Every season, I pull up the same square foot gardening picture to help the boys plan their gardens. I hand them a piece of paper with a 6 by 4 grid, and they write the names of the plants they want to grow in each square. They’re so used to this, even though they only do it once a year. And, they know exactly what they want for most of their garden. They love the abundance of cucumbers, the surprises of a radish, and especially, herbs they can snack on any time they visit their box. 

Morris’s garden had a surprise this spring when his chives sprung up from last season. Rex and Jude were jealous; chives are a favorite, and I get used to boys with chive breath when we’re near our gardens together. 

Here are their picks for the season:

I try to honor their choices, although some years, I have to trade a few items. Notice they didn’t pick anything fancy – no kohlrabi, for example – but they’re more experienced and prefer the items that can be picked for weeks, like cherry tomatoes.