Episode-186- Life Long Lessons from the Garden
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This is an updated version of a show I originally did back on July 24th, 2008 this time I have expanded it to be even more in depth. Today as we go over 10 crops and 10 lessons that we can teach kids with a garden that are priceless beyond words. Tune in today to learn…
- How Radishes and Greens teach that what we do now matters
- How to use beans and peas to teach kids how plants “help” each other
- How Tomatoes, Squash and Peppers can build a community and teach sharing
- How Potatoes and Carrots teach that what you don’t see matters
- How Pumpkins teach us to create our own entertainment
With Gardening in General we talk about…
- How gardening teaches kids that food does not come from a store
- That the life in a seed applies to the entire world
- How the earth should be seen as a provider not a “resource”
- That hard work pays off
- That you can take care of yourself and others
We need to realize that survival preparedness is best done by blending it with life on a day to day basis. To survive we need to also ensure the survival of the next generations. Today we will discover how a garden can build a new generation of Americans that value hard work, seek self sufficiency, have planning and know what they do matters.
I would love to hear your stories about what you learned about from gardening with parents or grandparents and what these lessons mean to you. Or what other lessons do you think we learn from gardening. Remember to make suggestion and comment.
Resources for Today’s Show
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Jack, I will be hammering the refresh button from the start of the day tomorrow in anticipation of your ranting on the tinfoil-hat brigade. 🙂
Wow! Last 2 episodes really made me think. I’m going to save this one to listen to again and again! You ranted a little but, over all great episode. If I was in a better position I would definitely become a member. Thanks for all your hard work.
I really enjoyed this episode-thanks! I’m growing a square foot garden for the first time this year and already it’s helping my family be closer together as we work on it together. I’ll keep these suggestions in mind.
I think you are right on about the importance of community-building. I wish every neighborhood had a bartering-market 🙂
Jack, thanks for the tips on how to get kids interested in growing plants. In this day of instant information, it is so hard to get a child to “watch a plant grow”. I don’t care for them so much, but I planted some radishes in a container this afternoon.
Jack, After listening to todays podcast I called my mother up and asked if she could bring my 2 nieces over to help me plant my 2 SFGs. The 9 year old really enjoyed it while the 5 year ran around most of the time. She did help plant some. I now have a reason for them to come over and check out what we did and teach them a little about life’s lesson. Perfect timing of this podcast as today’s weather is great here in Virginia, and I had already decided I was going to plant today. Thanks so much Jack.
Another fantastic show, Jack!
I have already talked with my grand-daughter (she and her father live with me) about helping me learn to garden this year. (It’s FINALLY getting warm enough to plant here.)
It will be a learning experience for both of us. I also plan to learn to can. (With a neighbor’s help, I hope.)
Jack, great show. I happened to listen to it while I was setting up 2 more SFG beds. My 3 kids came home, we did homework (always first thing everyday), then we went outside. We planted some tomatoes, peppers, pole beans, and some wild flowers. Then we played catch in the yard (it’s baseball time you know). We really had a great afternoon talking about all kinds of things. The wife had to drag us out of the yard for dinner.
Thanks again
These are some of the lessons my grandparents taught me when growing up. One grandpa would give me a little space in his garden each year and started me off with radishes.
The two biggest lessons learned were patience and faith. Faith that the seeds would grow and patience to wait for it to happen. (I’m still learning the last one as I check for sprouts hours after planting. ;] )
FYI, I’m looking forward to the rant show as well. I don’t agree with everything you say, but have far more commonalities than dissents.
This year the need for growing my own food is more pressing than ever. There was a news piece last week on the local cbc radio here talking about how food prices have gone up massively since this time last year, with produce and cereals going up in the realm of 27%. If prices keep going up like that, some hard choices would need to be made in the family budget, and they may still anyway even with saving money producing our own food. It’s definitely peace of mind gained knowing that a goodly portion of our food will be all homegrown this year, what sort of percentages we get still remains to be seen come harvest time. It’s definitely time to get goats for milk too, since i bought the first goat milk of the season in the grocery store today at $6.29 for a 2 litre jug and it was from a different province! not even locally produced! at that price, my family will have paid enough to cover the purchase cost of a goat in 2.5 months easy.
I am just warning you, NOT THEATNING you that if you rag on Alex Jones without any proof I will personally send him a copy, if you got proof he is some kind of charlatin, so be it. I will give him a chance to defend himself, as we all should have.
By the way I learned of you in th the Star Telegram and have been listening ever since. Like your stories, you are good at what you do. Move to Frisco, hehehehehe. 🙂
Nice show jack.
Last year at his school my 6 year old boy planted a single broard bean in a paper cup, when he bought it home we re-poted it and it grew 8 feet high and we ate the beans.
I don’t believe many other mums and dads did anything with there’s.
This year we have planted many beans together.
Mark
Jack, great show! I can relate from my own experience as a mother who always gardened to provide my family with fresh, wholesome food. When my oldest son was small(he is now 37 with his own 2 year old son) I gardened and he played close by and just did what little boys did. He never seemed very interested in the garden. My son called me up the other day to get some advice on raising some tomatoes in a pot this year and that next year he wanted to plant a small garden in his back yard. My son said he wanted to do this for his son, to share this experience with him. Those times had made a bigger impression on my son than I had ever realized!
Equus Pallidus
I am going to rag the shit out of Alex Jones! However, I have no plans to call him a charlatan and send what ever you want to who ever you want, I really don’t care.
The thing to understand though is nothing I say is really about Alex who at times I actually listen to and enjoy it is about anyone who goes to far with some of these nonsensical beliefs and conspiracy theories. Tune in around 10 AM
I plant a vegetable garden every year, this year me and my 2 year old daughter are doing 2 raised beds, with a large variety. Everyday we go out and work a little and she helps me water. She might be to young to remember it, but is still fun and why not let her enjoy it also. This will continue to be a tradition of our family.
Jack,
Thanks for the show, you delivered not just the
message but also the fact that this topic is
clearly close to your heart.
Some lesson that came up for me was; about the
birds and the bees (I have 10-15 year old males
in my house), pollination (this relationship we
have giving the bees a job)(How to deal with fear
and not to kill every bee you see)(allergic
reaction/preparedness helps replace fear with
calm) , How everything affects everything else
(insect to plant to animal to consumption to
energy to waste. What you do or dont do matters.
That knowledge carries responsibility, and
responsibility carries rewards the same as
inactivity carries punishment. That going through
life brain dead may not hurt, but it can kill
you.
Thanks again Jack for taking the time to share
your thoughts.
Jack,
I know I’m a little behind in posting on this episode, but I just have to tell you: I think this is one of the best episodes you’ve done. It’s right up there with the one when you described how your bring brought up in rural Pennsylvania contributed to your modern survivalist mindset.
I am trying to teach my kids the lessons from the garden, too. They are *amazed* at what we can grow in our backyard.