By Billy Mau

Summertime can be a great time to test out your child’s green thumb. Starting and maintaining a garden is a great way to teach kids about responsibility, and in a time where people are making every dollar count, homegrown vegetables and fruit can take a little burden off the grocery bills as well. And you never know, the child might be a little more inclined to at a vegetable that they grew themselves.

WHAT TO PLANT

The first thing you should decide with your children is what to plant in the garden. Whether you’re going with fl owers or vegetables, it is important to choose plants that grow well in our summer environment.

Beans, tomatoes and squash work well early in the summer, while purple hull peas, black-eyed peas, okra and eggplant thrive when things really get hot. Many variety of peppers also do well in the heat. Your best bet is to consult a Texas garden guide either online or in book form. There you will fi nd the best times to plant different vegetables as well as how to best maintain them.

It is also important to plant the right flowers. Roses are a popular choice and can do well if properly maintained. Salvia is a great choice for our weather conditions because it is very drought resistant and doesn’t require a whole lot of maintenance to look beautiful. Ruellia is also a good choice and its bright purple flowers should be very satisfying to your junior gardener.

WHERE TO PLANT

You don’t need a big yard to do a little summer gardening. Small planter boxes are great for fl owers or an herb garden, and deeper containers such as larger planter pots or even fi ve gallon buckets are great for larger plants such as tomatoes.

Any of these can be placed on a porch or balcony, meaning you can have fl owers, fresh herbs for cooking or a few homegrown veggies even if you live in an apartment or townhome.

Using hanging baskets or window boxes can turn your fl owers or herbs into outdoor decoration and even keep
some of the pests away.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE KIDS

Growing a garden is a great way to not only have some fun with the kids, but sneak in a little learning as well. They can learn about the life cycle of plants, how pests and weeds can be harmful to plants, and learn responsibility by taking care of the plant from a tiny seedling to maturity.

It can also give kids an appreciation for the effort that goes into getting food on the table or flowers in the flower shop every day. Talk with them about how much effort went into the plants they grew, then tell them about the farms and nurseries where thousands of plants are grown.

Finally, and most importantly, growing a garden is something parents can do with the kids. The time spent tending the garden is a great chance to bond and have fun together. In an age where kids can bury themselves in video games and iPods, that time spent in the dirt could prove to be some of the best moments of the summer for everyone.