Gardening for kids can be such a rewarding experience. I remembered as a child having my very own garden that I designed and constructed with my very own hands it was such an exciting experience that I still remember to this day.
There were days when I would be outside turning the soil in preparation for planting my seeds. My garden consisted of okras, pepper, peas, and corn.
I would go into my garden on a daily basis to water my seedlings, then after a week or so I would notice little leaves and stems. Man, I was so proud of my seedlings, it was like walking on the clouds. The good news about kids getting involved with gardening is that it brings them closer to nature where they can have a better understanding and appreciation of how nature works.
Kids involved in gardening can learn about soil science, the different types of soil, how soil relates to plant life, and the many microbes that are found in the soil including earthworms and their responsibility. They can also learn the different parts of a plant and what important role each part plays. All of this stuff is just so cool.
I believe that the fun really starts when the vegetables, herbs, or fruit appears, depending on what type of garden you have. The joy is not only in seeing your plants grow but also watching nature do its part while your fruits, vegetables, or herbs mature, it’s all just wonderful. I believe this is a good opportunity for children to be educated about food production and its origin.
Where do we begin?
Although there are many ways in which we can begin, I believe it’s best to start by showing them the product that is in the supermarket or better yet, if we have a garden of our own we can take them out into our garden and show them what is being grown while allowing them to ask their questions.
Soil
Next, let’s start from the ground up. All healthy plant life depends on quality soils. Without soil, plants won’t grow to their fullest potential.
In our quest for knowledge, we will research the many layers of soil. To learn more about soil layers, I have included this cool video from Eden’s learning channel so watch, learn and enjoy.
Soil microbes
Soils are not dead as some people think but are very much alive! Here’s what I mean by that. In the soil there are billions of soil microbes that are very much alive, not sleeping but hard at work making sure that our soil is fit for the job. These microbes break down what we call organic matter such as leaves that have fallen from trees to the soil surface. The bodies of dead insects and animals that are laying on the soil surface, dead roots that are in the soil, and so on. To make a long story short, anything that was once alive and is dead is known as organic matter.
So then our garden friends that live in the soil which is known as microbes break down these leaves, roots, and the bodies of dead animals and insects into a form that is beneficial to plant life.
Gardening for kids
Names of soil microbes
1. Fungi
2. Bacteria
3. Amoeba
4. Algae
5. Protozoa
6. Actinomycetes
Seed Germination
What amazes me about plants is that they all begin from a tiny seed and grow into such a big plant or tree producing many fruits themselves.
So how do plants really begin their journey from a tiny seed to such a huge plant?
The journey from a tiny seed to a plant is one of the awesome wonders of nature. Now that we have looked at how a seed begins to germanite in the ground as it starts its long journey to becoming a full plant, we will also be looking at parts of a plant and their functions.
Different plant parts and their functions
Just as we have different parts of our bodies that have different functions that cause our bodies to work as a whole unit, plants also have different parts that cause them to function as a whole and do their part so they can grow nice and healthy.
I cannot emphasize enough how there is a lot of cool stuff that you can learn from plants and when starting your own garden, it brings you close to nature so you can enjoy all the wonders and benefits nature has to offer.
Insects in Your Garden
A great way to attract insects is by having a garden. As you provide homes for insects, you learn all about them and at the same time watch them grow.
In case you didn’t know, insects are divided into two groups.
- There are beneficial insects and what that means is these insects help our plants by protecting them from our second group of insects.
2. The second group is known as the bad bugs.
First, we will talk about good bugs. The reason they are called good bugs is they do not destroy our gardens, they are like the police which protect our plants from being destroyed. Here are some examples of good bugs. There are so many of them so I will just name a few.
Gardening for kids
Good Bugs
1.Ladybirds, 2. Bees, 3. Lacewings, 4. Praying mantis, 5. Soldier beetles, 6. Damsel bugs, 7. Assassin bugs, 8. Big-eyed bugs,9. Ground beetles and Parasitic wasps.
Now, remember these are just a few of the good guys that protect our plants as they move back and forth through our garden. I guess we can liken them to the security guards of our garden.
Bad Bugs
Remember we said a little earlier they are called bad bugs because they eat and destroy our beautiful gardens.
Here are some examples of the bad guys or bugs that want to harm our plants.
1.Birch leafminers, 2. Gypsum moths, 3. Scale insects, 4. Colorado potato beetle, 5. Crucifer beetles, 6. Mealybugs, 6. Aphids, 7. Whiteflies, 8. Thrips, 9. Spider mites, 10. Caterpillars
Like good bugs, these are just a few of the bad bugs. There are many more that invade our gardens seeking to do harm.
