Social Studies and Seed Saving.

As a gardener, I sometimes wonder why. Why am I so driven to tackle weeds, battle squash bugs, and fight the forest in its effort to reclaim our asparagus bed? As a mom, there are days when I wonder why I dragged the kids out to the garden, invading my garden zen with their complaints and fussing as they weed the strawberry bed. What's the point? We have an absolutely fabulous Farmers' Market nearby if I'm so determined to feed the family vegetables. 

Then, once in awhile, it all makes sense.

In South Carolina, third grade students study our state's history. Incorporated into social studies lessons is a student project about Native Americans of the Carolinas. Kids can choose to create a model of a tribe's home, draw a poster, or write an essay. (Truthfully, the term "student" should probably be substituted with "parent." Many overzealous parents build architecturally correct renderings of Cherokee, Catawba, or Yamasee homes. In fact, one student in Mikey's class grumbled that his mom only let him make the campfire for his model. Seriously.)

Thankfully, Mikey chose the essay. Sure, building the model seems like fun, but since he recently broke his arm on the soccer field, a one-handed model-making fest did not appeal to either of us. 

So, he researched and wrote the rough draft of his essay.  Then, I made him go back and write more. Let's just say, it was pretty obvious that he rushed his research and writing to play Minecraft.

Much grumbling ensued.

To top it off, I sat with him while he typed it one-handed. I know, I know...I'm such a mean mom. The reality is that even without a broken arm, he still would type with one hand. He's in third grade, after all.

As he finished the paragraph about the vegetables planted by the Cherokee--including squash, beans, and corn--I reminded him about our garden. 

Our "Three Sisters" garden, based on the companion planting techniques of Native Americans.

Suddenly, something clicks--there's history right in his backyard! He helped shuck corn from the "Three Sisters" garden. We're still eating beans from the garden, much to his dismay. (I think everyone is a little tired of beans. We've harvested a lot of beans.) Sadly, our squash succumbed to the overly wet summer, but we talked about how and why the plants work together.

Luckily, as a garden blogger, I had a photo of the "Three Sisters" garden. He took the photo  to share with his class to show the Native American's farming techniques.

As he finished writing about the discovery of gold on the Cherokee's land and their subsequent death march to Oklahoma, I realized something else.

We planted several heirloom varieties of beans in the garden, including 'Cherokee Trail of Tears,' a bean reportedly carried by the Cherokee on the march, which survived and passed to following generations.

Mikey realized that not only did he help grow an historical garden, he ate beans rich in history. (He may not have liked it--but he did.)

Watching how history came alive for Mikey through our garden, I decided to share Native American history with his friends, too. I sent in 20 envelopes with 'Cherokee Trail of Tears' beans and 'Cherokee Purple' tomato seeds.

Hopefully, history will come alive for other kids in the garden. You can grow a love of learning through a garden, don't you think?

Do you grow anything historical in your garden? Please share!

XOXO ~

Julie

Each month on the 4th, You Can Grow That! features garden advice and tips for growing great gardens.

Happy National Seed Swap Day! (Plus a Giveaway!)

Have you been gazing at seed catalogs, dreaming of spring? Wait! Before you place your order, let's have a seed swap!

Did you know that Saturday, January 26, 2013 is National Seed Swap Day? Nope, neither did I until I happened to read an article today. So, while it's too late for me to organize a local, community seed swap, I thought it might be fun to host a virtual seed swap. Want to join me?

Here's how it will work:

1. Check your seed inventory to see what you can share. Make a list and note quantities. (Please remember—if you save seeds from your garden, please only pass along heirloom seeds. Seeds collected from hybrids usually don't grow true to the parent plant.)
2. Make a list of seeds you'd like to receive.
3. Go to the Garden Delights Facebook page. (In case you don't know, Garden Delights is my organic heirloom plant business.) Please “Like” the page, if you haven't already, and then find today's Status about National Seed Swap Day.
4. Post your seed availability and your wish list of seeds in the Comments section of the post. I'll cut and paste the comments into a master document titled “2013 Seed Swap,” which you can find under “Notes.” It should make it a little easier to navigate than scrolling through lots of comments to see who has/wants which seeds.
5. Check out seed availability, then contact the person who offers the varieties you'd like. Please arrange to share addresses privately.
6. Make certain to pack and label your seeds carefully for the recipient. Add any information that you think the grower would find helpful or interesting, like “Germinates best in cool temperatures” or “Heirloom passed down from grandfather.” The more information, the better!
7. Please be generous when sending seeds. Remember, germination rates vary, plus older seeds may have a lower germination rate.
8. As the seeds should fit into a normal envelope that requires one stamp (unless you're being extremely generous), I'd recommend that the sender is responsible for postage. Everyone will be sending and receiving, so the postage costs should balance out.
9. Please send the seeds within a week of the request, or at least let the recipient know when to expect the seeds.
10. Have fun and make new gardening friends!

Now, I've never organized an online seed swap before...but I'm excited to try it! Please be patient if I haven't covered something or if there are any problems. I'll try my best to fix any technical issues, but any seed delivery issues is between the parties who made the agreement, OK?

And—as an extra bonus—I'm going to randomly select two seed swappers to receive a collection of seeds from Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange! All you need to do to enter the drawing is to “Follow” Growing Days, if you haven't already; “Like” Garden Delights' Facebook page; and participate in the seed swap! I'll announce the winners on February 28.

Are you ready to plant your best garden ever? Then on your mark, get set...let's swap some seeds!

Happy National Seed Swap Day (Tomorrow)!

XO ~

Julie

P.S. Here's a great site with very cute seed envelope templates. You can make your own seed packets! 

P.P.S. Check out Farm Girl Blog Fest, a great assortment of homesteading, gardening, and crafting ideas.