by Semify
No matter how you become a parent, whether by natural birth, adoption, or with the help of one of the thousands of women who apply to serve as a surrogate mother each year, you want to parent well. As your children grow, it may seem that every hobby available costs a small fortune, but gardening offers a low-cost hobby that children of preschool age and older can enjoy. Let’s consider how to teach your kids how to garden this spring, enhancing your home’s curb appeal and easing your food budget at the same time, thus saving you money.
Make Shopping for the Right Materials Fun
Most gardening tools last for a few years. For example, purchasing a well-made garden hose costs less than $20 and typically lasts between five and 10 years. A shovel, rake, and hoe set costs between $30 and $50. Buy one adult-sized set and a child-sized one, too. Instead of ordering online, plan a “field trip” to your local Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, or Home Depot store, so you can find all the equipment you need in one spot.
Order print seed catalogs, so you and your children can look through them together. Choose some flowers for the front of your home and fruit and vegetable seeds for the backyard. Some catalogs sell seedlings and plants, so you can purchase a starter garden outright.
Planning Your Garden Together
Plan your garden on paper with your children’s input. Before you start planting, check with your local code enforcement office for rules about gardens, garden fence heights, easement requirements, and much more. Construction of 92% of U.S. homes occurred before 2000, so the rules for older properties may differ from newly constructed homes.
Document Your Garden in a Notebook Diary
Help your child create a notebook of their future garden, clipping out pictures and plant information from the printed catalogs, and then pasting it into the notebook. The notebook, a sturdy pen with non-bleeding ink, and glue cost less than $5 altogether. Purchase a small thermal printer and sticker paper for about $20, so you can print photo stickers of the plants as they grow, documenting them in the notebook. Although websites might seem the modern choice, web hosts go in and out of business, and kids can work on a paper project during electrical and Internet outages.
Sprouting Seedlings
Spring brings rain showers, so use your indoor time wisely by planting seeds in small started cups or trays. This only requires seeds, trays or cups, and some potting soil. Place them on a window sill in a low-traffic area that receives lots of sunlight to help them germinate.
Tilling the Soil
On a sunny day, get your garden spaces ready for planting. Children can help till the soil and build garden beds. Have small children gather rocks to create bed borders. To make the garden more colorful, consider painting the rocks bright colors with waterproof paint, but allowing them to fully dry before placing them as borders.
Preschoolers and kindergartners typically enjoy working the dirt with their hands. Put them to work because their favorite play helps your soil’s health. Have them help water the soil using a hose and a watering can. Explain that some plants need a lot of water, while others require only a little, so getting the soil ready in one bed differs from the soil of another bed.
Planting Time
Once your seeds germinate or your seedlings arrive, plant them on a sunny day. Older kids can help dig the plant holes, while younger kids can help push the dirt into place and pat it down with their hands. Help them water the plantings after placing every seedling.
Gardening with Your Children
Growing a garden with your kids can provide enhanced home beauty and delicious food to eat. Your children learn how to cultivate plants and benefit from responsibilities throughout their youth. Gardening provides them with tangible benefits that hard work pays off because they can help you cook the results of their labor, providing them with some of their favorite meals.
So, what do you think ?