by Veronica Bowman

Created on: January 21, 2012   Last Updated: January 24, 2012

There are many ways to get children involved in gardening. Helping children plant and care for vegetables in the garden will often increase their willingness to try new vegetables. Working together with children in the garden gives you an opportunity to teach them how important it is to respect nature, to protect the environment, and to teach them healthy eating habits.  Gardening together is a wonderful way to spend quality time with children.

The amount of independent gardening children can do will depend on their age. Very young children can help with tasks such as filling a container with dirt and dropping seeds into a container or on the ground. With minimal assistance they can place a plant in a container and help with watering the plants.

Children aren’t always patient. It takes a while to see results from most vegetables you plant in the garden. To make gardening more fun for children it’s always good to include something that grows quickly. Sunflowers seeds are a popular choice of seeds for young children.  The seeds are large and easy for tiny hands to handle. Although it will be a while before the super large sunflowers add astonishing beauty to the garden, the seeds will sprout quickly and it’s easy to see their growth as they reach maturity. 

Another way to make gardening fun for children is to plant some type of vine.  Vines grow quickly. Potato vines are one option.  Beans can be grown on a teepee style trellis.  Kids will love having their own natural hide-away created by vines from seeds they planted. Squash and cucumber vines are usually intriguing for children. Gourds are a fun garden item for children.  They especially enjoy uniquely shaped gourds that look like penguins, swans, or apples. Once the gourds have dried, you have an excellent starting point for craft activities for children.

Gardening will be more fun for children if they have their own collection of gardening tools.  If possible, give them a small space in the garden that can be their personal garden.  If you are gardening in containers, let them have one large container to plant a collection of vegetables in. Give children the opportunity to look through seed catalogs with you and to walk down the gardening aisle of a garden center to see the many variety of seeds and plants available. Children are often drawn to vegetables packets with photos of oddly shaped vegetables, uniquely colored vegetables, or to vegetables with funny names. Let them choose a few on their own.  You might even discover a new variety of vegetable that will become one of your favorites.

Herbs are immediately rewarding. Buying herbs plants will give children an instantly aromatic garden. Starting herbs from seeds will also provide relatively  fast rewards since even tiny herb plants have a distinctive aroma. Herbs are fun to grow simply because of their various shapes and aromas. They can be added to some of a child’s favorite summer time treats. Mint isn’t just for tea.  It’s a delicious way to liven up ice cream. Children will enjoy walking by the herb plants, brushing their hand gently across the plant and immediately filling the air with a fragrant aroma.  Basil and rosemary are wonderful fragrant herb choices.

It’s easy to get children involved in gardening if you make it a fun adventure. They will eagerly anticipate the arrival of each new fruit, vegetable, herb, or flower that they have planted, watered, and nurtured.

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