If you are looking for an outdoor activity to share with your children, consider planting a vegetable garden. Gardening will allow your children to spend time outdoors and expend excess energy in tasks such as digging, watering and weeding. By planning the garden's layout together, you will have the opportunity to teach your children aspects of arithmetic, geometry and taking measurements. Finally, performing regular garden maintenance will help teach the importance of personal responsibility.
Step 1
Select the area you intend to use for the garden. Choose a location away from any underground pipes, septic systems or power lines. Take a sample of the soil and use the soil test kit to check the sample; if the test shows the presence of lead or if the pH balance is too far above or below neutral, select a new area. Decide on a shape for your garden, then use a measuring tape to measure your selected area.
Step 2
Draw an outline of your planned garden on a piece of graph paper; use each square on the graph paper to represent a single square foot of gardening space. Mark where you plan to plant various vegetables; leave room between the vegetables for walking paths if you plan to plant a large garden.
Step 3
Use a spade to dig out the weeds and grass from where you plan to plant your vegetables. Place stones or wooden boards around the periphery of the garden to mark the borders. Use newspaper, straw, stones, wood or bricks to build the paths between the vegetable beds.
Step 4
Use your spade to turn over the soil in each of the vegetable beds. Check the planting instructions printed on one of the seed packets or seedlings and plant the vegetable accordingly. Repeat this process with the remaining vegetables.
Step 5
Visit the garden with your child on a daily basis to inspect the garden's progress. Remove any weeds that may have sprouted in the vegetable beds. Feed and water the plants according to their individual requirements.
Tips and Warnings
- Invite your child to participate at each stage of creating the garden; monitor her actions but avoid interfering unless necessary. When planning your garden, select vegetables that contrast with one another in size, shape and color; lettuce, radishes, cherry tomatoes, carrots, butter beans and pumpkins are good options that will grow quickly.
- Keep chemical products, such as fertilizers and pesticides, out of the reach of children; if possible, use natural alternatives.
Things You'll Need
- Soil test kit
- Vegetable seeds or seedlings
- Measuring tape
- Graph paper
- Pen or pencil
- Spade
- Stones or wooden boards
- Bricks, newspaper or straw (optional)
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