‪August is my favorite month of the year for so many reasons. My wedding anniversary, my birthday, my husband's birthday, and my twin sons' half birthday is all in August. Yes, we count the half birthday. (This matters to some children.) August is the month of the Indiana State Fair which I love attending annually and on multiple days during each year. Unfortunately, corona stole the fair from us. August is also the month where I tend to harvest a lot of produce. Let's check

Roasted beets, candied beets, pickled beets are just a few of the ways we like to prepare beets.  Although we love to eat beets, we do not grow them.  My parents grow beets every year and they grow way more than they will ever eat, so we share the harvest. Our boys enjoy harvesting in their grandparents' garden.  Below, is a video of them harvesting beets during Labor Day weekend.  Besides hearing my dad talk to me in the background of the video, can you also spot him? We can

Gardening is a labor of love. It can be time consuming and then there are those pesky weeds that appear and reappear with a vengeance. Time spent in the garden is an opportunity to bond and spend quality time with family and friends. Over the course of this summer, we have split our time to work in four gardens: our own, my parents, my great uncle and my previous school. Over many summers, our sons have improved their harvesting skills. When they were younger, they would

Last week on the summer solstice my boys, my nieces and I did a little harvesting in the garden. One item harvested was mint by my niece Zoe. Once I cleaned the mint, I decided to use some of it to make mint syrup. The rest of the mint will be used to make mint extract and some minty drinks. Since I had my nieces at my house I thought it would be fun to show them and my boys how to make mason jar ice cream incorporating the mint syrup. Below is our mason jar ice cream vid

About six weeks ago, a spinach plant began to grow in one of our raised beds. We decided to purchase some spinach seeds and intentionally grow more spinach. Unfortunately, the volunteer spinach plant has now bolted. When a plant bolts, it begins to flower and go to seed. The leaves taste bitter and aren't good to harvest. Typical Indiana weather has contributed to this. It has been nice and warm lately, but for the last week it has rained a lot. We have decided to not s

The most rewarding part of harvesting food you have grown is enjoying it after you have prepared it. Eating food fresh from the garden is good for your body and tastes better than anything you can purchase from the store. I learned how to cook from my parents and grandmother. There were many dishes my grandmother made that I enjoyed that I do not know how to cook today because she died before she was able to teach me. This is why I believe it is important to document my

Even before a child is able read, he or she could probably identify multiple fast food restaurants. With all of the advertisements targeting children, it is easy for them to think and believe food comes from the grocery store or a restaurant. One of the benefits of being urban gardeners with children is teaching them where food really comes from and how it begins as a seed and ends up on their plate. This week we harvested: lavender, rosemary, sage, oregano, nasturtium flow