Ok this may get long winded but I could use your advice...

I am planning on teaching 3 women how to grow vegetables. My daughter has some experience from when we used to garden when she was a kid, my DIL who has grown a few flowers, and a girl from work who has not even grow a house plant.

First as soon as the soil can be worked, I plan on having them come over to my house and dig up some grass (heheh gets my garden started LOL). I will teach them a modified SFG combined with a lasagna garden so they can keep them small and hopefully be successful and expand next year (note to self, yeah right!). I think I can get a pick up load of compost from a neighboring city to show them how to ammend the soil some. I have been gathering newspaper for the base as well. I will then have them go home and dig their own gardening spot.

Thanks to a couple big hearted people from this site such as Robin and Sue (and I am sorry I cannot remember who sends tomatoes for sase) I have some veggies and flowers coming. I also bought some of those cheapo 10/$1 seeds and spent the rest of my budget on a couple better brand seeds. We will plant a total of 3 small gardens plus mine which will have all the left over seeds so I can give them and a group called Focus Hope the excess produce. I plan on visiting Focus Hope once a week once the produce comes in so the kids can get fresh veggies along with the canned foods they get...I figure even if they only get a couple fresh beans a week it would be nice.

Anyway, My DIL lives in a mobile home and basically only has the space alowed for "flower beds" and has a 3 year old and my friend has a 2 1/2 year old. I was thinking of things little fingers could plant. I have the following seeds kids could handle...peas, dwarf sunflowers, zucchini and I will split the yellow beans I have by 4 (12 seeds) so each kid family will get 3 and of course if I get any larger seeds from Robin they will get those as well. I am starting peppers so they will each get 2 plants. I am starting tomatoes and think one cherry type and one regular type would be good for them. I am hoping to find some of those mini pumpkins for the kids because I think they would be fun and can be grown on a trellis or fence and I know they would at least get a couple to ripen.

Oh yeah, I am also have mixed zinnia, alyssum and forget me nots. I am starting a few to give each of them as well as some seeds. I also will have transplants of oregano, thyme and sage.

OK still with me? Now you know my thoughts. I would like any advice you may have to offer to help with this project. Any good websites that give very basic gardening information I could print out, inexpensive mulch ideas, etc.

Like I said I want to keep this simple so hopefully they will all get the gardening bug like me :-) Kim