Introduce gardening to kids

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

Many gardeners forget to include the children, whether their own, their grandkids, or the neighbours’ when it comes to gardening. Many children would love a chance to help in the garden. And you, as an experienced gardener, can make it a memorable and lasting experience for them. Just remember to tailor the gardening space and content, as well as the extent of the project, to the age and abilities of the child.
When determining the space required for a child, you can start as small as a container garden, or designate some space in the vegetable garden or the flower bed. The space need not be large if you just place some special plants the child can call their own. Planters could hold flowers or vegetables. Depending on the shape of your planter, you could try herbs, lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, or even peppers. In a garden setting, there are even more options with flowers or vegetables.
Sunflowers can be one of the most exciting things for children to grow. They sprout and grow fast, come in a wide range of sizes and colours, and produce not only a striking flower but an edible seed. Children always are amazed at a six-foot plus tall sunflower. And if you do not want to eat the seeds, you can use them for the birds. Beans also are a good choice for growing with children, especially the climbing varieties which relate to the story, “Jack and the Beanstalk.” I love many of these varieties because of their productivity and taste, but are extra special for children when they see them come out of the garden.
I recommend trying blue potatoes, burgundy beans, Easter egg radishes (produce in a colour range from white to dark purple), yellow tomatoes, beets or zucchini, Thumbellina carrots (produce round small ball-like carrots), candycane beets, multi-coloured Swiss chard, Daikon radish (can grow one foot in length), corn (comes in many varieties for eating, drying, or popping), or giant onions, just to name a few interesting vegetables. If you have the room, grow giant or miniature pumpkins or try gourds as they come in many varieties and shapes. As well, the loofa sponge actually is the inside of a loofa gourd. Or how about growing peanuts? Now wouldn’t that be fun for kids to grow? You also could focus on planting a butterfly garden or one that attracts birds.
A small area of perennials is fun, too, as a child experiences the joy of a plant re-sprouting after the winter. The possibilities of themes and plants to include are only limited by your imagination and the scope of the children’s involvement.
Why should you include children in your gardening activities?
1. Studies indicate children who assist in the garden, and see where the vegetables come from, are more willing to eat those vegetables. I support this finding and back it up with the suggestion of some of the more unusual varieties I recommended above. Who wouldn’t want to eat a blue potato?
2. Gardening builds a sense of accomplishment and success in children, helping to build self-esteem. Children also show responsibility when caring for their crops and a genuine excitement when the crops are ready.
3. Gardening could be a good project while school is out. You can keep records like how many cans of water you had to use throughout the summer, you could post a rain gauge and keep track of summer rainfall, record how many potatoes or tomatoes each plant produced, what kind of insects, which birds or butterflies where attracted to the garden, or (my favourite) measuring plants like sunflowers or beans each day to see how much they have grown. Counting seeds, measuring fertilizer, and counting crops also are great learning activities.
4. You could set up a “home farmers’ market” and set a price for each vegetable your child has grown and then pay them when the harvest comes in. The child will be determined to produce a crop, then be rewarded with money for all the hard work—all the while teaching them about money and “selling” their produce.
5. If you grow flowers with your children, you can spend the summer months pressing or drying them and then use them in crafts or decorations in the fall and winter months.
6. You can take photos throughout the summer of the progress of the garden and make a scrapbook in the fall or winter to help keep the memories alive.
7. In the past when my own niece visited a few times in the summer she was often enticed by the tranquility of the garden and the one-on-one time we are spending together, she has discussed things with me she feels awkward about telling her own parents (and even has told me things she considers “secrets”). Once she returned home after the visit, she always asked about how the vegetables that she helped with are doing. The point is that this is an opportune time to relate to a child in a way different from normal day-to-day activities. This niece is now 17 and too busy with competitive sports to visit but still recalls our gardening days.
8. Children who help their parents garden often will become gardeners on their own. In preparing this article, I recalled helping my grandfather (who was well-known in the district for his produce each year), as well as my mother and father, with the garden each season. But most of all, I recalled how my neighbours put up with my constant questions and visits, as a young child, to their expansive flower gardens. After all, it takes a lot of training to become a gardening guru and I started early! I think those neighbours would have been very pleased to see my flower gardens today and the influence they had on me.
When you start your gardening projects now and in the future, take a few moments to think how you could introduce and include a child into the world of gardening. You may be able to pass some wisdom on to the child, but that child also will pass some wisdom on to you. Make your gardening experience even more rewarding by including a child or two—you’ll be glad you did.