Warm weather is here. In many places, spring daffodils and crocuses have popped up out of the soil as the ground thaws and the sunshine warms the earth. It is time to start thinking about that vegetable garden.
Spring brings not only hope of warm sunshine but also ever-changing plans for our vegetable garden. Every year, it’s something slightly different. This year we will plant our usual cucumbers and tomatoes, beans, kale, spinach, beets, carrots, squash, and peppers with hope that it will teach our boys the delicate process of where our food comes from, and also inspire them to taste and enjoy a wide variety of vegetables.
Gardening is a lot of work — it’s muddy and messy, and sometimes pests or weather can destroy best laid plans. So why bother?
The benefits of gardening for children are many. Children learn responsibility, cause-and-effect, and a greater understanding and appreciation for nature and its workings. A child who gardens has a better understanding of where food comes from and an appreciation of the process and work that goes into producing healthy food. Gardening is excellent physical activity: there’s activity in tilling the soil, carting fresh compost by wheelbarrow, seed-planting, then weeding and watering, and maintenance of the garden.
Another benefit to gardening is obvious: nutrition. Our boys are hesitant to eat many vegetables placed on their plates at dinner time, but they willingly and happily munch on fresh cucumbers, berries, snap peas, peppers, mint, basil, and even raw kale leaves they have plucked from the garden themselves.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was the discovery that our children would seek out the garden just to spend time there. There is so much life to explore: They pick caterpillars off the leaves; they gently scoop up ladybugs and earthworms to examine them; the occasional praying mantis brings shrieks of glee.
With so much time spent in the garden, our boys began to learn about the flora and fauna within; by July, they could each identify every plant, including the many herbs, and differentiate between what was a weed and what was food. They knew to spray the white cabbage butterflies with the hose whenever they saw them landing on the kale to lay their eggs — lovely creatures whose offspring would devour an entire crop of kale within weeks.
All in all, gardening brings our family tremendous joy. Here are some tips on introducing simple gardening to your children or starting a vegetable garden of your own.
Start small. A growing jar is a great way to start: fill a medium-sized jar with a damp paper towel, place a few dry beans between the inside of the jar and the moist paper towel, and place in a sunny window. Leave the jar lid off and add water every few days to keep the towel moist, then note the changes in the bean as it sprouts and begins to grow.
Try container gardening. You don’t need a yard or large plot of land to reap the benefits of gardening. A sunny patio or apartment balcony can hold a few pots with herbs, strawberries, or cherry tomatoes.
Encourage exploration in the dirt. Let your child get messy, dig in the dirt, hold earthworms, turn compost, and make mud pies.
Help children plant fun plants. Plants that grow quickly are really rewarding for children who can become impatient easily. Sunflowers grow quickly and have large seeds that are easy for children to plant.
Don’t forget about the insects. Part of the joy of gardening for children is learning about all the insects that inhabit them, beneficial and pest alike. Order a praying mantis egg sack or ladybugs online and release them in your garden.
Check out children’s gardening books. There are so many great books introducing children to gardening, including “The Tiny Seed,” by Eric Carle and “The Curious Garden,” by Peter Brown. For a list of more children’s gardening books, visit www.heraldnet.com/home.
Visit Gardens and Farms. A great way to become inspired and knowledgeable about gardening is to visit established gardens or farms in your area. A trip to the Evergreen Arboretum near Legion Park in Everett or a talk with a member of the Snohomish County Master Gardener Association can give you great ideas on where to start.
Children’s gardening books
1. “Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt,” by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
2. “Frog and Toad Together,” by Arnold Lobel
3. “Compost Stew,” by Mary McKenna Siddals, illustrated by Ashely Wolff
4. “Water, Weed, and Wait,” by Edith Hope Fine and Angela Halpin, illustrated by Colleen M. Madden
5. “Plant a Little Seed,” by Bonnie Christensen
6. “The Carrot Seed,” by Ruth Krauss, illustrated by Crockett Johnson
7. “Sunflower House,” by Eve Bunting, illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt
8. “The Curious Garden,” by Peter Brown
9. “Planting a Rainbow,” by Lois Ehlert
10. “The Tiny Seed,” by Eric Carle
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