Gardening with Young Children
There is so much to love about gardening with young children. It's a great way to instill in them a love for growing things - whether it's beautiful flowers or yummy food to eat.
If you're gardening with young children, choose plants that are colorful or fragrant so they are more interesting to work with. Plants that you can harvest quickly, such as beans or sunflowers, will help keep their interest, as opposed to slower-growing plants that take all season to grow. If you want to focus on fruits or vegetables and don’t mind waiting a little longer, choose ones that your child likes to eat. There is nothing more rewarding than eating something that grew in your very own garden! Also, a child might be more willing to try a new food if they grew it themselves.
Children like to imitate what the adults in their life are doing, so when possible, provide them with their own space in your garden or their own potted plants to care for. You can give them jobs such as weeding a small area or watering plants with a spray bottle or small watering can.
Keep in mind that as children become more interested in gardening, you’ll need to ensure that they do not come into contact with irritating, poisonous, or otherwise harmful plants. Make sure that they know right from the beginning that it is never okay to put any plant into their mouths without the consent of a parent or guardian. Even an organic garden free of pesticides and herbicides can still contain harmful plants.
At a large home daycare I ran, I planted a garden for the children. We planted fruits and vegetables and then harvested them when they were ready. We even cooked some of the vegetables we harvested. We managed to grow a huge zucchini and turned it into a yummy zucchini bread. We also planted tomatoes, carrots, green snap peas, peppers and strawberries. The children helped water with small watering cans over the weeks, watched our plants grow, and then bagged them up to take home to their parents. I made room for a vegetable garden in my new backyard and am excited for the young children to help me plant, and help our garden grow.
