April is Kids Garden Month and what better time to share your love of gardening with a child? From learning what it takes to grow your food to spending time with family to encouraging a child’s curiosity, gardening has many benefits.
Starting with small projects based on your child’s age, ability and interests is the best way to have success. Projects can be as simple as planting marigold seeds in a pot (how many of you did this in school?) to growing a bean tepee or a sunflower house to larger projects like a secret garden. The most important thing is to have it be fun and successful. When the child sees that marigold blooming or the sunflowers start to grow into a wall, they will experience a sense of accomplishment and want to continue gardening.
My love (addiction) of gardening was sparked at a very young age when my grandfather planted hen and chicks in a rotting stump at our house. I loved watching the “hen” produce all those “chicks” and would pluck them off and plant them elsewhere on the stump. We also had a large vegetable garden that my sisters and I would weed and watch as the veggies grew big enough to harvest. In addition to our outside plants, my mom had a fair number of houseplants that she grew in a large bay window in the dining room. When I was in the seventh grade, I started taking an interest in those houseplants. I even tried my hand at growing cactus from seed. No one was more surprised than me when they actually grew! By high school I was planting terrariums, growing asparagus ferns and Christmas cactus, along with flower gardens outside. My dad and I would plant geraniums, morning glories, iris, hollyhocks and anything else that caught our eye at the local greenhouse.
I went off to college thinking I wanted to be a psychologist. Two and half years in, my sister asked me, “You love plants so much – have you ever considered that as a career?” I promptly changed my major to floriculture and never looked back. Luckily my husband also has a love of gardening, and we shared that love with our three sons.
This month Country Culture would like to share some ideas for projects to do with your young gardeners.
First up is the bean tepee. You’ll need three to five long limbs for the support poles (these should be at least eight feet long), some twine or wire and a packet of pole bean seeds.
Loosen up the soil where the poles will go and press them in the ground at least six inches to keep the tepee secure. Make a circle with the poles wide enough for a child or two to be able to stand in, leaving room between two of the poles for the entrance. Pull the tops of the poles to the center, forming a tepee. Tie the tops together where they meet.
Once you are confident the poles are secure, four or five bean seeds can be planted at the base of each pole as directed on the seed packet. Water them well. Depending on temperatures, your beans should sprout in just a few days, so keep an on eye on them. Your child will be amazed at how quickly they grow and they’ll be able to have their own little hideaway in the garden while munching on some beans. There are some really long bean varieties that can grow to three feet long – that’s a big bean to eat!
One key to keeping a child interested is to have successful experiences in the garden and what better way than to grow their own salad? Because most greens are very quick to grow, your child can have the satisfaction of success in a short amount of time. Lettuce, mixed greens, spinach, kale and other greens can either be grown indoors and used for baby greens (super quick) or put out in the garden and harvested when larger.
For microgreens you’ll need a bright window (southern exposure is best) or a grow light, potting mix, containers and seeds. Containers can be almost anything from milk cartons to seed trays, but they should be shallow (cut the milk carton in half the long way). The clear plastic containers that salad mixes come in will work as well. I like to water from the bottom, so as not to disturb the seeds or plants as they start to sprout. Using a tray works well for this, but be sure to only water as much as the soil can absorb so the seeds/sprouts don’t rot.
Fill the containers with moist soil and pat down gently so it’s even. Sprinkle the seeds about an inch apart, and barely cover them with soil. Seeds are really tiny so you may want to help younger children do this part. Water until soil is evenly moist.
You should see sprouts in just a few days. Once the leaves are three to four inches tall, cut with scissors about an inch from the soil. Leaf lettuces and spinach will continue to grow so just remove a few outer leaves from each plant and you can continue to harvest for several weeks.
Growing greens outside is just as easy, but you will harvest them when they are larger so it will take a bit longer. Most greens grown for salads do well with a bit of shade, so planting them between tomatoes or peppers may save you a bit of space in the garden. Lettuces and other greens prefer cooler temperatures and will bolt as the weather turns warmer so an early spring planting and a planting in autumn will give young gardeners plenty of opportunity to enjoy trying new varieties.
Stay tuned to see what other fun kids’ projects there are!
