Kids love getting involved with nature, and gardening is a great activity for families to do together. So whether you’ve got a big garden or just a window box, there’s no excuse not to get your hands dirty. Here are four top ideas to enable kids to get mucky while learning about nature and nurturing plant life.
Make Your Own Compost
This is a great way to introduce kids to the natural cycle of growth, decay and healthy soil – and it’s a great excuse for them to get nice and mucky!
Take a plastic container – a small one will be fine for starters. Place it on earth, not concrete. Fill it with leaves, garden waste, eggshells, teabags and any raw fruit or vegetable peelings. Sprinkle on some soil and cover the bin with an old piece of carpet. After a couple of months, remove the cover and let the kids dig in. After another month or so, when it’s dark and crumbly, you can add it to your garden.
Build a wormery
Worms are the gardener’s best friend, so it’s a good idea for the family to get to know the wriggly ones.
Take a glass jar – the largest you can find – rinse it and line the bottom with sand, about 1cm. Add a thick layer of soil, then another thin one of sand, and so on, until the jar is full apart from about 5cm of space at the top.
Now send your children on a worm hunt. When they have caught about five or six, place them in the jar. Add a layer of vegetable waste (leaves, peelings, overripe fruit). Pierce a couple of holes in the lid, then wrap the jar in dark paper and pop it in a cupboard. After a few weeks take it out and study the patterns that the worms have made in the earth.
Plant Your Own Herb Garden
The beauty of an indoor herb garden is that you can grow it all year round – and you won’t need much space.
Select some pots with good drainage, fill with potting compost and plant the seeds. Parsley, oregano and chives are all good choices. Encourage your kids to water them regularly – and watch them grow. It’s a great and simple way to learn about growing your own food.
Cress EggHeads
Kids go crazy for this fun, fast-growing gimmick. Rinse out some eggshells, and place them in eggcups or an old egg box if you prefer. Get your kids to draw on a face – practise on paper first until you’ve found one that works – then draw it on to the egg.
Dampen a little cotton wool and line the eggshell – or use a layer of potting compost. Sprinkle on a layer of cress seeds, and cover the eggshell with paper and move to a window sill. Water every day until your egg head has a full head of cress hair.
If you do one thing ...
Chris Collins, horticulturist and former Blue Peter gardener, says: “Gardening is great for bringing people together and getting families away from the TV and out into the fresh air. Get kids hooked by making it into a bit of a competition: who can grow the biggest lettuce? Or give them their own patch of garden to look after.” Chris Collins will be touring with loveyourplot.com, encouraging families and children toe their outdoor space.
If you buy one thing ...
Get your kids busy with this battery-operated Bosch toy hedge trimmer (rrp £29.99). With its flashing lights and chopping noise, kids can pretend to be helping out in the garden.
