If you have the room, create a garden just for the kids.  This could be a section of your garden or a separate area all together.  A part of your row garden or raised bed or a separate container garden can work.  But in any case be sure it is some how marked off as the kids garden.

Once you have the kids garden area set, help the kids prepare it at the same time you are preparing your garden.  Let the kids have the pride of doing it themselves whenever possible.

Once plot and its soil is prepared,  you need to pick quick growing seeds or plants.  Fast growing because the kids need quick results to stay interested.  Radish, lettuce, pole beans and peas are all fast growing.

You can always use some of the same seeds or transplants you use in your own garden.  A little competition can be healthy.

Let the kids maintain their  garden – weeding, watering, etc.  It should be successful because of their efforts not yours.  It is more rewarding if they do it themselves within safety limits. Show safe ways to garden with proper handling of tools, use of gloves and planting.

As their garden grows and their flowers or vegetables ripen, let the kids harvest their crops.  Compliment them on their results. Make a fuss about how good the harvest looks and in the case of vegetables how good they taste.

If your season is long enough, repeat the process. Are you ready to plant again?

Gardening is a wonderful activity for children. Teaching children about growing things can be done in a classroom setting or in their own backyard. They will benefit from their hard work.

One of the easiest ways to teach children about gardening is to help them create a container garden. This type of garden requires little space and just a small investment.

Container gardens can be located on a patio, in a window box, pr really in any small space inside or out. In areas with little sunlight, plant lights can be used to ensure proper lighting.

You don’t need to be a gardening expert to teach children about growing things. There are countless books, on the market, which guide you through the entire process. Many of these books include colorful pictures, of container gardens, which actually aid young gardeners in deciding on a garden of their own.

There are usually workshops covering container or small space gardening geared toward children. Family owned nurseries, are often more than willing to take the time to assist you with project ideas.

If you are teaching younger gardeners, plants which reach maturity quickly are a good choice. Carrots, radishes, bush beans and certain types of squash take less than 55 days to harvest. They are all good container gardening candidates.

Also consider planting container gardens that are theme based. Plant a ‘salsa garden’. Doing so will teach them about growing things and Mexican culture at the same time. By planting a tomato plant, a jalapeno plant, onion sets and garlic chives, they will have the main ingredients to make homemade salsa.

You can easily transform an ordinary bag of potting soil into a container, with hardly any effort at all. This works especially well if you are planting herbs. Mint, parsley, basil, sage and dill, are herbs to consider for this project.

Lay a bag of potting soil on a flat surface. Cut at least for small X’s in the bag. Remove a bit of soil under each X, forming a small hole. Water each hole. Plant one herb plant, per hole. Move bag to a location which receives adequate sunlight.

Instead of making drainage holes, in the bag, it is much neater to slowly sprinkle water in each hole when plants look wilted.

Using containers to teach kids about gardening is a great way to promote creativity. It’s a project, which not only teaches children about plants and growing things it also touches on other subjects, as well.

Container gardening is an activity that is well suited to groups of children, both large and small. It is a wonderful classroom activity or a great way to for families to spend quality time together.

Containers can be as large or as small as space permits. Larger containers, such as an old bathtub can be used for outside projects. Several children can easily work on this together.

For inside projects or small areas smaller containers of almost any type can be used. By allowing children to use their imagination, to choose a suitable container, they will learn a bit about recycling, as well

Container gardening can be a simple project or one, which is more involved. Smaller children will probably enjoy planting a single plant or seed in their own individual container, to watch it grow. (This would make a great Mother’s Day project.)

Older children can actually decide what they’d like to plant, based on things like planting zones (if an outside garden), type of plants (annuals or perennials), variety of plants (flowers, vegetables and herbs), color scheme and type of containers.

They can also decide if they’d like to sell their crop to raise money for future class projects or give the plants away to people in the community, such as nursing home recipients.

Container gardening isn’t limited to one type of plant, per container. As long as plants have the same growing requirements, it is feasible to grow vegetables with flowers, flowers with herbs, ect.

Herbs are a wonderful plant choice, when you are teaching kids about gardening. They grow very well from seed. Because they are contained, there is no chance of them taking over, as they sometimes do in a traditional garden setting.

Many herbs grow successfully when started indoors. Once the plants begin to grow they can be moved outdoors.

When it comes to flowers, two of the easiest and hardiest to grow are petunias and zinnias. They do well in almost any type of container, even hanging baskets. Petunias do not do well in heat. Zinnias, on the other hand, love the warm afternoon sun.

There are many plants that will grow well, vertically. Tomatoes and beans are two vegetables suited, for this type of planting. This method of container gardening saves space and is an excellent choice for city gardeners

Interesting plants, like the Venus Flytrap, can also be grown in containers. This is a fun project for older children, as these plants take a bit more work to grow successfully. With over 500 different species, they are actually quite beautiful plants to grow.

They do best in a terrarium like setting, where the humidity is at least 50%. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate setup. One Flytrap can be grown in a terrarium made from something as simple as a 1 liter bottle.

Kids Container Gardening – Growing Vegetables

Gardening is educational and just plain fun! Container vegetable gardening is a wonderful activity for children, of all ages. Not only will they learn about the growing process, they will enjoy eating the tasty results.

This type of gardening is an excellent choice for class projects or homeschooling families. It requires little space, to get started. Depending on the containers used, it can be quite inexpensive, as well.

Educators, on a tight budget, should consider contacting nurseries and garden centers with donation requests.  Many times these businesses are more than happy to supply materials to classrooms, of eager students.

All containers should be washed out with warm soapy water, before planting. This will remove any substance, which might inhibit proper plant growth. Containers with numerous holes, such as baskets or crates, should be lined with heavy gauge plastic prior to planting. (Poke small holes in plastic, for adequate draining.)

Large containers retain water longer, so plants housed in them don’t need to be watered as frequently.  Porous containers, such as those made of wood or terra-cotta, dry out quickly.  So, more frequent watering is required if those are your vessels of choice. Regardless of the type of containers you use, always remember to water them more often than you would a traditional garden. NEVER allow soil to dry out completely.

There are many vegetables that grow well, in a container garden. Any variety will do, but for optimal results, look for a ‘dwarf’ or ‘miniature’ version, when choosing plants or seeds. These smaller sized vegetables are kid sized, as well.

Tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, peppers and cucumbers grow well, in containers. All of these vegetables require sunlight, to help them grow.  If your container garden is indoors, plant lights can be used when additional sunlight is needed. 

When plants are mature and ready to harvest, simply add lettuce and their favorite salad dressing… then watch them eat and enjoy!