A few months ago, my kids were obsessed with a Roblox video game called Grow Your Garden. It was all fun and pixels until they started asking for prickly pear with breakfast. (Long sigh.) Why can’t I get them this excited about actual, IRL gardening?
Letap be honest: Gardening with kids is like cooking with them. Itap a lovely idea that ultimately turns a simple batch of blueberry muffins into a messy, hours-long undertaking. It doesn’t help that I have a brown thumb. (Until recently, my main planting strategy involved dumping seeds into a pot and crossing myself.) But I’m starting to think that the slow, imperfect nature of gardening is exactly what my kids and I need.
Beyond the obvious science lessons, flora offers a curriculum in patience — something no app can simulate.
“Our society is focused on instant gratification,” said Jeanie Phillips, executive director of , a nonprofit specializing in youth horticulture. For her, the garden’s most valuable teaching is clear: “Sometimes you have to wait.”
Niko Kirby couldn’t agree more. As the senior director of education for , Kirby lauds both the nutritional and mental-health benefits of gardening. “Bringing in moments of quiet; finding some stillness — this is really valuable,” she said.
I hear that. And yet for a child with a short attention span, words like “quiet” and “stillness” often translate to “boredom.”
“Gardening can have lots of downtime,” conceded Megan Reynoso of Boulder’s environmentally focused nonprofit Growing Gardens. “But thatap only if you’re solely focused on plant growth,” Reynoso added. Here are a few tips and tricks for home-gardening caregivers to consider.
Their garden, their rules
“When kids are involved in any part of the decision-making process, they become more invested,” said Katelin Gaeth, associate director of education at .
In Colorado, Mother’s Day is famously known as the safe frost-free date to start sowing seeds outside. But a great garden starts as early as January or February, with lots of detailed planning.
This spring, try making a map of your garden bed or containers. “Make it like a coloring sheet,” Gaeth suggested, then let your children map out where everything will go. Apps can be a fun option for older, tech-savvy kids — but a good old-fashioned piece of graph paper will work just fine.
If you don’t have much space for planting, don’t worry. Gardening can happen anywhere, and container gardening is an excellent entry-point for families. (Why not let your youngest gardeners choose the pots this season, too?)
Celebrate dirty hands
“People are becoming increasingly aware of the mental health benefits of being outside in nature,” said Gaeth, adding, “And there’s some newer research on how interacting with your local soil can support your gut microbiome.”
Most of the kids I know, though, won’t need a reason to dig holes in dirt.
“Digging holes, counting worms, looking for biodiversity and little insects in the soil — these activities are just as important as watching something grow,” Kirby said.
Caregivers and kids can learn about various types of soil and amendments together, and it might be fun to take a composting class this year; DUG offers plenty of fabulous workshops for families.
Select seeds like a pro
Kids should have the opportunity to select some of the seeds they’ll plant. “Go to the grocery store, and let them taste test various items first,” Gaeth suggested.
Keep in mind, though, that different seeds have different germination speeds. “Read seed packets carefully to learn about the environment they’ll need as well as the days to germination,” advised Phillips. And try to plant at least one veggie that germinates quickly — radishes, for example.
“For a more immediate tasting opportunity,” Gaeth suggested planting microgreens that will be ready in a week while you’re waiting 90 days for your tomatoes.
Think, too, about choosing some seeds to start indoors, in egg cartons or biodegradable seed trays. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and herbs all are good candidates, and kids can even put a few cold-weather crop seeds in the ground right now, before Mother’s Day. Try beets, cabbage, carrots, onions, garlic, peas and hardier leafy greens, including spinach.
Herbs are really fun to grow with kids because, Reynoso said, “They pop up fairly quickly as this leafy, smelly thing,” she said. “Mint is a really good option.”
Mix things up to increase engagement, and try succession planting, a technique used to maximize yield by continuously sowing seeds or adding new transplants throughout the season, rather than all at once. With different things growing at different times, there’s nary a dull moment.
Cheat a little
To jumpstart the garden, mix in a few starts from your local garden center. Transplants are more expensive than seeds, but you’ll see results sooner.
And here’s another trick: Germinate a few of your seeds in plastic bags taped to a south-facing window, so kids can actually witness the underground magic that author Kate Messner explores in “Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.”
Seed dissection is another fun, easy activity for young gardeners. “Just soak some lima beans overnight, then dissect them,” Gaeth said.
At Denver Botanic Gardens, some kid classes include seed listening games, where gardeners put various seeds in different boxes and then let program participants rattle them around while guessing what they’re listening to. (Big lima bean seeds sound totally different than tiny carrot seeds.)
Maximize down time
“There’s so much you can do while waiting for plants to pop up,” Kirby said. Once you’ve dropped seeds in the dirt, kids can craft simple labels using popsicle sticks, painted rocks, or whatever else strikes their fancy. Or, look for garden stone craft kits for young gardeners to personalize. In the early weeks, try pressing leaves or flowers between pages of a book — or use a dedicated flower press.
At in Fort Collins, youth program coordinator Britt Mowen recommended visiting other gardens for inspiration, including botanical, native plant, and community gardens.
Age-appropriate imaginative play is also a smart tactic. At Denver Botanic Gardens, youth educators encourage preschoolers to act out the life cycle of various plants, for example. Reading, too, can bring gardening to life, like the highly recommended picture book “Plantzilla,” about a third-grader who adores the class plant. Take a trip to the library to uncover more gardening books, and to allow older children to research answers to any questions that arise.
Children of all ages can sketch and color pictures of their garden throughout the growing season. Tech-minded kids might have fun creating a time-lapse video, by photographing the garden (or a single plant) in the beginning, middle, and end of the summer.
Gamify gardening chores
Once stuff does start growing, STEM-loving kids can use rulers to measure their plants on a daily or weekly basis. Older children might like setting up an experiment by altering the balance of something essential, like water, for different plants and making hypotheses about what the right balance is.
Of course, with any size of garden, there’s bound to be weeds. Kids can help pull them, and savvy caregivers will turn weeding into a game. See who can pick the most weeds in 5 minutes — winner gets a small treat. If you have a child who refuses to get involved, task them with watering. No matter what age, anyone can handle the watering can, and a hose with running water is usually too tempting for kids to ignore.
The harvest, of course, is the ultimate goal, but the true rewards aren’t always edible. My kids might not be getting prickly pear for breakfast anytime soon. The wonder we’re cultivating together is definitely in full bloom.
