Gardening with kids – growing a green thumb
Gardening with kids is a great way to get outside and to schedule outside activities with kids into your daily routine. Not only do they get those hours in the daylight, but you also have an opportunity to spend quality time with your children while gardening as a family and they can learn a bunch. It does not matter if you have a huge garden, a balcony or no outdoor spaces – there are still ways for your children to enjoy gardening with you. There are a couple of things like the right choice of plants, joint planning, and kids gardening tools, that have helped us to really have a great time together, so today we want to share these with you.
Garden, balcony or indoors – gardening with kids is always an option
Of course, gardening with kids is most fun when you have your own garden where you can spend time safely and where you can decide by yourself what to put into your seedbeds. But even if that is not the case, that is no reason to despair. Balconies can be used just as well if you put up planting pods or raised beds where possible. And even if you have no outdoor space at all, you can still use flower pods and put them on your window sill – as long as you chose the appropriate plants, that is not going to be a problem.
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When gardening with kids, know what you are doing
Well, this sounds harsher than I mean it – let me explain. What I mean by saying you should know what you are doing when gardening with kids is that it is so much easier to motivate kids for gardening activities when they can see successes quickly. At least for the first time, it makes a lot of sense to either really know what you are doing, or to chose easy plants that will grow even if you don’t tend to them every day.
Related: 5 Ways outdoor play benefits your children
So, if you just start out, maybe chose plants and vegetables that are easy – for example some of these Easy-to-Grow Vegetables. It you want to go with flowers, sunflowers are a great start. They are not really demanding and look amazing once they start flowering – and you get quick results. These first results are going to be great to motivate your kids, they will be going outside to check on their plants every day in the first days.
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Use the right kids gardening tools
Maybe you are thinking you don’t really need kids gardening tools to get them up for the task. You are technically right of course, but a couple of things are just so much easier to use with small hands when they are the appropriate size. And sometimes, having their own kids gardening set also really motivates them, because the only way to using this new toy is to get out and do it. Particularly helpful are an apron (if you don’t want to have washing-day every time you garden with your kids) with a pocket and gloves. Gloves can help when something should not be touched with the bare skin or is spikey – if it´s just dirt, let your kids put their hands in it whenever possible. They will have so much more fun when they can feel the earth and what’s in it and will also develop a stronger connection.
Here are a couple of kids gardening tools we really like and have used – now my daughter has outgrown most of them…
Another option for a tool set (we LOVED the wheelbarrow!!! I cannot count how many cuddly toys got a ride in it…)
Related: 10 great gift ideas for outdoorsy kids (and families)
Chose the right plants for your gardening activities
Like we already said, choosing the right plants is super important to make your gardening project with kids a success. If you have very delicate plants that only sprout after a very long time, kids might lose interest. Only flowers can also be boring – planting vegetables and fruit is super attractive to kids. I will never forget the look on my daughters’ face when she harvested her first radish, and she won’t forget that accomplished feeling either.
Of course, you don’t have to make your entire garden a kids project, but if you are specifically planning to get your children interested, you should also choose at least some plants that work for kids. The book Let´s get gardening has some great options and ideas here!
Plan your gardening activities with kids together
A great way to get kids motivated to get out and work on their gardening projects is to plan your garden and what to plant in it together. Having agency and the power to decide something for themselves is a great way to teach kids responsibility and also how to compromise – because I am sure you do not want to plant their favorite vegetable in every single plant bed. It will also make sure that you can divide responsibilities and help your kids understand their – age-appropriate – role in your gardening project.
Related: Teaching children how to be environmentalists
If you have a hard time compromising with your kids on your gardening activities, you can also assign them a plant bed that they can use as they see fit – and that brings us to the next tip.
Let them have their own plants
If children have their own plants – no matter if outdoors or indoors – they have to take over a significant amount of responsibility. This can be a true teaching moment, and will also make sure that they stay invested and motivated. Particularly if they were able to decide what they wanted to plant and where they wanted to put it, they will be so proud when the sprouts come out or the soil, the first leaves develop or the flowers bloom. Even more so when they have chosen vegetables or fruit – when it comes to harvest time, you will have some super excited kids!
Make it a routine to tend to your plants together
Finally – take this chance to make family time count when you garden together. Of course, it is great when kids can take over responsibility for their own projects, but at the same time you will also have a joint family project which will give you plenty of bonding opportunities. Make it a routine in your daily activities to tend to your garden together and enjoy this time together – you just might be planting the seed for a life full of amazing gardening activities in your kids life!
How do you make gardening with your kids fun? Please share your tips with us!
Gardening with kids is so beneficial to them. Years ago I planted a pollination garden with my class and they never stopped talking about it !
That sounds like such an amazing idea! I wish my teachers would have done something like that with us! Thanks for sharing!
Great post. I used to do full vegetable gardens before kids. It was great but once the kids arrived it be very difficult to continue. Now that they’re older we are doing just small herb gardens. And a flowers for each. But you are right, having a plan and knowing what you’re doing is super helpful. We were lucky this year the herbs took quick and we saw results within a day. Not so lucky with the flowers, so that would have been a disaster. Thanks and good luck with your growing season!
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I think it’s super important to go for some easy wins with kids, that way they stay engaged… Herbs are great, and I hope we can put our some of them as well, once the weather gets a bit better here…
Love the pictures! I wish I had a garden.
Yes, I hear you. We only have a balcony, but I look forward to one day having a garden as well! And in the meantime we try to make as much use as possible of our balcony
I love this! My kids and I usually have a small container garden. We live in an apartment, so we only have a small amount of space to use. But we have been able to grow tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and flowers in our little space! My kids help water, plant seeds, trim dead leaves, and harvest.
This is so lovely. We also only have a balcony, but there is still a lot that we can do 😀