by Kirsten Skirvin, Museum Campus Garden Director
What a wonderful time of year! The birds are starting to look for choice building areas and the land is beginning to thaw. While our weather is still going to be up in the air for a little while longer, you can begin your peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, and cruciferous right now!
Check out this Utah planting guide: https://extension.usu.edu/yardandgarden/research/wasatch-front-planting-dates
I like to start my flowers a little early, as well as my celery and carrots. I recently worked with the elementary students at Dancing Moose and taught them how to recycle toilet paper rolls into individual planters for our celery that was started a few weeks ago. The children love being involved in the whole process from planting to harvesting. During the lesson, we discussed how to create cost-effective planters out of toilet paper rolls by drawing vertical lines from the end (the length of the radius of the circle base) all around the roll, cutting in a pattern, and bending the cut pieces to form a bottom. We then discussed how the biodegradable paper planter will allow the plant to grow and then be transplanted in the ground nourishing the soil and the plant at the same time. Fill the planters with soil and seedlings and let them grow into nice strong plants before transplanting them to your garden!
Most importantly, let your children help in all aspects of gardening. Let them get in the soil and get dirty, soak up those B vitamins, and enjoy the day!