Kids are naturally curious about how things work and will often be excited about the prospect of getting to participate in creating a vegetable garden. Vegetable gardens tend to grow quickly due to fast germination times while giving children opportunities to participate in a growing process that has appetizing results. Learning about how vegetables grow is a highly valuable lesson in biology that may inspire a lifetime of healthy eating and curiosity. You can encourage children to choose their favorite vegetables along with some new ones they would like to try. Help them select flower and herb seeds as well and explain that these plants help encourage the presence of beneficial insects to ensure the health of the garden.
Plan It
Step 1
Help your child to select his favorite vegetable seeds from a seed catalog or store. Encourage him to select some flowers and herbs to keep the garden healthy. Some children enjoy growing a "pizza garden" composed of tomatoes, basil, sweet peppers, and oregano.
Step 2
Choose a sunny location with your child for the vegetable garden. If space is limited, your child can still grow a successful garden with the aid of large containers filled with soil and compost.
Step 3
Prepare the area for the garden. Encourage your child to help remove small rocks and root clumps while you do the heavy shoveling and turning of the soil.
Step 4
Help your child to enrich the soil with compost. Explain that compost helps to balance the soil with life-giving nutrients and encourages the presence of beneficial bacteria and nematodes that will keep her vegetables roots healthy and aerated. You can help your child to create a small compost pile where she can add unwanted weeds to create more healthy soil for future vegetable gardens.
Step 5
Allow your child to decide how the garden will look by first letting him draw a design on paper. Gardens to not have to adhere to grid designs, so let your child be creative. Show your child how the sun moves from east to west and encourage the location of taller plants to be positioned so that the garden gets the most sunlight possible.
Plant It
Step 1
Give your child the vegetable seeds. Start with packets of larger seeds and show your child how to measure the depth needed with her finger. With smaller seeds, such as carrots, you can help a little more to ensure that they are placed where they need to be. Be sure not to over manage or you may discourage your child.
Step 2
Pat the dirt over the seeds and have your child mark the area with a small sign made of paper and a stick. Use a permanent marker to ensure the ability to read the sign later. Your child can simply draw a picture of the vegetable growing if she can't read yet.
Step 3
Help your child to lay straw on the areas of earth that do not have seeds. Explain that this will help his plants to have less competition with weeds, and that it will also give him more time to play instead of weeding.
Step 4
Teach your child to water the garden well with a fine spray so that the pressure of the water doesn't unearth the seeds.
Step 5
Use a pole, old clothes and straw to create a scarecrow to keep away unwanted critters and birds. Let your child make the scarecrow look however she wants and encourage her creativity. You can explain that a scarecrow is a bit like a guardian that discourages hungry critters from the garden while it grows; but be sure that your child knows that the scarecrow doesn't "come to life."
Tips and Warnings
- Be sure to explain that weather, insects and critters can all affect a garden in positive and negative ways. It is important that your child know that sometimes crops fail even for experienced farmers so that his self esteem won't be harmed should some plants fail. You will want to remember that, as the adult, you will want to remind and help your child take care of the garden so that he can realize success. Once the vegetables have matured, give your child the satisfaction of harvesting them. If he has grown a "bumper crop" you can help him freeze the vegetables for the winter. You can also encourage him to share his bounty with neighbors or your local food bank.
- Gardening is a lot of work. It's important to keep an eye on a child's enthusiasm level to ensure burnout doesn't occur. Keeping the gardening experience fun will help to ensure that gardening becomes a summer tradition that is viewed positively. Some garden tools are quite sharp and should not be used without competent adult supervision.
Things You'll Need
- Vegetable seeds
- Flower seeds
- Water
- Soil
- Compost
- Sticks
- Sunny location
- Containers for planting
- Garden tools
- Straw
- Old clothes
- Pole
References
- "A Kids Herb Book"; Leslie Terra; 2000
- "Teach Your Own: The John Holt Book of Homeschooling"; John Holt; 2003
- "The Attachment Parenting Book"; William and Martha Sears; 2001
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