The next installment in our “Yes You Can” series focuses on something the whole family can do.

With back-to-school just around the corner, your kids may be exposed to some general science activities (like planting seeds and watching them grow).

Plus, the whole family will be busier, with less time for errands like grocery shopping.

So, why not save time – and take advantage of your children’s upcoming science classes – by planting a back-to-school vegetable garden with the kids?

And this is how to do it:

Pick the right vegetables to grow in fall

Ask your children what they’re favorite fall vegetables are, such as:

- Beets

- Broccoli

- Cabbage

- Carrots

- Cauliflower

- Lettuce

That way, they’ll have something to monitor and look forward to as harvest-time approaches.

Get the topsoil ready

Premium triple mix soil is vital to ensuring a good fall vegetable crop.

If you haven’t refreshed the soil in your garden recently, or if you’re planting your back-to-school garden in a new location, now’s the time to have topsoil delivered to your doorstep.

Once you have fresh soil available, it’s time to prepare the garden beds. This is something you can definitely get the kids to help with.

- Raised garden beds: Break up the soil and turn it over while adding your new batch of triple mix soil

- In-ground garden beds: Replace the native soil with your new topsoil

Plant the vegetable seeds

Your kids will love this part – and it’s real easy too.

Dig troughs where the seeds can be planted. Then plant the seeds at the depth and spacing as recommended on the packaging.

Water the seeds thoroughly

Give your kids the water hose and tell them to give your newly planted vegetable seeds a good soaking.

Your kids will love doing this part.

So much so, in fact, that they may not want to give up the garden hose!

Feed and protect your vegetable seeds

- Every 10 days, give your vegetable garden an extra boost by feeding it a natural fertilizer product that’s formulated for vegetable growth

- Cover your back-to-school garden with garden fabric to protect it in case of an early or light frost

Pick and enjoy your vegetables

When the time comes, have your kids pick the vegetables they worked hard to grow (with some help from you, of course) and enjoy them!

Your kids will really experience a sense of pride and ownership as they see the results of their efforts from start-to-finish.Plus, they’ll have healthy, delicious vegetables to eat too!

“Yes You Can!” grow a back-to-school garden with the kids

It’s always great to get the kids involved in gardening and planting.

And now that you know how easy it is to plant a back-to-school garden, your next step should be making it happen!

If you need any help along the way – whether it’s advice or gardening supplies – all you have to do is tell us what you need.