Cost effective, educational, and memorable

This year we set out to include homesteading activities in the lives of our boys.  It began with a simple garden of tomatoes, peppers, egg plants and cucumbers.  Before long we decided to added a second garden closer to the house with watermelon, beans, and ground cherries.

The daily task of watering, weeding, and monitoring the garden became an important part of our family schedule.  The garden provided endless opportunities to encourage our boys to learn. From the needs of plants to weather conditions it was easy to include math and science activities in our gardening time.

Autumn’s arrival

With the arrival of Autumn, most of the plants were no longer producing fruit, and the first frost had destroyed the last of our ground cherries. We were not ready to give up this important part of our lives simply because of a seasonal change.  To continue the learning through winter, and into next summer, we decided to plant a crop of Winter Wheat.

Winter Wheat

Planting the wheat berries was as simple task. We began by pulling out the old garden plants for composting.  Then, after tilling the soil, we simply tossed the wheat berries evenly on the field. It only took seven days to have plants that were 1″ tall.

Gallery

Updates to follow.