Teaching Vegetable Gardening to Kids
Gardening can feel like a chore at times, but you can help children learn to love it by teaching vegetable gardening to kids when they’re young.
You will want to focus on the basics of gardening when first teaching children. For a first garden select a small area. If you don’t have space for a garden you can use large planter boxes or pots to grow individual plants on your patio.
Knowing how much space you have can help you select how many types of vegetables you will be able to grow. To keep the kids invested ask them what they want to see grow in the garden. The more foods you grow that they will eat, the more exciting the outcomes will be. You could also grow fruits in your garden if they are not vegetable eaters.
You will need to purchase planting soil for your pots or to provide nutrients for your native soil. Put that in the pots or spread evenly over your outdoor garden area. Now you can plant the seeds you have purchased. The back of the seed packages will tell you how deep to plant the seeds and how far apart they should be planted from each other for proper growth. To keep small children involved and learning, you can find light weight toy gardening kits they can use. They can dig the small holes necessary for the seeds and then cover them up.
Once the seeds are planted they will need to be watered. You can either do this with a watering can or a sprinkler for a larger space. Help the children learn how to use these tools so they can have a sense of ownership in the garden.
Let them know that it will take time for the seeds to sprout, but to keep watering and protecting them. When the fruits and vegetables start to grow show them when each is ripe and how to pluck them from the plant.
The best way to learn is by doing. Having your children involved in the process of planting and growing a garden will help them learn and grow in appreciation for a garden.
