Kids in the Garden

It is Summer of 2011...and I'm reliving my roots to the Earth in another generation.

I'm in a little white house, raising 3 inquisitive children in a quaint rural Illinois town. The backyard is the kids favorite place. They think theres magic back there. They want a Garden this year and ask if I will help. The 3 yr old boy just wants to dig with toy trucks and plant seeds. The 7 yr old girl wants to create a fairy garden. The 9 yr old girl wants to know the game plan, the technical details of it all.

I tell them YES, we are going to make an Organic Garden. They're so excited. Little smiling faces at the kitchen table, until one child asks "whats organic?"

I had to stop and think. How do I explain the concept of "organic" to kids?

I tell them its about having the magic of Nature, its caring for baby plants, and we can watch them grow fed from the Sun and Rain. We can have fun picking veggies from the backyard, real foods with no chemicals or yukky stuff in it.

Reactions to my Organic speech at the kitchen table:

3 yr old boy "I go get them every morning!" 7 yr old girl "Ohhh...so we don't have to worry about eating stuff like the 3 headed fish on Simpsons?" 9 yr old girl "It will be fun to see how they grow!"

But first. we have to pull all the weeds of the past year...and dig in the dirt to make a nice bed for the seeds to sleep and grow in.