Gardening with kids can be messy. They don’t always “follow the row” , although this makes for a very beautiful garden, some of us with mild OCD  might go nuts as the spinach and lettuce get mixed together.

As a very loving and nurturing mama, of course I want my kids to enjoy planting and growing their own food, so what do I do as the seeds get sprinkled together and I just “know” it will be a mess?

I let it go. Peas taste great if they grow next to spinach. (And I always thin it out later).

But kids with big smiles showering seed into fresh turned dirt is so fun, healthy and exciting.

My son has learned to plant in a straight line… can you guess why? (Mama had something to do with it). But he likes to plant 4 varieties of peas in the same row, and he does.

Here are my suggestions for gardening with kids:

1) Start small. Or if you have a big garden, give the kids their own smaller space and allow the children to pick what they want to grow and let them do it!

2) Plant in containers: use pots and window boxes to contain the dirt or create containers using straw bales or tree stumps (get creative!) Give the kids some special area that it theirs.

3) Always honor what the kids want to do in their space; and be clear about the boundaries with where their space begins and ends… make garden signs or build a special “fence” with sticks or stones.

4) A one-year-old can plant a seed. Get kids in the garden as soon as they can walk (actually a sitting baby who doesn’t crawl yet is a great garden companion! And littler ones can come along for the ride on your back or in a stroller.)

5) Plant veggies you know your kids will eat, then plant a few new ones, most kids will eat “their” vegetables.

Happy Spring! May your garden abound with delicious foods!

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

2 Responses to “Gardening With Kids”