childrens gardening fun

Encourage kids love of the outdoors with some simple garden jobs.

There are few things children enjoy more than digging in the dirt and making mud pies. They are fascinated by looking for worms and bugs and love to water just about anything or anyone in the garden. Children also enjoy planting seeds, watching them grow and harvesting the fruits of their labour.

By encouraging kids’ curiosity at a young age, you can help them to develop a love of the outdoors and gardening. Make sure the kids are included in decision making about things such as what to plant and where to plant to make them feel totally involved.

Gardening gives children a sense of responsibility and accomplishment and helps them to learn about the environment and the connection between plants and people. Most importantly, gardening is a great way to spend time together as a family.

Start out by getting kids their own garden gear. This looks great and is also the right size for small people. Encourage children to get involved with a colourful range of hats, tools, wheelbarrows, aprons, watering cans, gloves and gardening bags for boys and girls.

Other fun projects:

• Worm farms

• Mushroom kits

• Ant farms

• Growing a herb garden in a pot

• Growing seeds

• Pressing flowers

• Planting bulbs

 

Sun safety

All of us in Australia are aware how important it is to protect ourselves from the sun and it’s just as important for children to learn this lesson at an early age.

When you are out in the garden with your children there are five ways that the

Cancer Council

recommends to be

sun safe

:

 

• Seek shade

• Wear

  protective clothing

  that covers your arms, legs and body
• Wear a

  broad-brimmed hat

  that shades your face and neck.
• Wear

  wrap-around sunglasses

  .
• Apply

  SPF30+

  broad-spectrum

  water resistant sunscreen

  every two hours.

 

Growing carrots in a pot

One of the most appealing activities for young children is harvesting brightly coloured fruits and vegetables.

Carrots

are a great vegetable to start them off, as they are easy to grow, look good and taste great. Here’s how to grow carrots from seed:

1. Choose a pot with good drainage and fill with quality

   potting mix

   or

   seed raising mix

   . As carrot seeds are very small it is a good idea to mix them in a jar with sand and sprinkle evenly across the surface of the soil.
2. Once the seeds have been sown, give them a good water with a watering can and keep the soil moist but not wet. Use some

   liquid fertiliser

   but don’t over fertilise as this can cause the carrots to split as they develop.
3. When the

   seedlings appear

   , thin them out so they are about 2cm apart. The seedlings you remove can be planted in another pot to increase the amount of carrots your kids can pluck.