City Slicker Farms

At a recent visit to one of our preschool garden sites, City Slicker Farms’ Childcare Garden coordinator Sarah Karlson stood amidst a group of four- and five-year-olds holding a piece of kale.

“Who can tell me what this is?” she asked. “Salad!” the kids yelled with excitement and recognition. “Yes, this is kale–we like to eat kale in salads!”

The preschoolers at the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) know and love their veggies, thanks to the garden beds and fruit tree now situated right outside of their classrooms. This past spring, City Slicker Farms worked side by side with teachers, staff, and families to raise and plant garden beds for these young learners. As part of their classroom activities, the children get to plant seedlings, spread compost and harvest everything from broccoli to cherry tomatoes. What could be better than learning about growing food while digging in the dirt and discovering roly-poly bugs?

Not only is it fun for kids to play in the dirt, school and childcare gardens support the emotional, social, educational, and physical health and well-being of kids. At City Slicker Farms, one aspect of our mission is to ensure that children, especially children of low-income families, can experience the delight of caring for plants and seeing their gardens bear fruit. Mitchell Ha, Vice Principal at HUSD, is a strong believer in these benefits of gardening and an advocate for school gardens.

“The children are so curious,” Ha says of the preschoolers who tend the school garden. “They love the sensory experience of being in the garden -- smelling the basil and the onions, and tasting the sweet peas.”

It’s also fascinating for the children to see and taste the differences between veggies that come from the store and the kinds they grow in their own garden, like conventional vs. heirloom tomatoes. The preschoolers at HUSD grow beans, greens, peas, cauliflower, tomatoes and even strawberries in their garden, and Ha says they hope to add lavender too, because it can be calming for children.

The special thing about childcare gardens is that they can be a rewarding experience for a child’s whole family. When City Slicker Farms builds a children’s garden, we schedule a build day with parents and family members. Once the vegetables are ready for harvest, children get to sample recipes with the veggies made in their garden, and even ask their parents to prepare veggie dishes at home.

When asked how to prepare veggies from the garden, Mitchell Ha shares easy recipes like this one, for a simple but tasty stir-fry:

Ingredients:

• Olive oil or any cooking oil
• Garlic - minced/crushed
• Oyster sauce (Look for a bottle with a picture of a Panda Bear in the Asian food section)
• Any vegetables-onions, carrots, green beans, bell peppers or whatever you have on hand
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

• Heat cooking oil in a pan or skillet
• Add crushed garlic and stir it around until it’s a bit golden brown
• Add your vegetables and stir until they’re soft and evenly cooked, but not mushy
• Add oyster sauce, a dash of salt and a dash of black pepper
• Enjoy with steamed rice or by itself