Plant a Back-to-School Vegetable Garden This Labour Day Weekend

It’s Labour Day; the last long weekend of the summer. You’re probably wondering what last summer gardening project you can tackle this weekend. Meanwhile the kids are probably excited about the upcoming school year and all the new classes they’ll be taking. Why not take advantage of the long weekend and the upcoming school year by planting a back-to-school garden with your children this Labour Day weekend. It won’t take much time at all. Plus, it’s a great way to ensure the whole family has access to fresh, healthy vegetables during the busy school year. 

Choose the vegetables you’ll want to grow in the fall

Get your kids involved right away by asking what they’re favorite fall vegetables are, such as:

• Beets
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce

This is important because it gives your kids something to look forward to as harvest time draws near. 

Prepare the triple mix soil

You’ll need to have high-quality triple mix soil in order to give your back-to-school garden its best shot at growing and thriving. If you haven’t refreshed the soil in your garden recently, or if you are going to plant your back-to-school garden in a brand new location, now is the time to have triple mix soil delivered to your doorstep. As soon as you have fresh triple mix soil, your next step is to prepare the garden beds with the kids:

Raised garden beds

Break up the soil and turn it over while adding your fresh batch of triple mix soil. In-ground garden beds: Replace the soil that’s currently in them with your new topsoil mixture.

Plant the vegetable seeds

Your kids will love doing this part. Plus, it’s real easy too. Dig troughs in your garden bed where the seeds can be planted. Then, have your children plant the seeds at the depth and spacing that’s listed on the vegetable seed packaging. 

Water early, water often, water deeply

Give your kids the water hose and instruct them to give your newly planted back-to-school garden a good soaking. Your kids will love doing this part. So much so, they may be reluctant to give up the garden hose!

Protect and feed your vegetable seeds

• Approximately every 10 days, give your back-to-school garden an extra boost by feeding it a natural vegetable-growth fertilizer product

• Cover the garden with garden fabric to protect it in case of an early or light frost

Pick and enjoy your vegetables

When the time comes, have your kids pick the vegetables they worked hard to grow (with some help from you, of course) and enjoy them! Your kids will really experience a sense of pride and ownership as they see the results of their efforts from start-to-finish. Plus, they’ll have healthy, delicious vegetables to eat too.

Now that you know how easy it is, why not give it a shot?

It’s always great to get the kids involved in gardening and planting. And now that you know how easy it is to plant a back-to-school garden, your next step should be making it happen! If you need any help along the way – whether it’s advice or gardening supplies – all you have to do is tell us what you need.