Plant diseases
Plant disease can also be damaging to plant life, therefore gaining knowledge and insight into what causes plant disease and how to combat it is very important. Studying plant disease is vast and because this web page is for kids, we will look at just a few causes and how we can combat them.
What causes plant disease?
In order for a plant disease to arise, there must be
1. A susceptible host, meaning there must first be a host plant present. 2. Next, there must be a pathogen. A pathogen is a disease-carrying organism such as bacteria and viruses.
3. There must be a favorable condition. A favorable condition may consist of heat and moisture.
Gardening for kids
Signs of plant disease
These are some of the signs to look for to determine if your plant has a plant disease.
1. Rotted tissue- meaning leaves are wet, mushy, and brown.
2. Your plant begins to wilt.
3. Plants may give off a stinky odor.
4. A moldy coating on leaves and other plant parts.
5. Rust on plant leaves.
6. Scabs
7. Blotches.
Plant care
When planting your garden make sure that you have good garden soil. When planting either by seeds or seedlings (young plants) always plant at the right depth. So when your mom or dad take you to the plant nursery on your next trip asked your nurseryman to please give you the instructions on how to care for your plants
If you are buying seeds the instructions can be found on the package, so read very carefully. Remember following the instructions will cause your plants to grow nice and healthy.
Safety tips for the young gardener
Remember that no matter how excited you are about gardening, safety is first. From wearing the right clothing to getting sufficient water to drink. Here are some tips to consider when planting a garden.
Garden safety 101 – The rules of gardening
1. Make sure in hot weather to wear a long sleeve shirt whenever necessary. It will protect your skin from the sun’s rays.
2. The proper footwear is a must. Wearing boots or other footwear to protect your toes and ankles is a necessity.
3. Wearing eye goggles is a must to protect your eyes from dust and small rocks.
4. Protect your hands by wearing gloves that are made for gardening if possible.
5. Wear sunscreen when working in the sun.
6. Wearing a hat can help to keep your head cool.
7. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
8. Make sure that you eat before going outdoors to do gardening.
9. Always keep a first-aid kit on hand.
10. Take breaks in a cool spot when you feel tired.
11. Ask for help if you need it. Don’t try to lift things that are too heavy for you alone.
12. Always wash your hands thoroughly after gardening.
13. While out in the garden, wash all produce that you pick before eating.
14. Do not play with garden tools. They can cause serious injury.
Different Garden types
Gardening for kids
What makes gardening fun is the different types of gardens you can have. Here is a list of just a few of them.
1. Herb garden- This garden consists of basil, thyme, chives, garlic, mint, parsley, oregano, bay leaf, sage, thyme, and rosemary. Now, these are just a few, there are much more. See if you can come up with a few others.
2.Vegetable garden- This is a garden where vegetables are grown such as carrots, corn, beets, lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and there is so much more. Can you name a few?
3. Then there are gardens where fruits are grown, like apples, oranges, strawberries, peach, watermelon, bananas, grapes, blueberries, and so on. Can you think of any others?
4. Flower garden- In this group, we have flowers of so many colors and sizes that are so beautiful.
5. Bromeliad Garden- This garden has lots of beautiful bromeliads. In fact, it is said that there are some 2,700 different types of bromeliads in the world, isn’t that just amazing.
We can go on but I will stop here for now.
The final word
Gardening for kids is an informative web page that can introduce and teach children the many benefits of gardening while they learn all about what nature has to offer, so encourage your kids to take this journey as they experience the wonderful wonders of nature.
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About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
This is really great information! I wish someone would have shared this kind of information with me when I was a kid, maybe I would have better luck keeping my house plants alive. I came across your article looking for fun activities with my niece and nephews. They will really enjoy planting and watching some vegetables grow so I’m really excited to incorporate your information. Thanks for the great article and I can’t wait to read more.
Hello Kristin and thanks for those very kind words. I am glad that you enjoyed my post your words alone lets me know that my hard work is paying of thanks again all the best to you and can you do me a favor please and tell others about my sight have a good night. gardeofedengardencenter.com
Do different garden types require different kinds of maintenance? For instance, if I wanted to start my own herb garden, would I worry about different “bad bugs” as opposed to my neighbor who manages fruit trees? I assume it depends on the region, but your post got me thinking about that. This is very informative! I can easily follow the breakdown here.
Hello and thanks a lot for those kind words, It is possible in some case as strange as that may sound for the same species of bugs to attack both fruits and herbs. All the best to you and have a good day
Excellent article on gardening for kids! I think it is so great when parents take the initiative to teach their kids things like gardening from a young age. This article outlines the fundamentals of gardening that too many adults (unfortunately) are not knowledgeable of. I will definitely be recommending this to some of my friends that have kids!
