Winter hasn’t properly set in yet, in fact our lawn looks like it could do with a mow but our thoughts are already turning towards the spring. A few years ago when we revamped our garden we put in a fairly large vegetable patch (two raised beds on the end of the decking in front of our summer house really), and we’ve spent the last few years growing stuff with kids because I think its really good to put kids in the front line of their food production. We’ve grown raspberries, tomatoes, sweetcorn, strawberries, rhubarb, spring onions, marrows, courgettes, radishes and cucumbers!
The problem we’ve had the last year or two though is the springs have been so incredibly wet. This has meant we’ve had a lot of plants rot in the ground before they’ve really had a chance. If the spring that’s on it’s way is anything like the winter that’s here at the moment, we’re in for some trouble.
Consequently we’ve been considering getting a small free standing greenhouse or a lean to greenhouse to either germinate and nurture the small plants in or to simply grow them in. We’ve looked at a few places that have greenhouses for sale and I have to admit, for the sort of greenhouse we’re after, we could get something quite nice in metal and toughened glass for under £200.
In a normal suburban house, growing your own is never going to be cost effective, given how cheaply supermarkets can sell stuff but it is important to make sure kids understand their food and it’s also a brilliant outdoor activity to do, especially now that Ned has turned four and is properly into doing stuff like this.