Your kids can enjoy getting involved as we head into the gardening season. Planting a garden is an important skill to learn. It’s fun and gets you and your kids outside. Kids love to explore nature, so planting seeds or plants and learning to care for them is not only a good time, but they will learn things they can use for the rest of their lives.
Here are some tips for starting a garden with your kids with notes about certain ages. Even small kids can do something, so it’s never too early to get them involved in the garden.
Plan ahead
Before you begin, make sure you have all the necessary tools. You may also need to research different crops and times to plan for your area. Doing this lets you plant things at the correct time, so you know whether you need to grow anything from seed inside first and then transplant.
Take into account the size of your yard and kids’ attention spans.
You can plant things in pots and have them on a deck or in a patio space if you have a small backyard. If you have a larger one, still do not go overboard. You could make raised beds if you have the materials and space or till up a small piece of land to use.
Be sure to research the soil in your area so you know what you’re dealing with. If you have soil with a lot of clay or sand, look at raised beds and get a soil mix.
Start small
This is the biggest thing to remember. Trying to go too big too soon will only stress everyone out. You want to start small, so there are only a few plants to care for, so you’re not overwhelmed. A garden can take a lot of time, but giving your child too many things to focus on can be too much. They can focus better if you keep things simple at the beginning.
With small kids, you can start with a single potted tomato plant or sunflower to take care of. It’s an excellent opportunity to teach them about soil, sun, and water. Once your child has some experience caring for a plant, you can move on to a small vegetable or flower garden for them.
Try not to get your hopes up too high.
Just like when you get your kids presents that may fall flat, try not to get your hopes up too high when starting out. Your kids will need some time to get used to it, and the newness of it may wear off sooner than you’d like. You also might not have the energy to keep it up if your kids aren’t helping.
It’s important to manage your expectations with something like this, but kids generally like playing in the dirt, so it should keep their interest. Keeping it small to start with will also help manage expectations.
Have your kids pick what to plant.
The first year we had a garden, I let my kids plant what I knew they’d eat. We focused mainly on cucumbers and tomatoes, but also added some lettuce for me. By allowing them to participate in selecting the foods and focusing on the things they’ll eat, they will be more invested in the entire process.
Consider having some flowers too. My kids enjoy watching the flowers come up in the spring. My son wants to plant sunflowers, and both of my kids enjoy seeing daffodils and tulips come up. You can plan in the fall for anything that has bulbs.
Get them their own tools.
Another great way to make sure they want to be involved is by getting them their own tools, such as a shovel, hoe, and gardening gloves. They can help tend the garden once or twice a week.
When they have their tools, you can teach them good gardening habits like pulling weeds and watering. You can teach them about the different plants and what they need to thrive in your garden.
Enjoy what you grow.
Once the fruits and vegetables are ripe, have your kids taste them. There’s nothing like fresh produce out of the garden. If they’re older, your kids can help with the entire food preparation process, from picking to cleaning to cutting.
You can pick different recipes to incorporate your foods into, and your kids may even want to try something new if they grow it themselves. We can all hope, right?
Getting your kids involved in gardening is a great way to help teach them how to grow their own food, increase patience and help them understand the importance of a schedule. They will also get to try many tasty foods they helped grow.
