No Kids' Gardens for Us

My plan: Allow each of my kids to have their own little garden space. Have them plant a few vegetables of their choosing and enjoy eating some fresh produce grown in our own backyard.

My cool idea: Use the drawers from an old dresser to make three individual raised bed gardens. I think it would be really cool to bust out the bottom of the drawers, fill it with top soil so each kid would have their own little plot. I even went to the library and checked out the book All New Square Foot Gardening because I heard it had great ideas for growing a variety of veggies in a small space.

My reality: I have a brown thumb. I filled two window boxes with gorgeous pink flowers at the beginning of May. They looked lovely on my back deck ~ until I forgot about them. I pass by them multiple times a day and sit next to them every evening when we eat dinner outside. Even still, it didn't dawn on me that I should water them when we had several days of near 100 degree weather and no measurable rain. Next thing you know, I had this...

My daughter asked why my pretty flowers were "tan" now!

I decided it would be cruel and unusual punishment to subject cucumbers and tomatoes to the same neglect, especially since our raised bed planters would be in the far corner of the backyard. There's always the chance my kids would have better luck, but based on the way they forget to flush the toilet or put their shoes away, I figured it wasn't likely.

So, if you have a greener thumb than I do and happen to have a set of old dresser drawers laying around, I think my idea could have been a really cool one. Let me know if you try it out and it works!

Sharing the idea for those who have green thumbs at:

Tatertots and Jello