Hints for Gardening with Kids

Hints for great gardening with kids:

• Get good quality child-sized garden tools.
• Have the child make a special ornament for his/her garden.
• Pick seeds that are easy to handle and plants that are easy and reliable such as Nasturtiums, Marigolds, Zinneas, Scarlet Runner Beans, Sunflowers, etc.
• Plant the children's garden over several days, if necessary to maintain attention.
• Start seeds inside under florescent light for slow growing flowers, especially in northern areas. Kids enjoy having things growning.
• Plant the child's name using alfalfa seed or grass seed planted in a tray of cotton fluff or potting soil
• Have child decorate a styrofoam cup as a face. Fill the cup with dirt and plant it with grass seed. As the grass grow the child can give it "haircuts".
• Make stepping stones for the children's garden that feature their hand &/or foot prints from concrete (add fiberglass filaments to strengthen for cold weather durability).
• Grow a carrot tops by cutting off all but 1" of the carrot(potatos, sweet potatos, other root vegetables work as well). Stick 4 toothpicks into carrot around sides and place over a cup of water with the carrot slightly into the water. Plant orange seeds to start an orange (grapefruit or lemon) tree for in your home.
• Save seeds of flowers (marigolds, sunflowers, etc)or vegetables (beans, pumpkins, etc.) to plant next year. Place seeds on paper plates until dry and store in a sealed jar until planting season. It is good to learn that we don't have to buy seeds, we can find them and save them.
• Take cuttings together from ivies, geraniums, or other easy to root plants. Plant a terrarium together in an old aquarium or large glass bowl.
• In the garden, children like extremes. Plant huge sunflowers and other large plants in one area. In another area grow tiny plants-maybe make a "fairy garden"!