Free Garden Activities at the Farm + Food Lab in Irvine

Want to get your kids outdoors in the fresh air and away from the electronics? Want to inspire them to eat, (of all things!) vegetables?!!!! There’s a wonderful demonstration garden, the Farm + Food Lab, at the Great Park in Irvine that offers free garden related events for kids on the weekends, and anytime is a fun, educational place for them to explore!

What is the Farm + Food Lab?

What? It’s a 2 acre demonstration garden at the Orange County Great Park.

What’s in it? 12 themed garden beds: ‘Pizza’ garden, ‘Fruit Salad’ garden, ‘Butterfly’ garden and more.

What else? Be sure to visit the chicken coop, worm bin, bean tunnel, vertical strawberry garden, kid sized container garden, container blueberry orchard, hay bale garden, and over 50 espaliered fruit trees. Maybe read a story from the garden’s mini library under the shade trees. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy a family meal at the picnic tables.

What can kids do? Explore the garden with magnifying glasses, dig for worms in the worm bin, see chickens being chickens (maybe laying an egg!), play hopscotch, take photos at the photo cutouts, and just explore and see how food grows!

Free Programs for Kids

Children’s Garden Workshops:

This monthly workshop series provides children ages 3-9 the opportunity to participate in a fun and interactive craft and/or activity which explores the natural wonders of the garden.
Next Workshop: Birds as Engineers: Nest Building
Children will explore the wonderful ways birds build their nests and build a colorful nest of their own to take home.
When: Sunday, March 15, 11am – 1pm

Garden Beats:

This monthly hands-on, beginning level percussion experience is for the whole family. Enjoy the fun and camaraderie of communal singing and drumming.
When: Sunday, March 22, 2pm – 3pm

Storytime in the Garden:

An hour of food related stories, songs, games and activities to encourage strong literacy and good eating habits. Recommended for children 3-8.
When: the first Sunday of the month, 10am – 11 am.

For directions to the Farm + Food Lab and more information on the programs, visit the Orange County Great Park’s website: www.ocgp.org

Teena is a Master Gardener who appears as the western US ‘Gardeniere’ in Home Depot and Miracle Gro ‘how to’ gardening videos on YouTube. She also shares gardening tips, ideas and inspiration on her gardening blog, Thyme to Grow (thymetogrow.com), as well as offers online gardening classes on Udemy.com.