The sun is shining, the birds are out, and spring is officially here! If you’re looking for a fun new hobby the whole family can enjoy, gardening is a great way to spend time outdoors! Plus, it’s not as difficult as you might think.
Gardening with kids can be an enriching experience filled with learning and growth! Research shows that gardening helps children become healthier and perform better in school, in addition to increasing their mood and self-esteem and decreasing their anxiety.
If you’re introducing your kids to gardening this spring, we put together 5 tips to help you get started:
Choose the right seeds
Gardening is a fun activity that can require a lot of patience, but there are several types of seeds that will help you see results faster. Having your kids plant seeds that grow quickly will set them up for success and keep them engaged in the gardening process!
Additionally, kids will be more excited about their garden if they get to choose what types of plants they grow. If your kids want to grow food to eat, they can plant vegetables such as radishes (which sprout in 2-3 days), cherry tomatoes (5-10 days), peas (7-14 days), or broccoli (10-14 days). If your kids are more interested in seeing colorful flowers bloom, some fast-growing flowers include marigolds (4-14 days to sprout), sunflowers (7-10 days), and cosmos (7-14 days).
Give kids their own gardening tools
Allow your kids to take ownership of their garden by giving them their own gardening tools. Using kid-sized trowels and watering cans will be safer and make gardening more enjoyable. You can also make watering cans out of plastic jugs and have your kids decorate and personalize them. Just make sure to avoid plastic trowels, rakes, and shovels because they tend to break easily, which can be frustrating for kids.
You should also make sure your kids have their own gardening gloves, as adult-sized gloves may slip off their hands and make gardening more difficult. Nitrile-coated gloves work best to protect your kids’ hands from rocks, thorns, and splinters.
Let kids get dirty
Gardening is a hands-on activity, and many kids love playing in the dirt, so don’t be afraid to let them get messy! Just make sure they’re wearing clothes they’re allowed to get dirty before they start gardening. Then, you can encourage them to dig in the soil to plant seeds and explore different plant textures.
Kids may also have fun using the dirt to determine whether their plants need to be watered. Show them how to put a finger in the soil to find out whether it’s damp or dry. If the dirt is wet enough that it sticks to their finger, the plants probably have enough water, but if it’s dry, your kids can water them. After the plants grow, kids can have fun picking the fruits, vegetables, or flowers!
Plan ahead
Mark a calendar to show when each seed is expected to sprout. This helps kids manage their expectations so they don’t get discouraged if there’s no growth right away, and it gives kids something to look forward to. Encourage them to check the calendar regularly and celebrate each milestone as their plants begin to emerge from the soil. Waiting for their plants to grow and seeing when it finally happens will help foster your kids’ patience and perseverance!
Use what you grow
Make the most of your garden by showing your kids they can enjoy what they’ve grown! Taking the time to appreciate the results of their hard work will help instill them with confidence and give them a sense of accomplishment.
If you’re growing fruits or vegetables, incorporate them into a meal, and involve your kids in the cooking process. Show them how to wash and prepare food from the garden. You can use fresh vegetables for a salad or herbs to add flavor to another dish. If your garden has flowers, display them in a vase, press them in a book, or give them as gifts.
What if your plants don't grow?
Sometimes, plants don’t grow the way we want them to. If you’ve waited past the point when you should be seeing sprouts, but there’s nothing there, don’t let it discourage you—just try again! Maybe your potted seeds weren’t close enough to the window to get sunlight, or maybe the temperature was too cold for the seeds you planted outside.
Experiment and find out if there’s something you can do differently to help your seeds sprout. You and your kids might also want to research the types of plants you’re trying to grow to find out what conditions they grow best under. Remind your kids that persisting through setbacks is a great way to learn new things!
Want to learn some tips for starting your own garden? Check out our Seed Starting Basics video!
Gardening with your kids can help foster a love for nature, create lasting memories, and teach valuable skills such as patience and responsibility. There may be challenges along the way, but by embracing them as opportunities for learning, you can empower your kids to persevere and help them develop a lifelong hobby. Happy gardening!
