Ideas for Gardening with Kids

Happy first week of March! Spring is definitely in the air (can you believe it was almost 90 degrees here last week?!), which has got me thinking about dusting off my gardening gloves and sharing a few ideas on gardening with kids.

Now, I would love to say that I’ve mastered the art of gardening and I have a bounty of fruits and vegetables in my backyard every summer, but that would be a complete lie.

The truth is, I was NOT blessed with a green thumb and gardening has always felt more like work than fun to me. It wasn’t until the last few years that I really started to enjoy it, and I think that has a lot to do with getting my kids involved in the process. It’s so fun to see how excited they get when the first tomato grows or the rose-bush starts to blossom.

Here are a few things we’re going to try this year. Wish us luck!

Plant a pizza garden

Last year, we got hooked on grilling our own pizza. It’s so easy and the kids love to help “decorate” the pizza with the their favorite toppings. This year we’re going to try growing those toppings. It seems pretty simple to do, just grab a creative, inexpensive container and grow tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, peppers, and any other container friendly topping. They also have pizza kits that can help simplify the process. How cute is this one?

Grow a sunflower patch

My daughter loves sunflowers, so I was so happy to find out that they’re one of the easiest plants to grow. All you need is plenty of sun and enough room to plant them 4″ – 6″ apart and 1″ deep. There are different types of sunflowers, but because we have limited space, we’re going to try these sunspot dwarf ones.

Check here for more tips on growing sunflowers in your garden. Other sturdy plants that are easy for kids to grow are pansies, daisies, snapdragons and zinnias.

Sprout your own snap peas and carrots

Everyone’s heard the phrase eat your peas and carrots. Well, one of the best things about getting kids involved in gardening is that once they put the effort into growing something, they’re much more apt to want to eat it. I’m picking these two vegetables, snap peas and carrots, because they’re easy to grow and great for snacks.

Next year, I may graduate to this kid’s garden bed and try growing a rainbow garden, but I’m taking things one step at a time.

Do any of you have gardening tips you’d like to share? What are you favorite “kid friendly” crops?