds with more dirt. Then.....we waited...and waited...and waited...

 
TaaDaa! These were supposed to bloom on May first for May Day but we were camping. The kids were excited to find this surprise on the kitchen table this morning when they came downstairs before school. However, they did not believe the flower suckers grew from the jelly bean seeds, not even my four-yr-old. Apparently, using kid logic, if I had removed the plastic wrapping from the suckers, it would have been totally believable. I tried to tell them it was a protective casing like when the green bean plant grows it sheds its seed casing. They didn't buy it. It was still fun and definitely worth the effort!

I found the flower bundles at CVS in the Easter section.

Happy May Day everyone. I hope the flowers are blooming at your house too!

Planting Seeds with Kids

 

 
I had my niece and nephew over yesterday and made eggs for all five kids for breakfast. We had a lot of shells that I thought could be reused. Plus, the Easter Bunny brought us all seeds to plant and I just so happened to have some seed starter in my garage.

 
Crazy how the Ester Bunny shops at Walmart too. I can't believe I've never bumped into him.

 

We labeled each egg with a Sharpie as each kid planted his/her seeds, so there would be no confusion. It was a messy project and if it hadn't been raining miserably, this would have been an outdoor craft.

 

Apparently the kids didn't mind the mess:) I should also note that I cleaned out each egg with hot water in the morning and let them dry before we started. When it's time, we will plant the seedling in the garden, egg and all!

 
We still had a lot of seeds left over so I had the kids save their yogurt cups from lunch yesterday and breakfast this morning.

 

While we did recycle the yogurt cups these seed starter cups are a little less eco-friendly but I think a lot more fun. I used colored Duct tape in hot pink and tye die and I used Fancy That decorative packing tape, all purchased at Joann's. I envisioned the top cup with the feathers looking like a tulip. Yeah, I was never much of a visionary but I still think it is pretty cool and the kids agreed.

Have fun with your spring planting !

 This post is linked with:

Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts (button in sidebar)

Fireflies and Jellybeans (button in sidebar)

Thrifty Thursday Blog Hop

Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple

Creative Jewish Mom