How to Grow a Prairie Garden - ANGELICSCALLIWAGS

If you’re planning a Little House on the Prairie Unit Study, one of the richest and most practical topics to explore is prairie gardening. Growing food wasn’t a hobby for pioneer families, it was essential for survival. Teaching your children how to grow a prairie garden connects history, science, stewardship, and family responsibility into one meaningful homeschool experience.

Let’s dig in (I know, I’m too funny!!).

I will include a selection of photos in this post which shows our prairie garden from the very beginning of the summer to now.

You can see Thomas standing on what was going to become our little prairie garden

Catch Up! If you haven’t read all about our first week on the prairie, I would encourage you to go and read my Little House in the Big woods post. This covers everything we did from making nightdresses, to prairie cooking and making button strings. It also gives you a good idea of everything we achieved with our own little house on the prairie renovations!

Why Prairie Gardening Matters in Your Homeschool

Becca helping daddy to plant the flowers in the window box

On the American frontier, families depended on their gardens for:

Daily meals
Winter food storage
Livestock feed
Trade and bartering

A failed crop could mean hunger. A successful harvest meant security.

When children learn about prairie gardening, they begin to understand:

The value of hard work
The importance of planning
The uncertainty of weather
The blessing of provision

These lessons fit beautifully into your Little House on the Prairie Unit Study because they reflect daily pioneer life, not just major historical events.

How to Grow a Prairie Garden — We bought baby plants from our local garden centre. Slightly cheating, I know, but this unit study only lasts ten weeks!

Check out week two! Last week we focused on Farmer Boy. This is the second book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did lots of prairie cooking (hasty pudding, making a sour dough starter and some prairie bread) and also made some button lamps, a prairie ladder, and some peg hooks. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

What Is a Prairie Garden?

A prairie garden was designed for practicality and productivity.

Unlike decorative gardens today, pioneer gardens focused on:

Vegetables that stored well
Crops that could handle harsh weather
Plants that fed large families

Common prairie garden crops included:

Potatoes
Corn
Beans
Squash
Cabbage
Turnips
Carrots
Onions

Families also grew herbs for cooking and medicine.

Check out week three! We focused on The Little House on the Prairie. This is the third book in the Little House on the Prairie book set. During the week we did some of prairie cooking (soda biscuits) and also made some curtains, hay sticks and a hammock net. Gary and the little ones did some gardening in our prairie garden and we tried to make some more of our rag rug.

How to Grow a Prairie Garden (Step-by-Step for Homeschool Families)

Becca (the little fairy) watering our prairie garden

Even if you don’t live on acres of land, you can model prairie gardening principles at home.

Step 1: Choose Practical Crops

Ask:

Which vegetables does your family actually eat?
Which crops store well?
What grows well in your climate?

Discuss how pioneer families chose crops based on survival, not preference.

Step 2: Plan for the Seasons

Prairie families had short growing seasons. Planning was crucial.

With your children:

Study your last frost date.
Map out planting times.
Create a simple garden calendar.

This brings science and math into your Little House on the Prairie Unit Study.

Step 3: Prepare the Soil

Pioneers broke tough prairie sod by hand or with simple plows.

Talk about:

Soil health
Composting
The importance of organic matter

Have children help:

Turn soil
Add compost
Remove rocks

Step 4: Plant in Rows

Prairie gardens were practical and organized.

Teach children:

Why rows make weeding easier
How spacing affects growth
How sunlight impacts crops

Use measuring tape to integrate math skills.

Step 5: Maintain the Garden

Prairie gardening required:

Daily observation
Weeding
Watering
Protecting crops from pests

Discuss how children on the prairie had real responsibilities in garden care.

Step 6: Harvest and Preserve

This is where the lesson becomes especially rich.

Teach your children about:

Root cellars
Drying herbs
Canning
Storing potatoes and onions

Even preserving one jar of vegetables can make this lesson unforgettable.

Week four we focused on ‘On the Banks of Plum Creek’ and the children learnt about herbal medicine, stained a rocking chair for the corner of the house, made some baskets and began a productive Little House vegetable garden. And lastly, we made some home-made yogurt and a blueberry pie.

Life Lessons Hidden in Learning How to Grow Prairie Gardening

When you teach how to grow a prairie garden, you’re also teaching:

Patience

Seeds take time to grow.

Responsibility

Plants must be cared for daily.

Gratitude

Food doesn’t magically appear on store shelves.

Stewardship

The land must be respected and replenished.

These values are central to a meaningful Little House on the Prairie Unit Study.

During week five, we focused on By the Shores of the Silver Lake. We made signs for over the front door and inside the cottage, wove our own baskets, Thomas began building a stove for the cottage, made some molasses popcorn balls and a very tasty prairie chicken with home grown green beans.

Cross-Curricular Connections of How to Grow a Prairie Garden

Our prairie carrots were slightly deformed prairie carrots!

Prairie gardening fits naturally into multiple subjects:

Science

Plant life cycles
Photosynthesis
Soil composition
Weather patterns

Math

Measuring garden plots
Calculating spacing
Estimating harvest yields

History

Westward expansion
Homesteading challenges
Agricultural tools of the 1800s

Economics

Bartering produce
Supply and demand
Food preservation for winter survival

During week six our focus was on The Long Winter. We made a tea towel and dish cloth, did some prairie cooking and made butter, bread, and jam. Thomas also completed the Little House stove and Lillie made a table cloth.

Reflection Questions for Your Homeschool

Use these for discussion or journaling:

Why was gardening essential for prairie families?
What challenges would pioneers face that we don’t?
How would you feel if your family depended on your garden for food?
Why is planning important in both gardening and life?
What does growing food teach us about gratitude?

Encourage older students to write a journal entry from the perspective of a prairie child worried about a coming frost.

During week seven, reading The Little Town on the Prairie, we focused on prairie dress up for all five children, we made some cod balls, fresh lemonade and prairie biscuits and held a prairie party. Thomas made a sink unit to go in our own little house whilst Charlotte made a tea towel and dish cloth to go with it.

How to Grow a Prairie Garden: Hands-On Extension Activities

Bring this lesson fully to life with these practical ideas:

1. Start a Mini Prairie Garden

Even a few containers on a patio can model prairie gardening principles.

Plant:

Potatoes in grow bags
Beans along a simple trellis
Herbs in pots

2. Garden Mapping Project

Have children draw a scaled garden layout including:

Rows
Crop labels
Spacing measurements

3. Weather Tracking Journal

Track:

Rainfall
Temperature
Sunlight

Compare your data to what pioneers might have experienced without modern forecasting.

4. Preservation Day

Try:

Drying herbs
Making simple pickles
Freezing garden vegetables

Discuss how preservation ensured winter survival.

5. “No Grocery Store” Challenge

For one meal, use only ingredients you’ve grown (or imagine you’ve grown).