| Gardening is both fun and educational, and there | | | | lettuces, and sweet peas are all good, fast |
| are no age limits. You can plant a traditional | | | | growing plants that kids can enjoy sooner rather |
| garden, or allow your child to select some specific | | | | than later. |
| items to grow. Consider these tips when you plan | | | | Use integrated pest management. This is a fancy |
| a garden, and make it an activity the whole family | | | | term for "use bugs to eat other bugs". You can |
| can enjoy: | | | | do a ladybug release, which is a fun science |
| Plant something you can eat. Even if you can't | | | | activity on it's own, and will keep aphids and pests |
| pick your crop right away, being able to pick food | | | | from devouring your plants. Make a cute toad |
| from the garden and put it directly on the table is | | | | house to encourage your local bug-eating |
| a huge plus. Your kids are more likely to try | | | | amphibian to visit, or create a scarecrow to |
| healthy foods they have grown themselves, and | | | | discourage birds from eating your crops. Using |
| if you plant judiciously, you can have an entire | | | | innovative and chemical free methods to rid your |
| season's worth of fresh veggies in a single garden | | | | garden of pests ensures that your food is |
| plot. | | | | healthy-and that you will get a chance to eat it. |
| Plant in rotation: If you plan on growing carrots, | | | | Consider Containers: If you don't have a yard, or |
| for example, plant in several batches. If you plant | | | | live in an area that makes gardening difficult, |
| a handful of seeds a week, you will be able to pull | | | | consider using pots and containers to grow your |
| up carrots for several weeks in the late summer. | | | | garden plants. You can grow larger plants like |
| Carrots or radishes are great plants for kids to | | | | tomatoes and zucchini right in a bag of garden soil. |
| grow-they are almost indestructible, and lots of | | | | Just purchase a bag of the correct mix for the |
| fun to pull from the ground. Just make sure your | | | | plant you want, jab a hole in it, and place the plant |
| little farmer doesn't pull them prematurely! | | | | inside. Many vegetables will grow happily in this |
| Plant things that grown quickly: Nature takes | | | | type of environment, and you can place bags or |
| time-but if your plants take too long to grow, the | | | | containers as needed. |
| kids may lose interest. Consider planting a fast | | | | Start with Seeds: If you are planting seeds, |
| growing and fun plant like birdhouse gourds (these | | | | consider starting them indoors, and watching them |
| are climbers, so make sure they have something | | | | sprout. This is a fun and simple science activity |
| to cling to). If you plant gourds from seeds, you | | | | you can do together, and most seeds will |
| can watch the plants grow, then make something | | | | germinate in just a few days. You can transplant |
| from the gourds, extending the fun into the next | | | | the seedlings to the garden or a container later as |
| season. Strawberries, cherry tomatoes, baby | | | | needed. |