Tips for getting kids in the garden

According to Russell Young from Garden Gems Nursery in Burpengary, manny little hands make for enjoyable work in the garden and the skills they learn will remain with them for a lifetime.

“Be excited with them and make their plants their own, make them responsible for watering and pruning them,” Russell says.

Select fast-growing plants and stimulate the senses — especially touch, taste and smell. Russell recommends planting flowers, berries, herbs or a combination of all three, and selecting seedlings so kids will watch them grow quickly.

“Ask them what they want to grow and take them to the nursery to choose their own plants,” he says.

There are plenty of choices if you don't have a big backyard but still want to teach your kids about gardening. To younger children, pots are good, as they can pass them around. You may also use plants to decorate and fill an old polystyrene box or wheelbarrow. It doubles up as a recycling tutorial.

Russell suggests varying what you plant with the season to add variety to the garden and keep children interested all year round.

We will also engage in plant watering, feeding and pruning, composting, and mulching. Gardening is a great way to bring together the generations, particularly when the parents are too busy to spend time in the garden.

“Grandmas and uncles have a lot of knowledge and they know all the secrets (to success),” Russell says.

And growing fruit and vegies is a fun and sly way to introduce to your child's diet some new flavours. But never plant a whole vegetable garden in one go — all will be ready to harvest at once and then the child will have to wait until more produce grows.

The secret to a longer harvesting period and longer living plant to is pick often. The same can be said for many flowers.