Little sproutlets, guru gardener Ed Hume is inviting you to his educational garden in Puyallup. Never been? Get yourself there.

Details here from Ed Hume's people:

Sunday August 17th
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Ed Hume's Educational Garden, 11504 58th Ave E.
Puyallup (off Canyon)
Adults $10, Children $5 -- all proceeds go to the food bank
(For tickets and information, call Tanya 253-460-2841)

Enjoy a guided tour of the garden and seed factory with Ed Hume!
Autographed books "Gardening with Ed Hume" half price!

For Children of all ages: Maze; Quiz Garden; Insect eating plants; Punch and cookies; Scavenger Hunt; Art projects for children to make; Games; Face Painting; Artists in Action

It's been two weeks since we spent any time in the garden (and much longer since I blogged, as Craig points out.)

This morning I asked Gwen to go out to check on the tomatoes. She didn't want to -- too busy playing. After a quick bribe of a piece of candy, she went to the backyard in her cherry dress, pink princess shoes and fancy ponytail.

We found the first few yellow grape tomatoes and the last of the sugar snap peas. Our lemon cucumbers are flowering and the carrots look like they will be ready soon. We just don't have enough sun to grow anything well. But we are trying. More tomorrow after I push the kids back into the garden.

The countdown to the Point Defiance Flower & Garden show is on!

Here's a look at what the show will have to offer kids this year:

Native plants: Kids can plant a native tree seedling in the "Hundred-Acre Wood," a play/plant area for kids. The Native Plant Salvage Alliance will replant the seedlings in deforested areas.

Guided hikes: Kids can learn more about native plants while hiking to the Native Plant Garden, one of the permanent gardens at the park.

Bee hives: Get up close and personal with the secret lives of bees.

We went to the Master Gardener's plant sale on Sunday on the hunt for grape tomatoes. The kids like to eat them right off the vines in the summer so I try to make sure we plant a lot.

The tomato section of the sale offered lots of varieties. But we were focused on the smallest ones. We found a green grape tomato that will be fun to try and a yellow pear, in addition to the red grapes that we always have. Yum.

Now we have to make sure to keep them warm until the last frost date – which is about Mother's Day.

Last night I put them in the greenhouse. But I am going to plant them in pots so I can bring them in at night.

=> Read more!

While working in the garden this past weekend, the kids wanted to know which plants were edible.

It's a big question for little kids who still put marbles in their mouths. My answer: Only things I tell you to eat. Don't eat anything unless I say you can. Some plants can make you very, very sick.

After the warning, we walked around and talked about what they could eat. We found chives left from last year. Dandelions, but only from our yard where we don't use pesticides or other chemicals. We tried violets in our front border garden. We picked a few small lettuce leaves that were starting to sprout.

But that wasn't enough for them. We ended up driving to Tacoma Boys to buy peppermint, spearmint, rosemary and oregano. Now they can stroll the backyard for a snack – as long as I am out there with them.

It was raining much of the weekend but I managed to make it to a nursery anyway.

Niki and I went to Watson's in Puyallup on Saturday and browsed through hundreds of annuals, perennials and vegetables. They have a bunch of fun stuff. We saw Curry Plant, which looks like lavender but has a strong spicy smell.

I picked out some vegetables I haven't tried to grow before but that my kids might like.

I got celery for Kellen and artichoke for Gwendolyn. They were really excited about it when I got home. Anyone grow these veggies? Anything I should know?

I also picked up a packet of cleome – one of my most favorite annuals. I love the delicate flowers.

The sun shining outside my window this morning made me long for a few hours at a local nursery. I want to load up on perennials to decorate the bald patches in my yard. But I am really good at buying plants before I have a place for them. And then they sit in pots for weeks – just like the trays of pansies I bought in early April.

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A few weeks ago we planted big pots with lettuce, radishes and peas. The kids get really excited each time they see the progress. The radishes and lettuce are growing strong.

Keeping them interested in the gardening project is a challenge. But seeing the progress is a good motivator.

This weekend we are going to clear a patch of weeds growing in the back alley that will become home to a patch of sunflowers. Kellen picked out three different varieties that we will plant.

Here's one:

Ah, weeds. So many of them and so little time. We headed out on Sunday to enjoy the sun and clear the raised beds that will eventually become home to our vegetables.

Each of the kids got a large pot of their own to plant seeds. But first we had to get rid of weeds. Much of the last several years in the garden has been spent trying not to get them to pull up plants in the yard. Now they are going to learn about the plants we want in the garden and those we don't.

They loved this exercise - for a while.

I ran into this weed, at least I think it's a weed. Anyone know what it is?

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I dug around and found this web site that has a pretty solid description of how to grow potatoes in a barrel.

Tips from the site include:
1. Use a clean trash can to grow the potatoes, and make sure there are holes drilled in the bottom.
2. Be sure to bleach out the container to kill bad germs.
3. Use good soil to prevent potato scab (click the link to see their suggestions)
4. Buy seed potatoes to get started - and make sure they're certified disease-free.

This looks like a great garden assignment for kids. If anyone starts a potato barrel, please post here and tell us about it. Send photos too.

Every day we check on our seeds. The unofficial tally: About 50 percent have sprouted. The fastest ones were the zinnia. The cosmos and the peas were second.

Here are the kids working on the seeds last week:

Read on for more seed starting lessons.

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I took my kids to the store this weekend so they could get the proper
accessories to begin their gardening career. They each got a trowel,
gloves and a watering can. Then we stopped at a local garden center to pick out some seeds that we could start in trays at home.

It’s hard to explain to kids the germination process and why we can’t grown enormous pumpkins in our small backyard that doesn’t have a lot of sun.

Margie Heinz, a manager at Watson’s Garden Center in Puyallup, suggested starting with seeds that germinate quickly such as lettuce and beans. That way kids get nearly instant gratification.

I did my best to steer them to easy-to-grow varieties while attempting to prevent a meltdown in front of the peat moss.

Here’s what we will be watching this spring:

Cosmos Bright Lights

Sunflower Autumn Beauty

Snap peas

Kandy Korn Sweet Corn

California poppy

Candytuft

Mesclun

Lemon cucumbers

Zinnia semidwarf sprite mixture

Speat peas

Swan River Daisy

Cosmos Sensation Mix

Radish Early Scarlet Globe

We’ll keep you updated on the progress.