Gardening...dig it!

There are many reasons to encourage kids to get into gardening. It is so educational, plus they can have fun, do exercise, get outdoors, be involved in a family activity, learn how to problem solve, and feel proud of their accomplishments! Growing some of their own organic food can help kids learn:

• where food comes from, and to appreciate the effort put into producing food
• about protecting the Earth, and the cycles of nature
• about the vital importance of supporting the soil
• how to grow organically, without nasty chemicals, using nature’s own solutions
• what role insects and garden creatures play
• how to use scraps, green waste and leftovers to make compost
• to understand seasons and how eating by the seasons means better taste and quality
• to share their excess produce, and build their community spirit
• skills and knowledge for their future

Being prepared

Gardening is a lot of fun, for young and old, but as with all activities with kids, some care needs to be taken! And it helps to be organised before heading outside.

Wear old clothes, as there is going to be some mess… you may even need some standby clothes and a towel on the back patio, for quick clean up, without trampling dirt inside.

Decide what you are going to do that day, get all the things ready, maybe put them into a wheelbarrow or box, so you can keep an eye on tools etc.

Kids do get distracted easily and may not have the patience to stay doing the same job, so have some toys handy, so you can finish the job while they play. Or be prepared to come back to your job later…

Have a tray with drinks, snacks, sunscreen and the portable phone/ mobile phones on the back patio, or just inside the back door, so you can easily access what you will need without having to go inside

Safety Advice and Kids Gardening Equipment

Always wear gardening gloves and wash hands thoroughly before eating or drinking. Soil has organisms that can be harmful.

Buy kids safe tools in the right size, without sharp edges and supervise kids using them. Store them away safely when not in use.

Be careful with use & storage of organic fertilisers/ pesticides.

Don’t leave open buckets of water/ liquids sitting around.

Don’t forget hats, sunscreen and long sleeves too! In Summer or on hot days, garden in the cooler parts of the day & drink plenty of water.

Easy Projects to Get Kids into the Garden

A Row of Sunflowers

Sunflowers are a great, easy plant to grow, that look good and produce a tasty snack for the kids or the chooks!

Sunflowers can also be used to grow climbing beans, as the stem makes a great support for the growing bean plants. Sunflowers are native to South and Central America and are always a great way to introduce children to the fun of gardening. If you want sunflowers that produce seeds, buy heirloom seed varieties, not hybrid types.

Sunflowers are annuals that can be sown where they are to flower, ensuring that they are planted in a fertile, well-drained, sunny position in the garden.

The seeds can be sown in spring or early summer when the soil is beginning to warm up, and it is important to sow them into beds that are well prepared with organic matter and that are kept weed free. Smooth over the top of the soil lightly to create a good surface for sowing the seeds. As a general rule seeds can be sown to double the depth of the seed and cover with soil.

It is important to water the seeds regularly and to keep the bed weed free. Water with an organic liquid fertiliser every 2 to 3 weeks to boost the height of the sunflowers.

Bean Teepee

Bean Teepee is an easy to set up project, without a lot of equipment and can easily be taken down when finished.

Climbing beans are fast growing, and it’s a lot of fun to go out, find and pick fresh beans (and eat them straight off the plant!) If you want an actual living tee pee for a kid to be able to sit in, you’ll probably want to make it a reasonable size, but remember, when flowering, the plants will attract bees.

What you will need:

• some bamboo poles at least 1m in height, or other long sticks or stakes you have, at least 3, but 6 is good
• some strong twine or flexible garden wire
• bean seeds, such as climbing beans, snow peas or sugar snap peas
• willing and able kids with hats, gloves and sunscreen on

To Make the Tee Pee:

• In a garden bed with good, well conditioned soil, set aside a circular area about 60 to 80cm diameter (depending on the height of your stakes & how tall you want your tee pee to grow) OR you can use a good sized pot too.
• Dig a small hole for each bamboo stake (about 5 cm depth), and place the stake into the hole (don’t fill in just yet) leaning them in towards the middle.
• When you have all the stakes in, bring them together at the top, and wind some twine or garden wire in and around them, securing them together
• Fill the holes back in a bit, then place one bean seed in each small hole, then finish filling in the hole
• Water and once a week, the kids can apply worm juice or other organic liquid fertiliser, and help wind the vines around the stakes, if necessary

Some Other Ideas

From Little Things, Big Things Grow

If you have limited space, or time, for growing your own produce, consider growing in containers or pots. Think small tomatoes, spinach, strawberries, chillies, lettuce, dwarf beans, and a huge range of herbs. There are even dwarf varieties in fruit trees and citrus, suitable for pots.

