Gardening with the kids: here’s how to start now!

How to create a vegetable garden with and for children from A to Z

Creating a garden where children can play and work is one of the greatest gifts you can give your children. In fact, cleaning the ground from weeds, sowing, planting bulbs and small seedlings, watering, seeing flowers and plants sprout, picking fruits and tubers is a magnificent “game” for children! For this reason it will also be an unforgettable experience for them as well as a wonderful opportunity to learn many things about nature : the cycle of life, the importance of water and insects, the care of the earth, the cyclical nature of the seasons, respect for the environment.

Vegetable garden with children: where to start?

If you have the desire to create a small vegetable garden to tend with the help of your children,  know that early spring is the best time to start getting organized.

Where to garden

First of all, the thing you have to do is decide where and how to grow your garden.
Depending on the space available to you, the things you can do vary.

If you have a large piece of land, you can think of creating a serious vegetable garden where you can keep not only aromatic plants but also fruit plants, vegetables and legumes for the whole family.
Alternatively, you can create a small space in your garden  to dedicate to vegetables that are easy to grow and do not take up much space.
If, on the other hand, you live in an urban context and only have a small outdoor area (small garden, courtyard, balcony, terrace), planting in pots or boxes may be the best solution.
You can also have fun creating a simple garden fence with your children to delimit the work area.
In all cases however it is important thatthe space dedicated to the vegetable garden and to the seedlings must be flat, sunny, easy to water and above all accessible to children, free from dangers or  dangerous plants .

Planning the garden with the children

Once the place to make the garden has been identified, it must be designed. You can involve the children in this task by asking them to draw a real map of the garden. 

You can decide together  what and where to plant and sow this or that vegetable. Children will have a lot of fun and will be able to give free rein to their creativity by deciding how to arrange the various vegetables and legumes: in zones, in parallel rows, in a circle (To learn more about the subject, you can search for information on the didactic vegetable garden.) It has been shown that
, if involved in the creation and care of the garden, children are more inclined to eat fruit and vegetables. 

What seedlings to put in the garden

Based on the position and size of the area identified for your vegetable garden, you have to decide which types of plants are more suitable, which ones you want to grow and above all how many and when to plant them.
Choose fruit and vegetables also according to your time needs. There are crops that require a lot of time and patience, others that require little, still others that grow practically without too much care.
Some of the easiest plants to growfor example they are basil, parsley, rosemary, sage, mint, thyme, marjoram, carrots, lettuce, rocket, radishes, tomatoes, courgettes, squash, aubergines, peas, spinach and small fruits such as strawberries, red currants and raspberries. Some of these crops are also good for a balcony garden because they can also grow in pots or on boxes.

In choosing the fruit and vegetables to grow, however, also follow the tastes of the family. What do you like to eat?  Better to spend time growing tomatoes if your little ones like them, rather than growing broccoli if no one will eat them. Unless you try to entice children to eat vegetables that are healthy regardless. In this it is true, gardening could help you. If children helped grow something, chances are high they might end up liking it.

When to plant or sow

To be successful in the garden, crop times must always be respected , which are different for each type of fruit or vegetable. On the web you will find detailed garden calendars that will tell you when to plant or sow based on the months.
For example, I found an interesting calculator useful for deciding what to sow in a practical and fast way. Using it is very simple: just enter the desired sowing period, what you would like to harvest and the type of place where you intend to sow and the calculator will tell you which vegetables you can plant or sow. You can find it here → Sowing calculator

Necessary equipment

To take care of your garden (remove weeds, aerate the soil, dig holes, water) you will need some tools for both you and your children.
In the market there is a large selection of  gardening tools for children  to choose from. You can find both  plastic toy tools  (which are good for younger children) and  metal and wooden garden tools,  certainly more durable and similar to garden tools for adults. Most tools can be purchased individually, but it’s often cheaper to buy them in kits or complete sets.

We had already talked about gardening equipment for children, so to get an idea of ​​what to buy to start this new adventure, you can find lots of advice here → gardening kits and tools for children

Activities in the garden suitable for children

Working and helping parents take care of the garden will be a lot of fun for the children.
They won’t have to do dangerous or heavy work, but just ask to help you carry out the simplest tasks such as removing weeds, watering the seedlings, picking fruit and vegetables, removing dry leaves from the plants.  Carrying out small but important tasks will make them feel useful and responsible as well as having the opportunity to work together outdoors.

Another nice activity to offer to children is to draw labels to create  recognition signs for plants. It will be a very creative and fun manual activity that they can do with paper, wooden sticks and markers.

Books on gardening to do with children

What I have described to you are the steps to follow to create a vegetable garden with children. If you want to have good results, I still recommend that you go deeper into each topic. You can refine your searches on the web in specialized sites or buy some good books to guide you. You will find many tips, cards and calendars, which will be very useful to you.

For example, you can start with one of these books to read with the children:

• Educational garden
• The children’s garden
• My vegetable garden
• The vegetable garden on the balcony
• The children’s garden

Having a vegetable garden is an activity that requires a minimum of effort but pays off a lot in terms of satisfaction. Involving children in taking care of your garden will be one of the healthiest and most beautiful ways to spend your free time outdoors with your little ones!