August can be one of the warmest months in Scotland and brings long days spent in the garden appreciating the flowers in full bloom and the summer crops ready to harvest and be added to family meals.

The garden is very much alive and lived in during the school summer break, so this summer I decided to get my kids fully involved in helping me with growing from seed sowing to harvest, and they have loved helping out and growing their own vegetables. Research suggests that when children are involved with gardening, many will develop a greater interest in healthy eating, which sounds good to me.

Harvests

In our veg garden, we enjoyed harvesting the tomatoes and thankfully saved some to make passata and fresh tomato soup, as most of the crop disappeared straight from the plants as the kids enjoyed fresh tomatoes. My eldest son had full control over a cherry tomato plant this year which he absolutely loved. Watching a seed grow into a food source is a wonderful life lesson and makes children feel part of the process of it all.

Courgettes were a big hit and the boys enjoyed picking them to add to their dinner time pasta, while peas were eaten straight from the plants and they didn’t leave many for me to pick! The corn was harvested for summer barbeques and they really enjoyed it roasted in butter.

The cucumbers grew very well this summer too as we tried an F1 all female type which produced a lot of fruit, and the kids enjoyed harvesting the cucumbers and then cutting into sticks to dip into hummus.

Plastic-free

They really enjoyed the freshness of the cucumbers and were excited to see them not wrapped in plastic like the cucumbers from the supermarket. This started an interesting conversation about recycling and plastic waste on which it is important to educate children.

My eldest son was fascinated with the food system and horrified that so much plastic was used just for individual cucumbers – he was pleased that his cucumbers had no plastic. He is much more aware now of how much plastic is used and wants to avoid plastic if possible by either growing his own or going to farmers’ markets where he knows that plastic is not essential.

Autumn and Winter Crops

Due to harvesting summer veg, there were some growing space ready for autumn and winter cropping vegetables. We used the space to direct sow quick growing crops like lettuce seeds, radish seeds, spring onions, and late spinach. We planted late season potatoes in grow bags ready for Christmas and transplanted cooler weather veg like pak choi, kohlrabi, cabbages, and cauliflowers into the grow bags ready for autumn.

There are lots of jobs to do in the garden in August, the kids were on board for some like watering the soil but not so keen on weeding the beds. So I did that boring but essential job and added mulches of straw and grass to my beds to protect the soil from the dry days of no rain and to limit the weeds.

Benefits

Being out in the fresh air has so many health benefits and engages the senses through touching soil, plants, seeds, and flowers and through seeing the vibrant colours and varied sizes of plants. Gardening can enhance fine motor skills development in actions like scraping the soil, putting seeds in pots, and pouring water. Older children can learn scientific concepts of how plants grow and learn about taking care of the environment.

Having responsibility over plants takes care, commitment and gives a sense of purpose and excitement away from screen time. I think after this summer’s experience, I will include my children more in the growing process as this summer they have learnt a lot and what better skill to have than to learn how to grow your own food.

Cairi Balmain has successfully grown her own produce in her garden in the Shetland Islands where the weather is extremely challenging. Recently moved to the Highlands, she is adapting to the challenges of her new environs. She also makes traditional, cold process, botanical soaps and botanical balms from hown grown herbs and flowers.

In her regular column, Cairi shares the challenges and solutions she has found to successfully grow her own food and flowers and in this issue reflects on the experience of involving her children in the growing process.