While I know that a big chunk of Canada is still sitting under snow, over here on the wet west coast we are in full spring time bloom.

With the rhododendrons and daffodils, comes our first BLAST of weeds.

The first spring weeding never bothers me that much, usually because the ground is still soft from a winter of wet, and the weeds are the weak rooted annuals that are easy to pull up.  This year, I approached it with even more glee, since I had the kids helping me!

Teaching my kids to weed was easy!  We took the time and focussed on one weed a day, an easy to identify one, that was lightly rooted and easy to pull up.  Having the kids work on digging out deeply rooted weeds like a dandelion would just be a lesson in frustrated, so we focussed our efforts on the bittercress.

This sweet little weed is prolific, and easy to identify by it’s tall stalks and small white flowers.  With one light tug, lower down it’s stem, it pulls right out of the ground.

All 3 kids (ages 4-10) are keen to pull this baby out of the ground for me, especially since with every bucket full they collect, they get to feed the chickens (or rabbits) with it.

The double win here, is not only are the kids keeping busy cleaning our garden, but we are able to safely dispose of these weeds, without worry of them seeding our compost pile.  The chickens devour them safely, and the bunnies will pick at them (although LOVE the dandelion flowers)

They are also safe to eat, and a fully edible weed!  Pop them in your salad and they are similar to a crisp watercress!

Our goal is to not just raise our kids to be gardeners/farmers, but also to teach them good work ethic. Helping in the garden is fun, and productive and being able to make it fun by adding a few chickens to the mix makes it even easier to get the kids working outside.

Now, we just have to teach them how to manage the extreme amounts of “compost” these critters create!