KG parents

Congratulations on taking the first step in bringing the kitchen garden revolution home!

The Kitchen Garden Program is an innovative food education model that resonates with many. In today's busy world, it can be a challenge to cook and eat together as a family. And yet time spent together around the table can be just what we need to recharge and reconnect.

The Kitchen Garden Program brings to life a good food philosophy that is as relevant within a home and a community context as it is at school. By embracing the growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing of fresh, nutritious food at home, you are giving your family - and your children in particular - a better chance at a joyful and wholesome life.

You may have children participating in the Kitchen Garden Program, be working to get your school on board, or simply be a fan of Stephanie Alexander's inspiring work. Regardless of your situation, there are many things you can do to extend the Kitchen Garden Program approach into your home.

Gardening with kids

A home garden can be a place of magic and mystery, engaging children's natural curiosity and giving them a space in which to learn, explore and play. It doesn't take much to create this magical space - several planter boxes on a balcony can become a bountiful salad garden for children to nurture and enjoy. Something as simple as harvesting home-grown greens for the evening meal can bring a bit of sparkle to family routines.

Hopefully your child will enjoy gardening so much that he or she will want to continue the activity. It has to be fun. If children are only asked to carry out orders or to do tasks as directed by adults working in their own garden, their enthusiasm will quickly disappear. Gardening time must make allowances for the short attention span of very young children and, of course, for their limited physical strength. Caring for the garden must be seen as a game, not as a task or a chore. The aim is to share in discovering the magic of growth rather than impressive production.

As Stephanie says ...

"I have found that in order to capture children's interest and maintain their enthusiasm, they need to see the results of their involvement fairly quickly.

By the time children are seven or eight, they are able to understand concepts such as planting a few seeds now and a few more in several weeks to ensure there will be a continuous crop to harvest. They understand that plants belong to families and that one should not plant members of the same family in the same spot year after year as this depletes the nutrients in the soil and can spread soil-borne diseases. Children can also understand seasonality and that not everything grows at the same time in the year. They will certainly have a lively interest in the life of the garden: the worms, snails, caterpillars and ladybirds. They will be able to appreciate which insects are their friends and which are enemies.

As well as being fun, the kitchen garden can be a place where your children are active learners in the very physical sense. Here they can connect with earth, sunshine, rain and wind to develop an understanding of how to create healthy soil in order to nurture and harvest healthy plants. They have the opportunity to observe nature in action while helping to grow some of the food they eat in a sustainable manner."

Cooking with kids

Stephanie has no doubt about the children's capacity to quickly develop cooking skills and gain incredible confidence within the kitchen. We see it within our Kitchen Garden Schools every day, with kids tackling sophisticated recipes to create a range of mouth-watering meals. By introducing your child to cooking at an early age, you can ensure a lifelong love of food and a crucial level of confidence and self-sufficiency.

"Children love the idea of helping in the kitchen, just as I did when I was child. They certainly love to eat. As soon as possible, engage your children and allow them to stand on a stool or a chair next to you at the kitchen bench. Four- to five-year-olds can mix ingredients with a wooden spoon or a whisk, so making sweet or savoury muffins might be a good first dish to try. They can also spoon fillings into savoury tarts (a bit might slop over the bench or floor). Or spread soft fillings or dips onto a toast or savoury biscuits if you are offering a snack to guests.

Anything to do with boiling water, lifting heavy pots of hot food, putting food into or taking it out of a hot oven, or slipping food into hot oil are all tasks that need to be done by an adult, although an experienced teenager could certainly tackle these tasks on their own.

Children over the age of seven or eight can also use good-quality knives, providing they are shown how to curl the fingers of the non-cutting hand over the food to be chopped and to slice, not force, the blade through the food. They will also love to wash and spin dry the salad - though you may have to curb their enthusiasm for the spinner if the leaves are delicate. Children can make dressing and consider the flavours. They can knead dough, shape breadsticks or rolls and roll pastry. They can pound spices with a mortar and pestle. Grate cheese and zest citrus, shape meatballs and mix savoury fillings for pies or pasta with energy. With all of these skills under their belt, a child of eight or nine is able to make homemade tomato sauce - with some adult help of course.

By the time they are about ten, children who have been encouraged to feel comfortable in the kitchen and around all manner of ingredients will know how to follow a recipe. They will be able to weigh basic ingredients, separate eggs, and sauté, fry and grill - all with confidence and enthusiasm. They won't be frightened of hot water or hot ovens, but will approach both with a sensible caution and will feel comfortable about asking assistance.

Perhaps most importantly these children look forward to tasting what they have made and are open to trying unfamiliar flavours, as well as enthusiastically falling upon old favourites."

Getting started

Use the many resources available to you on this website to explore how gardening and cooking might enhance your family life. Embrace our philosophy, encouraging fun, flavour and texture in your home. Explore our recipes and menus, and get inspired by the many delicious meal ideas - all of which are suitable for kids. Learn more about the Kitchen Garden Program and join the food education revolution!

Read more...

These inspiring words are taken from Stephanie's latest book. Learn more about her approach to home gardening and cooking in Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion (Penguin Lantern, 2009).

Follow in the footsteps of one of Australia's best-loved cooks and food writers as she reveals the secrets of rewarding kitchen gardening. Be encouraged by detailed gardening notes that explain how adults and children alike can plant, grow and harvest 73 different vegetables, herbs and fruit, and try some of the 250 recipes that will transform your fresh produce into delicious meals.