Jul 10, 2013


by Kathleen Lang, Lanark Master Gardeners


You would be hard pressed to find a child who doesn’t like digging in the dirt, so gardening has a built-in draw as a fun activity. To get young children excited about having their own garden, start small. Don’t make the mistake of overwhelming them with a huge space. Container gardening is a good place to start with small kids.

Get them excited by letting them pick out what they will grow. Take a walk down the seed packet aisle and let the pictures tempt them. Steer them towards fast growing plants like radishes, peas, beans and cucumbers. Smaller children do better with larger seeds such as corn and sunflowers. Be sure to give a glance at the show schedule of the local fair. They always have junior classes and kids will get a big kick out of growing something and entering it at the fair.

Project: Gardening with the kids (grandkids)

Difficulty: Easy

Duration: All summer (and hopefully longer)

  1. Choose the plants. More than likely, kids will choose to grow the vegetables that they like the best. Keep their choices to just a few, their garden is small, and don’t forget to include a flower or two. Bright flowers that grow child height fascinate them. And any kid is thrilled with a sunflower that grows eight feet tall.

  2. Playing with dirt. Remember, kids LOVE playing in the dirt. Let them help you prepare the soil, even if all they can do is break up the clods. Child-sized tools make them feel more a part of the project.

  3. Identify the garden (container) as theirs. Besides making markers for their plants, also make a marker for the space with their name on it, (This is a good rainy day activity), so that everyone can see it’s their garden.

  4. Playing with water. Playing with water is right up there with playing with dirt. Get them a small watering can to use on their garden. A garden hose is too heavy for small hands and too tempting not to water everything in the yard (and everybody).

  5. Garden Journals. Let them start a small journal (scrapbook) of their garden. Until seeds and seedlings really get going, let them draw a picture or two of what they think their plants will look like. They can save the empty seed packets and cut out pictures from last year’s seed catalogues. Have them continue to make notes and take pictures through the season. Make sure they write down, what they liked the best. Patience is not a child’s strong suit, so fill in the garden’s downtime with journal activities.

  6. Include the whole environment. Try teaching them a little about mulching, composting and conserving water. Don’t forget to point out bugs – good and bad.

  7. Let them make their own mistakes. Sometimes adults don’t have a lot of patience either. It’s important to let the kids have control over their little patch. If it’s messy, it’s their mess. Just let them enjoy their little garden. Guide, don’t command.

  8. Let ‘em get big. Sunflowers, pumpkins, zucchini, melons and climbing beans thrill them when they get giant-sized.

  9. Encourage them to taste the produce.

  10. Try theme gardens. Try a Salsa, Spaghetti or pizza garden. Let them grow the ingredients of their favourite foods—garden to table.

Your gardening questions can be submitted and answered on our website at www.lanarkmastergardeners.mgoi.ca.

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