In South Florida we garden all year, but our best garden season is in the winter. For the rest of the nation, summer is where it’s at. I’m searching now for the seeds I will plant in October. Here are my favorite places to buy organic seeds:

The seedlings from this year in my garden that grew into the biggest tomato plants you’ve ever seen!

• Tomatofest – This is a fabulous place to buy organic, heirloom tomato seeds! The options are so plentiful, it will overwhelm you.
• Seeds of Change – This place has everything organic you can imagine. The trouble is that you will not be able to decide which seeds to buy. They have vegetable, fruit, flower seeds and much more.
• Johnny’s Seeds – Johnny’s sells a wide variety of seeds. Not all are organic, but I have had great luck with different organic vegetable seeds from here – in particular the lettuces and broccoli were the BEST!
• Heirloom Seeds – They had all non-hybrid varieties and some are organic.

Good luck with your summer garden!

1. Plant a garden together. Kids love to plan out a garden, buy seeds or plants and plant them in the garden or in pots. You can check books out from the library to help you get started.  Pick a theme – veggies, a flower garden or even a butterfly garden. The whole family can enjoy learning and caring for the garden together.
2. Spring clean. Children may actually enjoy cleaning out a closet or organizing their toys and books. Make it fun. Play music and keep the task positive. This is a great way to teach your kids how to take care of their stuff and to be generous by donating items they no longer need to others who could really appreciate them.
3. Take a nature hike. Collect leaves and flowers to press. See if you can identify plants and insect species.
4. Make or decorate a birdhouse to put in a tree in your yard.
5. Plan your summer vacation. Get the kids involved in the process and they’ll be much more excited about the trip. You can look at maps to see where you are going and look online for fun stuff to do when you get there.
6. Take swimming lessons. Every person should know how to swim. Check out your local YMCA for classes. They’re fun to take too.
7. Go thrifting or yard sale shopping. It’s a lot of fun to visit thrift stores or spend a Saturday morning mapping out and visiting yard sales. You don’t have to buy a lot of stuff, but it sure is fun to look!
8. Do a craft together. Make a mobile of hanging insects, make a wreath of flowers for your front door or paint a wooden box with acrylic paints to store newfound treasures.
9. Cook together. Plan out a great healthy dinner with lots of fresh veggies. Take your kids to the supermarket, an then cook together. The kids can have fun setting the table an decorating it with crafts you made together.
10. Get moving! Dust off your tennis racquets, hop on your bikes or play softball in the park, even if the weather is not perfect!

http://www.clipartandcrafts.com

Clean and peel tomatoes

Cook with onions, garlic, red wine and spices

Add meatballs. and look what ya got!

Yummy!

This giant Aussie organic tomato was a perfect red and had the best flavor of any tomato I’ve ever had! Forget the dressing. This baby needed only a sprinkle of salt!

I did it!

I’ve got a 2 lb. tomato!

Aussie Heirloom Tomato, weighing in at 2 lbs.

Due to an unusually cool fall, my tomatoes are ripening extra slowly this year. But I think they will be worth the wait. The large yellow tomato you see here is about half the size of the largest tomatoes I have!

The big yellow tomato is an Arkansas Marvel

This freak of nature cherry tomato looks like a duck!

Perspective – the tomato vs. the tennis ball!

I am eagerly awaiting the first harvest of my organic Heirloom tomatoes. This year, they are HUGE! Looking forward to my eggplant plant producing some eggplant for Parmesan!

Look at how HUGE my tomato plants are after 6 weeks!

Pea pods coming along nicely!

Huge flock of crows flew over my house

Chased the dog through the yard

Dog chased me through the yard!