The pumpkins are in! 10/10

After returning from A1 last May I had my son plant some pumpkin seed in the cleared woods that get sun. Well the harvest finally came in! We got 4 BIG ones! However the groundhog seemed to enjoy the majority of one so we really got 3. Caleb and I went back and cut them and cleaned them off. I tried hard to make a connection with his planting and harvesting. I'm not sure he got that. Even though he hates PECS maybe a pecs storyboard would have been a somewhat better reinforcer of that sequence.

I am still fighting "the flu" myself but it is time to cleanup the garden for the year. It is a chore he seems to dislike. He doesn't seem to like the change rather than the actual work . He wants to keep the stakes in place. I am trying to understand why he doesn't like me to pull up the garden stakes. Each year he has been a little more accepting of this activity but in a few years past I have had to do it without him as he almost panics that I am pulling them. He doesnt mind pulling up plants though.

As soon as i get better we will plant garlic and TRY to start spinach for overwintering (if the groundhog doesnt eat it). I'll erect some kind of row cover for it so it gets a better start (im kinda late) and it will give Caleb stakes to drive. Planting of the garlic and working in the soil are something he likes. Planting garlic is an easy task. The cloves are large and easily handled. I can use a guide stick with markings to help him concentrate on planting in rows. In the past the stick hasnt worked so I just let him do it as he wants in a certain spot. Then I reinforce that "this was your spot" frequently and show him. Garlic comes up pretty fast so it's much easier to make a connection with the planting and growing aspect.

If other decide to attempt this you might consider one of Elmo's videos (Flower's Plant and Trees) which shows a time elapsed sequence of a bean seed growing.

I will try to get a picture of the pumpkins posted but I am still having trouble with the posting in line of pictures. If so, I will post to the twitpics.

/<...

Planting shallots in 2005