Easy growing suggestions for over winter please? (Kid related)

[gardening_gal]

My youngest is considering doing her Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award but she's undecided as to what best to opt to do. One of the suggestions on the DofE site under the skills section is....

Here are just a few ideas of the sort of things you could do to get you started:

Vegetable growing

• Create a vegetable patch in your garden or allotment and grow seasonal vegetables
• Build your own greenhouse and use it to grow your own vegetables
• Grow a selection of chili plants from seed and see which one is hottest
• Cultivate vegetables and enter them into your local village fete or horticultural show.

Now although it has to be of her own doing, as she has never grown so much as a lettuce leaf in her life, she's obviously going to need guidance or a little advice along the way.

Which is where you come in. You will be so much more knowledgeable than me.

Can you suggest something (or a few 'somethings') that might be easy for a newbie to start growing over the winter? Because of timings, she would need to start something growing around the end Oct/Nov time and her involvement with this would need to last for either 3 or 6 months. (She has to pick which length of time to do this skill for.)

I do have a polytunnel she could use and she could also have the use of a polycarbonate greenhouse or a netted cage if it made any difference to the replies.

I'd love if she did opt for this as her skill section, I think it would be a good way to encourage her to consider growing in future but if I'm honest, she's not naturally drawn to gardening or growing in any way shape or form so I may be clutching at straws here.

Anyway, I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

[Scarlet]

Nothing really grows during the winter months, there's not enough daylight and the temperatures are too cold. Spring is for sowing seed. Even stuff indoors aren't really sown until next year now - Chillies are usually started indoors around feb and can take a few weeks to germinate. Broad beans can be started in November but they don't grow much top growth over the winter.

[Scarlet]

My boys took on a water life saving course..you can do that over the winter!

[Kristen]

Very difficult time of the year to grow anything, unless you have a greenhouse. I imagine for DofE it needs to have a time-spend commitment, and there isn't going to be a lot of that either through the winter months - no weeding required, no watering, no fertilising etc.

6 months from February would be fine ... from Oct/Nov I think it will be hard.

Being up in Perthshire will only make that more difficult - shorter days than Down South, and presumably colder too.

My teenage kids are not much into gardening (scarred for life, in their words, because of my obsession!) and I think many folk come to it later in life, but if a spark is ignited young so much the better. My parents were not much into gardening, until I started aged 15 or so, and then they got the bug from me.##

When my daughters did DofE there seemed to be precious little time between "Right, we've started" and "Yikes! What can we actually do" - community service needed lead time to get a position available, and sort out all the insurance hoops and so on, other parents made the same complaint at the time.

[gardening_gal]

My boys took on a water life saving course..you can do that over the winter!

Hats off to them, good skill to have.

Daughter is the least 'physical' person you can imagine, hence the growing consideration. If this isn't going to be do-able however, then that idea will be out the window and she'll need to consider other things.

Actually Kristen you make a valuable point and one which I hadn't even considered and that is the time aspect. From memory I think it has to be one hour per week spent on the activity which might well be difficult given the time of year.

Oh well, back the drawing board I guess. Thanks.

[gardening_gal]

When my daughters did DofE there seemed to be precious little time between "Right, we've started" and "Yikes! What can we actually do" - community service needed lead time to get a position available, and sort out all the insurance hoops and so on, other parents made the same complaint at the time.

Just saw this after I'd posted. I agree, that seemed to be the way with the Bronze Award. There were a number of local timing difficulties that made things quite difficult especially with the volunteering and also the skills section.

That's why we were trying to come up with something fitting in advance this time so she could hit the ground running so to speak.

[Scarlet]

There's loads to do that isn't as time consuming. Baking, learn to knit, learn to play an instrument. It doesn't have to be a sporty version of life saving, it could just be first aid.

[Scarlet]

When my daughters did DofE there seemed to be precious little time between "Right, we've started" and "Yikes! What can we actually do" - community service needed lead time to get a position available, and sort out all the insurance hoops and so on, other parents made the same complaint at the time.

Actually my boys were given quite good guidance by their team leader at school on that point. She told them to go and ask in charity shops! My son went to a local charity furniture shop. He just loaded vans for an hour in a time that fitted around his rugby schedule. My other son who is a keen pianist gave free lessons.

[gardening_gal]

There's loads to do that isn't as time consuming. Baking, learn to knit, learn to play an instrument. It doesn't have to be a sporty version of life saving, it could just be first aid.

We got a list off the DofE site, loads of suggestions there. She can wade through it and see how she feels. I'm sure she'll find something suitable.

I guess I'll just give up on my hopes of us being a pair of gardening_galS anytime soon.

[Kristen]

that seemed to be the way with the Bronze Award

My girls only did the bronze, so that's probably why my viewpoint is slanted!

She told them to go and ask in charity shops!

Mine were 13 when they did DofE Bronze ... probably more of an issue with Child Labour and Insurance etc. than if they were a bit older.

I guess I'll just give up on my hopes of us being a pair of gardening_galS anytime soon

DIGGING can be done through the winter

[gardening_gal]

DIGGING can be done through the winter

I'll be sure to suggest that. From behind the couch!

[Kirk]

The garden patch and seasonal veg could be a case of mark out and construct a raised bed. Doesn't need to be overly high, use gravel boards or similar.

These come in different lengths so 2 long ones and 2 not so long and a rectangle for growing in.
Need 4 uprights to nail/screw to, these can be set straight in the ground.
Few bags of cheap compost, 1 bag gravel, bag or 2 of manure and that's it.

Start now with some garlic and some overwintering onions. 1 row garlic, 2 rows onions. Try Wilkinsons at present.

Project can show marking out the ground, setting the posts, nailing the sides, emptying the assorted bits in and mixing. They like the prerequisites, groundwork, to it all.

Come spring, will it go on that long, then grow fairly simple things that cannot go too wrong. If you want small amounts of seed for her then try Moreveg seeds they supply smaller amounts in the packets which seems better for something like this.
As a side event, large tub, compost, manure and something like Pink Fir Apple potato's.

Daughter gets the award, you get a raised bed.

[WilliamD]

If you go with Kirk's plan and want to compliment it with some kind of crop, albeit modest, the youngster could grow indoor micro crops like mustard, cress and pea shoots. And maybe plan a herb patch. Reading up on the different herbs - their health benefits as well as their tastiness - and planning which to grow in what layout could be good productive time.

[gardening_gal]

The garden patch and seasonal veg could be a case of mark out and construct a raised bed. Doesn't need to be overly high, use gravel boards or similar.

Great suggestions Kirk but sadly we don't actually have ground to grow in, we have an area of tarmac and I have to grow in growbags and tubs on top of it. The tunnel is sited on this also.

And just to make things even more awkward, we expect to have to move at some point next year, probably before the Summer, so we can't really be doing anything other than utilising 'easy' options like growbags and the like.

Reading up on the different herbs - their health benefits as well as their tastiness - and planning which to grow in what layout could be good productive time.

That's quite a good idea, she could spend some time educating herself and wouldn't need to spend as much time 'physically' growing.

Will give it more thought.

Thank you all.

[Kristen]

That's quite a good idea, she could spend some time educating herself and wouldn't need to spend as much time 'physically' growing.

I'm not sure that would be enough for DofE? Worth asking though