26/04/2019

6 gardening tips for kids

Gardening is a great opportunity to get children out into the fresh air and also helps develop key skills.

With National Gardening Week approaching we thought we’d share our top tips on gardening for kids.

Give them their own set of tools

Having their own mini tools including a watering can, trowel, rake and spade will make them feel more involved and will also be easier and safer for them to handle. Gardening skills are great for developing fine motor skills in children and gives them a sense of independence and achievement.

Give them their own plot

If you have the space in your garden, portion off a section for them to manage on their own. Great to encourage gardening for beginners, whether in pots or in a plot, this should start them off nicely. From selecting what they want to grow, to planning for the year and regular maintenance, gardening is positive for child development.

Plant quick sprouting seeds

Kids aren’t often known for their patience so start off with some quick growers so they don’t lose interest. Cress and salad seeds are great for quick results and will also encourage them to eat more greens. Sunflower seeds grow quickly and kids love their colourful and impressive flowers.

Grow edible goodies!

You can start off simple with herbs and salads, which are easy and fast growers so great for kids, but there’s much more out there that’s simple to grow that they’ll love to eat! Beetroot is a really easy veggie to grow and there are loads of colourful varieties they’ll love to try! Tomatoes and strawberries are great choices too and kids will love picking as they go! You can plant what they love or this could be a great opportunity to get them trying things they might not be so keen on.

Create an eco-garden

Go wild and scale up the excitement with alternative planting and container ideas. There are some great eco-friendly alternatives you can consider such as a painted old tire which can be decorated by them and personalised with their names, or any way they’d like. Just fill with eco-friendly potting soil and insect friendly plants!

Mix it up!

Keep children enthusiastic about gardening by introducing different activities. They may lose interest if it’s all weeding and watering. Why not make a bug hotel for a creative twist and keep a log of the mini beasts, or just mix things up with making plant labels or homemade eco-friendly bug repellents.

With the great weather we’ve had lately, now’s the time to get cracking and encourage some green fingers!

Let us know your top tips for getting the kids involved in gardening in the comments below.