Gardening For Kids

by Judy Williams

Children are continually bombarded with advertising for fast food and unhealthy treats. One of the most important lessons you can teach them is how to tend and grow their own food from the garden.

There are plenty of quick and easy projects that the children can get involved in. The projects will teach them about nutrition, nature, recycling and organic gardening. That`s a good outcome!

The no dig garden is a particularly good project for children because the garden can be built and planted in just a couple of hours. You do not have to prepare the garden for weeks in advance, as with other growing methods. There are detailed instructions for building a no dig garden on my website (www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com). If a full on garden seems too ambitious at the start, try something simpler.

1. Growing bean shoots is the quickest way to grow edible things. In just a few days, the kids will be able to pop fresh bean shoots in a salad or sandwich or just eat them as they come. This will also work with alfalfa, cress and snow pea seeds. Put the seeds into a clean, wide mouth jar and place a mesh material over the mouth. It must be a material that water and air can pass through, but not the seeds. A bit of discarded pantyhose secured with a rubber band will do. Soak the seeds overnight in water. Next morning, drain the excess water and place the jar on its side in a bright room, near a window. A couple of times a day, re-wet the seeds, drain and return to the bright space. The seeds will sprout and grow very quickly and within a few days will be ready to eat.

2. To propagate your own garden seedlings build this portable greenhouse! Wash a 2Lt plastic bottle (soft drink or soda water type) and using a knife or sharp scissors, cut it in half along one side. Force it open and fill one side with good quality potting mix. Plant your seeds and water gently. A very light mixture of water and liquid fertilizer will kick start the seeds. Close the bottle back up and seal with tape. Place the bottle in a sunny position. Your seedlings should be well on their way and ready for repotting in 2-4 weeks.

3. Do you know very young children? Introduce them to Hairy Harry! Take one of those pairless socks every household has and sew on some eyes and other facial features. Put some lawn seed in the sock end and fill with garden soil, potting mix or compost. Fill the sock until the face is filled out and tie a knot in the sock, making sure the mix inside is packed tightly. Water the sock regularly, or prop it on top of a container with water. The loose end of the sock will act as a wick to draw up the moisture. Place in a sunny position. In a couple of days, Harry will have a full head of green hair! In a couple of weeks, he will be ready for a hair cut or styling makeover!

4. Children love eating things fresh from a garden. For convenience, you might want to plant close to the kitchen where the children can harvest items under your watchful eye. So consider doing quick growing plants in containers. Cress, radishes and lettuce will be ready the quickest in 6-8 weeks. Next in line are dwarf beans, cucumber, cabbage, tomatoes and onion which will be ready in 8-12 weeks. Most others, including the popular carrots and potatoes will need 16-20 weeks to mature. You could be harvesting from this little garden for months!

Encourage your children to nurture their little garden, which ever project you choose. It`s a great way to teach them practical skills and fill them forever with the wonder of nature.

Author

Judy Williams (www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com) aspires to become a fulltime earth mother goddess. This site acts as a primer for all vegetable gardening aspects covering topics like how to build a garden, nurture seedlings, container gardening and composting.

Gardening News

'Guerilla Gardening' Digs L.A.
LAist - 0 KB- Found: 4 hours ago
Guerilla gardening is largely thought to have its roots in England, where folks have long planted unexpected gardens in neglected public spaces as a sort of call to action that highlights the misuse of land and repurposes it into something beautiful. They often work in crews or teams and go on carefully-planned gardening missions. Recently a local team of guerilla gardeners transformed a ...

Central Texas gardening workshops, seminars offer tips, advice
Austin American-Statesman - 0 KB- Found: 11 hours ago
Round Rock Community Garden Club 9:15 a.m. Monday . Judy Barrett lectures on 'Ecological Gardening Rain Barrels, Compost Bins, Potting Soil and More.' Baca Center, 301 W. Bagdad Ave., Building 2, Round Rock. Free. 218-5499.

Gardening Gift Guide
Carteret County News-Times - 0 KB- Found: 15 hours ago
(ARA) - Whether you have a few plants at your desk, a container garden on your deck, or a full-fledged garden in your backyard, gardening is enjoyed on many different levels.

Free UT event is a buffet of summer gardening activities
Memphis Commercial Appeal - 0 KB- Found: 20 hours ago
If you want to see plants thriving in the summer sun and learn about gardening throughout the seasons, you can join hundreds of like-minded people on July 10 at the 19th annual Summer Celebration at the University of Tennessee's West Tennessee Research & Education Center in Jackson.

Vegetable gardening with my Three Sisters
Grand Bend Strip - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-04, 01:03 GMT
Vegetable gardening, though not for everyone, can be a very therapeutic endeavour. Planting the seeds, harvesting, and then being able to enjoy the resulting food on your plate is rewarding in itself. Then there is the physical health benefit of the exercise and fresh air.

Event marks 25 years of master gardening
Corvallis Gazette-Times - 0 KB- Found: 22 hours ago
The Oregon Master Gardener Association and OSU Extension Service have organized the 25th annual Gardeners Mini-College, scheduled for July 24 through 26. This years event agenda includes featured talks on rain gardens, gardening with native plants, backyard bees and alternatives to pesticides. Forums on spiders in the garden, winter vegetable gardening and the worldwide legacy of Clematis also ...

Gardening: Reader offers and competitons
Daily Telegraph - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-04, 00:12 GMT
Gardening offers for Telegraph readers.

Free gardening classes
The Sacramento Bee - 0 KB- Found: 2008-07-03, 08:35 GMT
The UC Cooperative Extension master gardeners of El Dorado County offer a class on organic gardening methods from 9 a.m. to noon July 12 at the Agricultural Extension Building, 311 Fair Lane, Placerville. A class on summer pruning will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 26. An additional class, "In Love with Lavender," will be held from 9 a.m. to noon July 19 at the El Dorado County Main Library, ...

Green gardening has its advantages
The West Frankfort Daily American - 0 KB- Found: 6 hours ago
Going green. Its a motto and way of life thats gained quite a bit of popularity lately, expanding beyond its original base of environmentalists and spilling over into the everyday lives of many Americans.

Local Gardening Events
The Lakeland Ledger - 0 KB- Found: 14 hours ago
GARDEN LECTURE SERIES LakelandSponsored by Lakeland Beautification Board and the city of Lakeland Parks & Recreation Department. John King will speak on "Butterflies & Birds."WHEN: 6:30-7:30 p.m. MondayLOCATION: Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton DriveconservationWORKSHOP ChampionsGate

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