The mission of the Family Garden Project is to encourage and support families with developing vegetable and flower gardens in their backyards.  Families can grow some of their own food for eating, herbs for seasoning and flowers to enjoy and share without spending lots of money.  A garden does not have to be a tedious chore and can enhance family life.

How can families participate?
Each year Granny’s Garden School offers 100 garden starter kits, free with a $30 donation. These kits contain the same varieties of seeds that we use in our garden program plus surprises. The kits also contain coupons for free flower, vegetable and herb plants and compost from Granny’s compost pile.  Families simply need to register, and then pick up their kits at Granny’s Garden School. Each kit contains more than enough seeds to plant two 3' x 10' vegetable garden beds plus a selection of easy to grow flower seeds.  You do not have to live in Loveland to participate. 

Tips for getting kids interested in gardening. The most important thing you can do is to be a gardener yourself.  Younger children usually want to be wherever you are doing whatever you are doing.  Use this to your advantage to turn them on to a lifetime of gardening pleasure. 

If you never had the opportunity to have such an experience yourself, now is a good time to start.  You and your child can learn together.  There are links on the Granny’s Garden School website that can answer just about any gardening question you may have.  You can also come to our gardens and learn first hand by gardening with Granny or one of her helpers.   

All-time favorite things for younger children to grow and eat are peas and potatoes (plant mid March), carrots and cherry tomatoes. The older children get a kick out of the same things but really like anything unusual, i.e. purple potatoes and red carrots.