The last of our snow has melted and the days are gradually warming, so the kids and I have been spending more time outdoors. While my daughters play on the swing set or ride bikes up and down the sidewalk, I’ve begun to take stock of our yard. Then I started to think about gardening with kids.

I’ve enjoyed gardening since my high school days. It’s incredibly satisfying to plant tiny seeds or seedlings and watch them grow into big, healthy plants that bear flowers, vegetables, or fruit.

These days, my daughters are eager to help me. Sometimes I don’t appreciate their help, like when they dig up the container where I just planted leaf lettuce seeds or when they pluck tomatoes from the vines while the fruit is still green. That’s what comes with gardening with kids though. With some strategy and patience, though, I’ve found ways to include my children in gardening and hopefully help them develop a life-long hobby:

Gardening With Kids

1. Start by planting things that are easy to grow. If you’re new to gardening, you want to experience success and not frustration.

Cucumbers, green beans, lettuce (not the variety that grows one large head), spinach, peas, and squash like zucchini
usually grow well from seeds. You can grow tomatoes from seed, but I find it easier to simply buy seedlings at a nursery.

If you want to grow flowers from seed, try cosmos, zinnias, and nearly any variety of sunflowers.

Many herbs like basil (pesto sauce!) and cilantro (homemade salsa!) are also easy to grow either in the
ground or in pots.

Be sure to teach your children the names of the plants.

2. Give kids the chance to select a few plants for the garden. Kids love flowers with interesting names, like moon flowers. Allowing them to choose plants helps them take ownership of the garden, and maybe they’ll end up tasting a new vegetable in the process.

3. Let your kids help by allowing them to sprinkle or drop the seeds in holes. Dig small holes or rows and give kids specific guidance about where to put the seeds. I often put my pointer finger in the dirt to show them right where I want them to drop seeds. Then I go back and cover the seeds with dirt by myself. (If I let the kids cover the seeds with dirt, they often bury them too deep.)

4. Let kids have fun watering the garden. Give them a watering can with small holes in the spout to create a gentle flow of water that doesn’t wash seeds away. Kids love anything that involves water!

5. Give kids their own patch of dirt that is separate from the garden, where they can be free to dig and make messes and where they won’t disturb any plants. Sometimes gardening’s biggest appeal for kids is the opportunity to dig in the dirt and find earthworms and potato bugs. Give kids some child-sized spades or plastic shovels and rakes, and even a child-sized pair of gardening gloves.

Research shows a little dirt is good for us, anyway, and it all washes off in the tub.

6. Above all, focus on having fun. Don’t worry about growing a perfect garden. If you are willing to let your kids make some messes, they are more likely to grow up with a love for gardening. Good, positive experiences while they’re young can turn them into gardeners for life.

Do you garden with your kids? What have you grown?

Category: Family Free Time

Tags: garden