by Tiffany Belle

Created on: April 15, 2008

Do you need something fun to do with your young kids this summer? Consider planting a garden with them. They can help you plant and take care of the garden. It will give them something to do and a sense of accomplishment when they see their plants growing taller. It will help you spend some quality time outside together. Here are some tips to make the most of the garden.

Start the garden with small plants or seeds that grow quickly into plants. Young kids don't have a lot of patience to wait for something to grow. You also want to pick plants that are easy to grow and do not require a lot of maintenance. A good pick is the green bean and marigolds.

Pick an area in your yard that you walk by often. The more you walk by it, the more likely you are to take care of it. Also, your child will be able to see the progress it is making on a daily basis.

Let your child place the seeds or plant into the ground. They can also cover the seeds back up. Just watch over them to make sure that the seeds are buried well.

Make sure you water everyday. If it rains, you can skip watering, but on days that it does not rain make sure you water the plants. This is something that your child can do. Watch over them to make sure that they are not over watering though. Give them a watering can or the hose (you can help) and let them water away.

Start small to being with. Make the garden small and each year you can add more to it as your children get older. Make the garden a manageable size.

Let your kids pick the weeds. Kids love picking and pulling at things so they will enjoy picking the weeds out of the garden. They can also pull off any dead leaves or flowers off the plant. If you plant vegetables, let them pick them off the plant. Let them know which ones are ripe and let them pick away. They can feel proud that they grew the vegetables.

Buy your kids gardening tools that are their size. You can find kid gardening tools at most stores such as Wal-Mart and Target. If they have their own tools, it will make them more comfortable than having to use adult tools. Buy them a shovel, gloves, a hand rake and a watering can. Girls may also like to have a "fashionable" set so they don't' mind digging in the dirt.

Most of, have fun. If you kill a plant, don't worry about it. Let your kid enjoy the process and learn from it. It can teach them responsibility and let then have fun at the same time.

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