How to Start a Garden :: Watching Your Garden Grow

 

How To Start a Garden

I’ve been herb and veggie gardening for several years. Every spring, I look forward to planting a few items so that I can watch them grow, gain pride in my achievement, and most importantly, save money on fresh produce (because, let’s be honest, we can’t always go to the farmer’s market!)

Gardening can also be a really fun activity in which to involve your toddlers. When my son was younger, we started out very easy. We planted some tomato and pepper seedlings. My son watched and “helped” me put them in the dirt, and each day he would walk me over to the little garden and point out the “mato” and “peppa.” I was sure to tell him that the flowers will make tomatoes, and that once they are ready, we will eat them. It was a great way to build a foundation, teach him sustainability and explain to him where his food comes from.

Getting Started

img 287For kids, gardening is FUN while also being educational. Here are some of my best tips for starting a garden with your own family. I got my son a simple “kid sized” set of plastic gardening tools from the dollar store. If your child is a little older, you can even get children’s versions that are great at places like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target and Walmart. Most kids love “digging” with a plastic shovel and pouring from a little watering can. Something as simple as putting seeds in a yogurt cup full of dirt can be a great activity with your child, and a few days a week, you take time to water the plants together and watch them grow!

Even if you don’t have a huge yard or lots of space, you can still have a veggie or herb garden. Our garden is a 3×3 plot that my husband allotted. Let your child have their own “pot” or space that they can care for. You honestly do not need much space! Once, I used 5 gallon buckets to plant my garden in: on the top part of the bucket, I planted herbs, in the bottom, I made a hole and planted tomatoes and peppers. Believe it or not, it was successful! Two summers ago, I harvested enough cucumbers and basil that I had 3 large freezer bags full of pesto cubes, and I ate cucumber salads for two months straight. We grew parsley and some cherry tomatoes, too, but sadly, the birds would often get my tomatoes faster than I could harvest them! My point is, you don’t need any fancy equipment or even a big plot of land. You can grow your own herbs or veggies in pots if you want.IMG 214a

Starting a garden can be simple. For the herbs in our garden, we bought seeds at the dollar store for cilantro, parsley, dill and basil. Yogurt cups are great to plant 3-4 seeds in some potting soil in each cup. Once those seedlings are large enough, we will move them into pots so that we can have a little container herb garden. This is super easy for anyone to try, and believe it or not, basil and cilantro are fool proof herbs that will grow like crazy during the summer as long as you keep them watered and in full sun. You can also grow green onions simply by taking a bundle that you have purchased at the market, cutting the white bottoms off, and planting them in the ground. You can continually harvest the green onions, and they will grow right back!

If the idea of growing your own food is a bit daunting, perhaps consider a pot of flowers to care for with your little one. A great idea would be to find a flower that attracts butterflies or hummingbirds. Penta, Purple Coneflower or Milkweed are all great. Let your little one care for it by watering it, and then keep your eyes peeled for pretty butterflies and hummingbirds!

Have Fun and Learn!

IMG 222aCurious about what plants are easiest to start with a little one for the maximum results? In my experience, basil, cilantro, green beans and tomatoes are all pretty easy to get started and generally produce results well. These plants are all hardy and will still give you fruits and herbs to harvest all summer long. No matter your child’s age, be sure to tell them about seeds, dirt, sunlight and water and how it helps the plants grow. If you can check books out at the library or use online resources to help teach them, do so! You will be amazed at what they can learn!

Once your herbs and veggies start producing, you can teach your little ones about where their veggies come from and most importantly, let them help you in the kitchen. It is almost guaranteed that if your kids helped in creating their dinner, they probably will eat it! If you get a lot of tomatoes, cilantro, and basil, you’ll be able to make the freshest salsa and caprese salads around AND your child will have helped you in the process. How’s that for an accomplishment?

Resources

If you aren’t sure about what to plant and where, the LSU Ag Center site has great information throughout that is tailored to gardening in our area. I have referred to their Planting Guide frequently over the years when I wasn’t sure what was the best plants for my needs. If you are looking for general information on gardening projects with your kids, there are also great online resources at Kids Gardening.

Do you garden with your kids? What are your favorite things to grow with them? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

13 COMMENTS

  1. I love that you got your seeds from the dollar tree! That’s right where we got all of our gardening supplies too. My kids loved watching the seeds sprout inside and helped with the planting outside. I am hoping that my 4 year old will eat some of the veggies that he grows and picks! Only time will tell! Gotta love passing the memories we had down to our children 🙂

    • Yes! This is exactly it. I definitely believe that it is honestly that simple and they wind up LOVING every minute of it and hopefully will eat what they grow! 🙂

  2. Your timing is impeccable! We just started a few pots this weekend. Still need to get a few more herbs and veggies. We know nothing about gardening so I appreciate the resources! Thanks!

      • Great! I appreciate it! We are from Newfoundland, Canada. The only thing that grows there are potatoes, carrots and cabbage (I exaggerate but you get the idea!)

  3. You have inspired me! I am going to start with basil and cilantro (we cook with those ALL the time), as well as some flowers. I love the idea of cucumbers and tomatoes … is it too late? You swear I can use pots? This sounds fun!

    • It is NOT too late Ashley to plant cucumbers & tomatoes- although- i would suggest just going to home depot or lowe’s and buy the actual cucumber & tomato plants since it is a little later in the growing season to start seeds. You can even buy cilantro and basil too there.

      I would say, though, if you are going to do cucumbers and tomatoes in pots, definitely get them each their own larger pot. 🙂 ANd make sure you have a trellis or stake for them to climb up. The cucumbers will especially need something to climb up because they are a vining plant. You don’t want your cucumbers to lay on the ground too much because they get bitter. Those little plants are usually around $2-$5 at lowe’s, home depot, and walmart.

      Feel free to call me or email me if you need help!!! 🙂 I’m always happy to help you out. 🙂

  4. My parents took Jane to the City Park garden show two weeks ago and got her the cutes planter. It has a little froggie on it. She is so prideful of the flowers she planted in there. Every time I pick her up from their house, she walks me over to her planter, leans down to “smell” the flowers, and looks up at me and says “mmmm.” I love how much she enjoys this acitivity, Great post!

    • Thanks Jennifer! I am so glad to hear this. It is so cute when they are genuinely interested and it’s something so simple that we can do with our kids!

  5. Great post, Andie! Now you have me motivated to camp and garden!! Can’t wait to do a garden. We have a spot in the backyard, just have to go get the stuff and do it!

    • We will have to go camping together- and maybe, just maybe, if all of us NOLA Moms Bloggers can get a good harvest, we can share our bounty from our gardens! Or even better, have a get together where we make snacks from our goodies?

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