Remember, potted vege’s and fruit tend to dry out quickly, as they have little storage capacity or underground reserves to draw on.

Make a Scarecrow, Garden Dingly-Dangly’s or Garden Art

Think outside the (chemical) box and come up with safe, fun ways to keep birds, possums, bugs and grubs out of your fruit and vegetables.

Use preloved items, that you have at home or might find at an op shop/ market/ recycling store, and make them attractive as well as functional.

Start a Worm Farm

You can make your own, or buy a Can-o-Worms tub, and then buy the composting worms to make your own cosy worm farm. Once you get started, you’ll find that worms are a great way to turn kitchen and garden scraps into worm juice and worm castings, which the garden will love! They may not be the cosiest pets around, but they sure are useful…

Kid-Friendly Fruit and Vegetables To Grow

Berries

Berries, esp. strawberries, are such a great fruit for kids to grow, as they are packed full of nutrition, you don’t have to wait years to get fruit from them, and it’s fun to go out and pick your own snacks from the garden. Some berries do have thorns on their stems, so wear gardening gloves! Strawberries are easily grown in pots, they love worm castings, and are best when picked at a full red colour. Raspberries & other brambleberries, though most have thorns and like to spread, so you’ll need a trellis and keep a close eye on them. Please remember to educate your kids about not eating just any berries they find growing, but only what they pick when with an adult!

Watermelon & Other Cucurbits

These are a plant family which includes crops like cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, luffas, melons and watermelons. The family is predominantly distributed around the tropics, where those with edible fruits were amongst the earliest cultivated plants in both the Old and New Worlds. They are easy to grow, are full of nutrition, and come in a huge variety of weird and wonderful shapes, sizes and colours!

Try Moon & Stars Watermelon, or, African Horned Cucumber, or one of many gourds, like Bottle Gourds, Caveman’s Club, or Bi-colour Pear.

What about pumpkins, like Delicata, Turks Turban or cute Jack Be Little varieties. Or try Spaghetti Vegetable, which comes apart into long strands when cooked!

You can buy the seeds for these crazy looking vegetables, or try becoming part of a seed swapping community! They do need space to grow, but can be trained up trellis, pergola’s or over carports…

Rainbow Vegetables

These are an interesting way to get kids into growing their own vegetables, but also, eating them! Some will lose their colour when cooked, but that’s a great excuse to eat them raw or lightly cooked, retaining more nutrients.

Choose from Heirloom, Open-Pollinated, Organic and/or Non-hybrid seeds. Look for Purple King Beans, Rainbow Spinach, Sicillian Violet Cauliflower, Green Zebra Tomatoes, Red, White, Orange and Purple carrots, Red okra, Candy striped Chioggia Beetroot with it’s bright purple & white rings, yellow Cherokee Beans, Chocolate capsicums, Mini Strawberry Popcorn corn, Turkish Orange Eggplant, Queensland Blue Pumpkin, Golden Zuchini, bright Cherry Belle radish, Yellow Button Squash and many more, than just your average coloured produce from the supermarkets!

Links

Better Health Channel – Gardening for Children

Gardenate – Canberra is Cool/ Mountain Climate

Global Garden – Garden Kids Projects

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://hercanberra.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/bec1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Bec Pollock, AKA dixiebelle, has been living in Canberra for three years now. Her claims to fame include Kid Wrangler, Wife Extraordinaire, Part-time RN, Wannabe Urban Homesteader, Novice Permaculturalist, Earth & Communities Supporter, Ambling Prepper, Laptop Activist, Rambling Blogger… read more of her musings at www.eatatdixiebelles.blogspot.com or at local ACT blog, www.everydayecointheact.blogspot.com[/author_info] [/author]