HOW TO CREATE A CURIOUS GARDEN

contributed by Amanda Marasch

March is the time of year where I start to look forward to warmer weather and spring plants. My husband and I bought my son a book when he was a baby called The Curious Gardener, written and illustrated by Peter Brown. The story reminded my husband and I of one of our favorite date spots in NYC, High-Line Park. Reading the book with my son last year, we started to explore the ideas of what our garden will look like. I was raised with a large suburban garden full of tiny peas, vibrant green beans, bright yellow squash, tiny sour strawberries, and juicy tomatoes of all sizes and shapes. Last March my son was finally old enough for us to bond through this process together. Here is our step by step process of how to create a curious garden:

1. First, we draw what we want our garden to look like. We use crayons and colored pencils to sketch our dream garden. I then purchase the seeds we need to make it happen. 
2. Place the seeds in a paper towel and fold the paper towel in half. Wet the paper towel so that it’s damp. Place the paper towel in a brown paper bag and place that paper bag somewhere that is dark. I usually place it under the sink in my bathroom. 
3. Two days later, check on your seeds. If the paper towel is no longer damp, then re-wet it. If they have not yet sprouted, place them back in your dark undisturbed spot until they do! If the seeds have sprouted, then you are on your way. 
4. Once you have sprouts, carefully open the paper towel on a flat surface. Some of the sprouts may have crawled through the paper towel and you will  need to gently untangle them. 
5. Now, plant your sprouts! We use tiny starter pots and set them near our biggest windows with lots of water. We found a stack of these for a dollar this year and trays to catch the water run-off.  We add 2-3 sprouts to each starter pot just in case a sprout doesn’t make it. 
6. This is the time to sit with your loved ones and read a good book to your new sprouts.  We also pick a song a day to sing to them… just for fun. 
7. When the chance of frost has gone and the ground has thawed, your little plants will be ready to grow, thrive and fill your curious gardens. Enjoy!