Good morning Cole it is good to meet you and thanks of those very kind words, gardening is my passion and I love to teach and talk about it. Thanks a million also for beign so kind and telling your friends of my website. Wishing you all the best of success and have a good day.
I remeber how I had a garden when I was a kid and how immesely proud I was about it. I would take really good care and try to put in all kinds of fertilizers rhat were good for their growth.
Even though I didn’t have like those huge gardens, I really made the most of the space I really had!
Thinking of doing some gardening with my little cousin got me to this site and I really liked the information and recommendations you have provided here.
Thanks
Hello shrey thanks for those kind word wishing you and your cousin all the best with your garden project, and please tell others about my website, thanks again and have a good day. gardenofedengardencenter.com
Hello Norman,
Wow, we have so much in common. My daughter’s name is Eden and she is named after me because Eden is my middle name. My husband and our children are in the process of creating an urban micro farm.
We purchased a 2 acre property a few weeks ago and are just getting settled in and are beginning to work on some pretty cool projects.
Twenty years! You clearly have a lot of experience and knowledge to share. I am so pleased to have stumbled upon your site! I will have to bookmark it so I can continue to learn more about what you have to offer.
Thank you so much for stepping up and sharing your skills, knowledge and passion for gardening and landscaping with the world (and me!)
Sincerely,
Joy
Hello Joy it is so good to meet you and i must say we do have alot in common and your daughter has a beautiful name. Gardening and landscape is my passion. And as for an urban micro farm that sounds very exciting, if you don’t mind I would like to private message you so I can get some feed back if that is ok with you. Thanks for your kind words and I wish you and your husband the greatest of success with your projects and please tell Eden hello for me. Can you do me a favor please and tell others about my website, thanks again and have a good day.
Awesome post and very educational. Thanks! I can now teach my little sister on gardening skills and knowledge. I’m worrying about gardening skill and the appreciation towards nature are going to be disappearing nowadays on this generation due to the rapid urbanization. Nobody is talking about it and I also do not know when was the last time I had connected with nature.
Hello Chun my little young friend it is so nice to meet you and i am so happy to see that you have your little sister interest at heart. You are a good big brother and I am sure that your parents are so proud of you, I want you to continue to take good care of you little sister and I am also proud of you for being such a good big brother. I am gald that I could help you, your words makes me feel so good all the best to you my little young friend and can you do me a favor please and tell those that you know about my website, I am glad that we have meet have a nice day. gardenofedengardencenter.com.
Thank Norman for such an informative post!
Skipping all well-written knowledge base, I would like to say special thank you for both videos you have added. My smallest kids and grandkids do not understand all English from the first time but after asking what about the video is a clear answer- about good and bad bugs as many of them are also so familiar in our garden.
It is my pleasure my kind sir and you are welcome, I am glad that I could help that’s why why I created this web page to make gardening as simple as possible for children while they learn in a fun filled way. All the best to you, have a good day. Can you do me a favor please and tell others about my site. gardenofedengardencenter.com .Thanks again.
Hi Norman,
Great article, I was absorbed by the reading as I always loved gardening since I was teenager:) Today I don’t have a lot of time but I would like my children to take care of the garden. It is very instructive and fun! I didn’t know there were books for kids about it until I came across your website and I will be more than happy to show this article to my kids to inspire them.
Do you ship out of US?
Thank you!
Hello Daniella it is nice to meet you, I am glad that I could help and thanks for those kind words. I am happy that you are getting your kids invovled where they can learn about nature and have a better understanding of food production. To learn more about how to get thoses kits just go back to my webpage click the image and the details will come up and yes amazon do ship outside the us. Thanks for your support all the best to you and have a good day and please do tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com and if I am not asking to much can you keep me inform on the progess of your garden. Thanks again
Norman,
I have had my son planting a garden since he was able to walk. Your article on gardening for kids explains everything that you will need to get them from a seed to a salad in late summer. Putting this information all in one place is a great idea. I wish I had given Chris all of this information when we work in our garden. Next year I will use some of this when we start working the ground to plant. Thanks for your information.
John
Hello John am glad that I could help and it is so good to meet you, thanks for those kind words. and I lik how you will be using my information to help with future projects. All the best to you and please do tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com thanks again
What a wealth of information for gardens. I especially enjoyed reading about bad bugs for the garden. I have one side of the front of my house where the flowers are doing wonderful, then on the other side they are not growing and leaves are turning yellow. I am looking to sell my home, so I will bookmark this page and go thru all the videos and information again.
