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I started gardening when I was seven. My dad let me “help” him plant his onion starts. I have been gardening ever since. Many gardeners can recount similar stories. Getting kids off the screen and in the garden can improve their health and start a lifelong hobby. Gardening teaches science, math, and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Gardening Outfit
Giving your child a designated outfit they wear when gardening can help build excitement for going outside. A cool long-sleeved shirt, long pants, gloves, hat, and close toed shoes will reduce the potential for bug bites, sunburn, or stubbed toes. You can rub in sunscreen and spray on bug spray designed for children as part of your family’s gardening rituals.
Start Small
Kids, especially small kids, have small attention spans. Start them off with a small plant inside. Let them plant something from seed in a small pot. Place it in the kitchen so they can check it frequently. Pick something like cherry tomatoes or a squash seed. Let them water the pot and watch it grow. Let them decide what to do with any produce the plant has.
Assign A Job
Outside, give your child a small job they can do without much help. This could be emptying the kitchen waste into the compost bin, adding mulch or soil to an area, or pulling a few weeds. Make sure the job is done quickly so it doesn’t become a dreaded chore. Talk to your child about the importance of what they are doing and show them how it helps the plants in your garden grow.
Give Them Space
After your child expresses interest in the garden, assign them a small area to grow what they want. A 2 X 2 foot square divided into four parts makes a good starting garden. Go through gardening catalogs with your child and let them pick what four things they want to grow there. Guide the child through planting the seeds, watering, and pulling any weeds that come up. Let them eat any produce they grow. Kids are more likely to eat vegetables they grow than store bought vegetables.
Picture This
Picture books can be a fun way to teach your child the principles of gardening. Read the books with your children to show them what they need to do to grow a plant. Ask your librarian what some good, age-appropriate picture books are.
Expect Distraction
Children have small attention spans, so switch tasks frequently so they do not get bored. Gardening can involve considerable exercise but take care not to exhaust the child. Stop while they are still having fun, so they want to garden again.
Safety First
Safety in the garden is very important. Never leave buckets of water around young children. Make sure any tools the child handles are safe. Do not let children handle chemicals such as fertilizer or pesticides. Make sure these chemicals are locked out of the reach of the child. Do not grow poisonous plants because children tend to put things in their mouth.
Avoid gardening during the hottest part of the day. Make sure children drink plenty of water and come inside before getting too hot. Teach your child to wash produce before eating it. Most importantly, supervise the child carefully. That means you may not get much done, but you can catch up when your child is inside.
Difference In Scale
Remember that children are much smaller than adults and see the world differently. Crouch down when designing a garden for your child to see what they will see. Plant smaller plants so they do not block the child’s view. Unique textures and scents will engage the child’s senses and mind. Plant a wide variety of plants of different sizes and growth habits.
Child Gardening Kit
Invest in some child sized tools like a garden trowel, hoe, rake, and bucket. A rain gauge in the garden down low enough for the child to read can be used to help them decide whether a plant needs watering that week. A small, plastic magnifying glass will let the child examine bugs, leaves, flowers, and other small things in the garden. A small ruler helps them measure the distance between plants or the size of a wiggling earthworm.
Choose A Theme
One way to organize the garden your child has is to choose a theme for the garden. Present your child with several options and let them choose the most appealing. Help the child choose plants that fit that theme.
Animal Garden
Most children like animals. Lots of plants have names that include an animal. Choose something like bird of paradise, lamb’s ear, snap dragons, tiger lily, or catmint. Let the child see how many animal names they can find in a gardening catalog, then choose a few to grow in their area of the garden.
Alphabet Garden
Gardening relies heavily on math and science. You can bring in reading and the alphabet by letting the child choose plants that begin with each letter of the alphabet. A is for aloe vera, b is for basil, etc.
Color Garden
Teaching a child their colors using plant can be fun. Choose plants that have flowers in a rainbow of colors, such as cardinal flower for red, bugleweed for blue, purple coneflower for purple, etc. Another idea is to choose plants with flowers of different shades of one color, like white, pink, red, burgundy, etc.
Heritage Garden
Growing a plant that has been passed down through your family can be a way to teach your child about their ancestors. Alternatively, you can find plants from the countries your ancestors came from and plant them. Teach your child about the culture, history, and food from that country.
Child Appropriate Tasks
Keep in mind the developmental age of your child when assigning tasks in the garden. Toddlers can dig in the soil, make mudpies, or move soil with toy excavators and dump trucks. Young children can water plants, harvest produce, and plant seeds. Older children can help you do most garden tasks but remember to keep things fun. Lugging wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of mulch isn’t fun. Be prepared to help out in the background, especially with very young children.
Quick Rewards
Starting children off with quickly maturing flowers and vegetables gives them a rapid reward for their work. Radishes and lettuce grow quickly and are easy to grow. Some annuals grow quickly and flower after only a few weeks. Strawberries are another good choice. Older kids can raise plants that take longer to flower or produce vegetables.
Starting with bare root perennials can be rewarding for children, too. Pick ones that can be planted in early spring and will bear flowers the first year.
Tomato transplants are also a good choice because they quickly have flowers that turn into tasty, sweet tomatoes quickly.
Any Questions?
The staff at TN Nursery can answer questions you may have about gardening or specific plants. Call us at 931.692.7325 today.
