Gardening Sweet Spots
By Donna Hessel
Digging in the dirt was a pleasant pastime and a frequent activity when I was a child. There was no kids’ TV, Game Boy, cell phones, or even portable radios. With all of those distractions and more today, it’s sometimes difficult to get a child interested in even venturing outdoors, much less in gardening. However, if you have managed to coax one into the sunshine, here are some tips that may get them interested.
Give them a small plot, ready to plant, where they can do as they like. This could be their own raised bed, a corner of your vegetable garden, or even a large container. Start small and keep it simple. Take them shopping for seeds. Provide some guidance, but allow them to decide what to plant. Radishes may be good for a short attention span, but are not fun for most kids to eat. Suggest easy-to-grow lettuce, green bush beans or cherry tomatoes. Perhaps some flowers seeds, too, such as marigolds or sunflowers. Or, plant a “pizza” garden – tomatoes, peppers, oregano and basil. (There are “kits” for pizza gardens on Amazon!) Making a pizza with you, using the produce that they grew from their very own garden, would be the ultimate reward.
Here’s another way to make the garden fun for kids. The Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners created raised beds for Cleveland Clinic’s Children’s Hort Therapy Team. One was a ‘Petting Zoo,’ planted in a wheelbarrow with holes drilled in it for drainage. The ‘Petting Zoo’ contained a mix of touchable plants named for animals each plant’s characteristics reflected. Their garden included a crocodile fern, which has a crunchy leaf that resembles crocodile skin; lamb’s ear, which has a soft furry leaf; a large elephant ear plant, which has leaves that resemble elephant ears; a dwarf Solomon’s Seal, which has a smooth soft leaf and teddy bear-like vine that is furry to the touch; snake plant (Sanseveria), which has a hard smooth leaf; cow’s tongue (Gasteria maculata), which has a rough bumpy surface; and a cranesbill (perennial geranium) the fruit of which resembles the bird’s bill. If you have more space to plant a “zoo” garden, consider tiger lilies, ostrich fern, leopard bane or zebra grass.
Here are some other plants with animal names that would be fun for children to plant. Cockscomb (Celosia), hens and 
chicks, wormwood (Artemesia) tickseed (Coreopsis) or catnip just to name a few. Check out this website for other suggestions, plus stories about the plants that you can tell while you are planting to help kids remember their names.
Providing child-size gardening tools can give kids ownership of their plot. A small shovel, a pair of gloves and a kid-size cultivator are best to start with. A wagon can double as a wheel barrow for carting soil and supplies around. Dedicating a space to put away all the tools at the end of the day can reinforce good habits (cleaning up) as well as make it easy to find the tools for the next work day. Don’t forget sun screen and maybe a floppy gardening hat.
By mid-season, interest in the plants may begin to wane. This is a good time to introduce pest control. Horn worms on the tomatoes? Aphids on stems? Explain why some creatures are harmful and some beneficial and that natural pest control such as planting host plants like yarrow and Queen Anne’s lace will bring insect friends – the good guys — into the garden to help control the bad guys.
Are there worms visible? That would be a good time to explain how worms help to break up soil, providing necessary air pockets so plants can grow. You will need to modify the following basic facts about soil depending on the age of your young gardener. In addition to anchoring roots, soil provides life-sustaining water and nutrients. Soil is composed of minerals (sand, silt and clay) and organic matter (compost). Sand feels gritty in your fingers. Silt feels similar to flour. Clay particles are extremely fine and feel sticky in your fingers when wet. Organic matter is the decayed remains of once-living plants and animals (compost). The best garden soil is made up of all these elements. Soil is teeming with life, including microorganisms like bacteria and fungi — billions in a single teaspoon – in addition to those worms, sowbug (pillbugs) and other insects.
Gardens need water and kids love to water! Make sure they don’t overdo it, but give them a watering can and let them go to it. Be sure that their plots get adequate moisture.
Children’s sense of wonder is refreshing and contagious. Working with plants and building a garden can bring all the senses alive, creating fun as well as providing the opportunity for learning life lessons. What provides pleasure for the child can provide even bigger rewards for the adult.
Sources: Cuyahoga County MG Newsletter – June, 2020
Lee Valley Newsletter, May 22, 2020
Photos courtesy blogspot.com and thegardeningdad.com