Hello my good friend i am happy to see you again and thanks a million for your support of Eden’s garden, all the best with getting your home sold and as far as the videos are concern i hope you find the help that you need. All the best to you and have a good day.
Hello Norman
I think all parents should teach kids gardening,there is no more fun than cooking something you grow.
I remember as a kid,l did a lot of gardening,unfortunately, most of my plants and vegetables never got to mature age because l uprooted them X times a day to keep them away from the sun or to put them in the sunlight lol.
since l grew up in a farm,planting seeds and seedlings as a kid was not very new to me,having the patience to let them grow was the problem.
I really enjoyed your post, not only did you put a proper guide to get kids gardening but you went ahead and gave all the safety measures one must take when teaching kids to plant.Things like wearing protective goggles while gardening gets ignored by many parents.
Thanks so much for a very well written post explaining up to the last little details,very useful.
Hello roamy and thanks for those kind words you make me feel so good, you made my day. Words like yours shows me that my hard work is paying of thanks a million. Also thanks for sharing your story with me i laughed at what you said, man i tell you the innocents of a child. All the best to you my dare lady and can you please do me a favor and tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com
There is so much science to be learned from gardening. It is the perfect activity to satisfy a child’s curiosity.
As a child growing up I lived on a farm and we had a huge garden and did a lot of canning of the produce. I continue to do it today, even as a city dweller, as a result of that experience.
Thank you for providing a wealth of information.
Do you have any information on container gardening for city dwellers that do not have much yard space?
Hello Jan it is good to meet you thanks for those very kind words, Gardening as i can see is not new to you we share the same passion. You can check out my webpage on Container Gardening i am sure you will find this most helpful, thanks again and have a good day and please do tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com
This is a great idea!
When I was younger we never had a big enough garden to grow anything so never bothered. I feel the inner child in myself wanting to grow stuff all over again!
Do you recommend anything for growing in a small flat with a balcony? I assume it would be mostly small herb plants rather than vegetable patches?
Hello Craig it is good to meet you, what you can do is check out my webpage Eden’s Learning Channel. Scroll down to the bottom of the page you will find a video that teaches on how to grow herbs in pots, this is the ideal site for you, all the best and can you please tell others about my website thanks again. gardenofedengardencenter.com
I also loved gardening when I was a kid. My parents had a garden for several years, consisting of green beans, radishes, carrots and green peppers. Dad tried to plant corn several times, but for some reason we never had success with the corn. It really was fun for us to help dad plant the seeds in neat rows, mark each row with the seed label secured to a popsicle stick, then wait and watch. Unfortunately, though, many years the rabbits ate all the green beans – right down to a 1 inch stub! LOL
Hello Debra it is good to meet you, thanks for sharing that amazing story with me all the best to you and have a good day, Can you please do me a favor and tell others about my website thanks again. gardenofedengardecenter.com
I’m very impressed with this Niche Website!! I really found this article to be very informative, about a topic of which I know nothing! I learned a lot from this post.
I also liked the theme and use of very relevant imagery. Nice, integrated Amazon affiliate offers.
Keep up the good work!!
Florence
Hello Shane and thanks s million for those kind words, I am glad that i could help. All he best to you thanks and have a good day. Can you do me a favor please and tell others about my website, thanks again and have a good day. gardenofedengardencenter.com
I remember when I was gardening with my dad when I was younger, the pleasure & excitement when you see the first seedling.
I still do my garden, I am in love with sunflower & Dahlia. I never realised to keep in mine about the bad things that affect our plant. One of my dahlia grew finely but then died, now I realised why it died. Heat & mositure is the main reason. Through your website, I came through good things to keep in mind so I can enjoy my plants & summer next year.
Keep on posting great things about gardening.
Beeneeta
Hello Beeneeta it is good to meet you thanks for thos very kind words I am glad that I could help. Gardening can be lost of fun especially when you see those seedlings sprout, It is just amazing. Thanks again and can you please tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com. Have a good day and all the best to you.
Hi, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed reading the information you posted on your site.
I took horticulture when I was in high school, and not once did I hear about microbes or the beneficial insects found in gardens.
Keep up the good work! I think its important to teach newer generations about the value and reward of hard work.
Hello J.J thanks for those very kind words it is amazing how science have advance and how we have learn so much since high shool, thanks again and please do tell others about my website. gardenofedengardencenter.com
Your article took me behind at my history, i remember when i was young, i was having a garden for vegetables where by sometimes i found different types insect that destroys my vegetables and some plants with dead leaves,i wasn’t have an idea of preventing this.Since you stated these is when remembered this.thank you for informing the gardeners.
Best wishes
Jose
You are welcome my friend thanks a million all the best to you and have a good day.