Ways to include kids in the garden

One of my favorite parts of being a parent is educating our kids about nature and it has brought me much joy sharing our garden with them. It can be difficult, messy, and take ages, but I seldom regret it. There are amazing benefits for the kids (and adults) to be outside too! Ginny from 1,000 Hours Outside speaks about this frequently, be sure to check out her Instagram page. Here are multiple, easy ways to include your kids in the garden.

Watering help

My kids LOVE to do hose work- it gives them a sense of being in charge, explore and an opportunity to make mud puddles. In the morning we peek out the windows that overlook our raised beds, check for clouds or signs that it may have rained the night before. If it does look wet outside, we go outside and dig a little to see how deep the water penetrated. If it is just surface level, we will water again. Throughout the week you can look at the weather forecast-do we need to water or is God helping today?

Helping sow seed or plant starters

I’ve done a combination of both sowing directly and growing/buying starters. If we are sowing directly, I will use my finger to poke holes in the dirt and the kids can place the seed in and cover. When we plant starters I will let them start digging the hole and I will finish. Next, I will remove the plant from the starter pot. Depending on the age I will either let them place the plant in the hole themselves or I will help hold the plant with them. We will then gently replace the surrounding dirt and lightly pack it down. If you need help with beginning garden tips, check out my post.

Kids section in the garden

Letting my daughter have her section in the garden has been really helpful in power struggles on what is going on in my section. I have a very determined 4 year old. It started to be a battle whenever we went plant shopping and letting her have her own space has brought so much peace with the least amount of effort. I can say, “these are going in my section, what are you going to put in yours?” Or if her section is full, I can remind her that it is and she ok not wanting anything else. I also let her water her section when she wants with the reminder to check if God already watered for us or if the soil actually needs it. My son is about a year and a half so he is just jazzed to be where the dirt is although he might get a section later. 

Weeding

Weeding isn’t exclusive to garden spaces or even your garden. The kids can work on the driveway, grandma’s yard, or help at clean-up events at churches or local parks. 

My favorite time to weed is when that area has shade! Bonus points if it rained recently so the weeds are easier to pull. If it hasn’t rained this is a perfect opportunity to let your kiddo practice using the hose. If you are spring cleaning, it is a good chance to practice using tools without any big repercussions since everything is coming out anyways.

Let them “hand till” empty spaces between plants

This is my fancy way of just playing in the garden bed dirt. My son LOVES the dirt, redistributing it, and throwing it. This typically happens when we go to check the garden for new buds, produce, or bugs. I haven’t ventured into cover straw in my garden so my beds are bare. I know it has a lot of benefits and garden experts like Kevin from Epic Gardening and Chris from Fluent.Garden have excellent things things to say about it. My son likes to bring his little dump truck and fill the back of it. I will prune, check for new signs of life, or thin plants while he is playing. In the future, I may only include hand tilling when we are planting and have cover between the plants like the experts say.

Finding new buds/flowers

Like I mentioned we go out and look for new buds, especially on the flowers. My son quickly learned that the flower buds stay on the plants. With my daughter, I started educating on male/female flowers on our squash since it is easy to identify. This is a great post to learn more about differentiating squash flowers. After we notice a new dahlia or pumpkin we will watch its growth. 

Identifying different garden insects/benefits

Different plants attract different bugs and pests. Point out any bugs or worms you find and observe them. We discuss the role of the bee in pollinating the flowers. We also observed that there were no ladybugs in the garden until our sunflowers came up. Ladybugs are predators and love to eat aphids. 

Another gardener’s friend is the garter snake, and edible apparently. My son discovered this when he was around 17 months and our local poison control said the snake was just extra protein. I’m adding this to show not everything is cupcakes and rainbows when you garden with kids, but it sure is full of memories. 

Harvest

My son is a resourceful little guy and loves to eat things directly from the garden. When he would see a blackberry he would spit out his binky, hold his mouth open and wait for me to put it in his mouth. You can include the kids in picking tomatoes, strawberries, checking for zucchinis, or any other thing you are growing. Another good one is if you grew potatoes in a container, dump it out and let them search for the treasure. You can help them count and carry your goodies back inside.

Fall/wintering

The fall can be such a fun place in the garden and another time when you can let the reigns loose. I live in western Oregon so we get to experience the leaves change. Subsequently, we end up with piles and piles of leaves. They are great for playing in and for covering your garden beds after the fun is done. You can also let the kids go wild in removing the plants that are at the end of their growing season.

To conclude, there are many ways to include your kids in your garden. It can be fun, but the biggest thing I’ve learned is the determining factor of whether the experience is positive or negative is all about your attitude as the parent. You will need to remember to take things slow, it will not always go as planned, it can be very messy, and sometimes you need to call it quits before your project is done. It can be incredibly difficult, but lowering standards does wonders. Remember to smile and choose joy.

What is your favorite garden activity with your kids?

Have fun and happy gardening,

Heather

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