Planting the seed Getting kids to garden
Gardening is a great way to relax and connect with your kids and teach them valuable lessons about food production, Holly Jean Brooker finds.
There’s something about getting outside into the garden at the end of a busy day. The kids follow me out and jump on the tramp, kick the soccer ball around, or turn the sprinkler on, before inevitably joining me at some point to ‘‘help’’.
Yes, after a hectic day when I want to unwind, this ‘‘help’’ can sometimes be a little less than helpful but I always (OK, mostly always) embrace it.
I know that gardening is an incredible process for the kids to be involved in. It helps build independence and self-efficacy when they see the rewards of what they’ve grown, and they feel pretty proud when their homegrown veges are served at the dinner table.
Personally, I love teaching my city-dwelling kids that they can grow their own food, even in a small urban yard. And it’s surprising how therapeutic hanging out in the garden is – it’s soul food.
Taking that time to re-centre and enjoy the calm of the garden is so good for us as adults and it’s no different for our young ones – their days are pretty busy at school or preschool, too.
Gardening is also an easy way for children to develop an understanding of basic science and nature. As they take part in growing plants from germination through to harvest, they are gaining valuable, lifelong skills in horticulture. And for the younger of my two, who lets out a blood-curdling scream at the sign of anything wriggling, it’s a chance to face their worm fears.
There’s a few obvious things to consider when gardening with young kids, things like keeping garden sprays and equipment, large spades, forks and pruning saws out of reach.
Buying littlies their own set of child-sized garden tools will be a hit (and a great low-cost Christmas gift) and it will deter them from using the big ‘‘adult’’ stuff.
I teach my kids from a young age to never eat anything from the garden without checking with an adult first. Black nightshade is a common weed that has berries that look pretty tasty but are toxic, as are karaka berries and boxthorn, so it’s a pretty good lesson to instil from early on.
So, if you’ve read all this and are still on board the gardening train, here are a couple of plants that are tried and tested with my lot and are pretty kidfriendly. Veges are fairly resilient and can be grown in different spaces and places, whether it’s a raised garden bed, small pots, or a tiny patch in the corner of the yard.
Flower power
Kids gravitate towards flowers, so letting them choose a couple of low-cost potted plants from your local garden retailer and getting them to plant their own is a bit of a buzz.
We used some empty pots we had lying around, but small terracotta pots are relatively cheap. It’s a neat way to give them the responsibility to look after their plants so they stay alive, too. And, on the plus side, they’ll attract butterflies and bees, which help pollination.
Strawberries
I’m mad about strawberries and so are my kids, so I’ve helped them plant their own strawberry patch to tend to, which is a bit of a hit. They take great care in weeding and watering them daily.
The biggest thrill comes when they start fruiting – the kids make a mad dash from car to garden to check them after kindy and school.
Strawberries are easy to grow from seedlings, even for newbie gardeners. I plant them on a mound of soil to keep the fruit up nice and high and prevent the soil getting too damp. I also surround them with bunches of hay to keep out weeds and pests.
Plants last between two and five years and fruit particularly well after the second year. I aim for around 10 plants each for my kids for plenty of fruit for them (and me) to enjoy.
Juicy strawberries need loads of water, so water them daily in the summer. Birds are always on the lookout for a juicy red berry, so keeping a net over the plants, held up by bamboo garden stakes, will keep them safe from prying beaks.
Snails and slugs love a good berry nibble, too – I’ve tried broken egg shells around the plants, as the uncomfortable sharp shells deter them. There
are some child-friendly slug pellets if it’s a serious problem.
Carrots
My kids eat carrots daily, so we’re big on keeping the garden planted with these golden favourites.
A packet of carrot seeds is relatively inexpensive and contains hundreds of carrot seeds.
Planting them couldn’t be easier, simply push a child-size finger into the dirt and drop one or two seeds in and cover the hole over lightly with soil. Water and walk away. They’ll do their thing.
And don’t forget to harvest them to get them nice and sweet – overgrown carrots are large and bitter-tasting.
As my 7-year-old said last week: ‘‘It’s so fun growing carrots. But there is a downside. They are REALLY hard to pull out.’’ Lesson learnt!
Cherry tomatoes
Strangely, my kids do not like tomatoes, but literally every second kindy lunch box I see has handfuls of these things. Based on these stats, I reckon there’s a 50/50 chance your child will love them. Tomatoes are traditionally planted on Labour Weekend, but planting in November is a great time to get seedlings in the dirt, with plenty of sunshine coming. Tomato plants need staking – try a teepee or a trellis behind them – and plenty of water, another great job for the kids to take on. It’s worth it for the enjoyment of the daily pickings.
And, if the kids don’t like them, they’ll love sharing the spares with the neighbours.
Snow peas
Who else loves that feeling of freshly snapped, homegrown snow peas? Most kids enjoy peas for dinner, or tolerate them at least, but the joy of growing their own, watching how they change and the discovery of opening these little pods to see them filled with peas is pretty cool – and enough to lure even the most vege-resistant child to give one a try. To grow, plant from seed or seedling, depending on your experience. Snow peas need a trellis or fence to grow up, as their little tendrils (or ‘‘tentacles’’, as they’re called in our family) like to latch on to something as they rise.
In the end, growing vegetables in the garden is a pretty cool way to re-centre and relax and connect with our kids, while teaching them some valuable life lessons about food production. And, for the kids, it’s a great chance to make a mess.
When I asked my little girl this week why she likes gardening, she said: ‘‘I love the feeling of the dirt in my hands, it’s just really fun.’’ Enough said.