Gardening parents frequently ask us how they can get their young children hooked on the idea of growing their own flowers and vegetables.
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You’re never too young to start gardening, and if your kids are driving you batty cooped up indoors over the school holidays, why not let them have a crack at putting in their own veggie patch?

Toddlers love to copy, so get them their own set of tools. Just don’t be surprised if they think they’re helping by “weeding” all your veggie seedlings out.

Let older children choose what they want to grow themselves. Give them a budget – stretches to a couple of punnets and a couple of packets of seed — and let them go to it.

Remember that success breeds success, so don’t give your kids a shady, barren patch of soil. Give them the sunniest, best part of your garden to play in.

Easy crops/fun ideas for kids:

1. Sow giant pumpkins (they can carve their names into them too)
2. Sow giant sunflowers
3. Plant a hanging basket of strawberries
4. Sow their own name (unless it’s really long!) in flowers. Just buy two packets of different coloured dwarf flowering plants.
5. Plant a scratch ‘n’ sniff garden of herbs like mint, lemon verbena etc

Gardening with Children