This post is a true blast from the past that I wanted to pull out of the archives. I've been gardening with my kids since they were little. Over the years we have shared many tips for how to make a home garden and this one is a classic. This post is full of helpful tips for gardening with kids...even the littlest kids.
What better way to get your kids to eat new foods...let them plant them! We worked on our garden earlier this week, and by we I mean my 5 year old and I. There are a couple of good tips for gardening with kids. First, let your kids help pick out the plants - my girls wanted us to plant a salad and salad dressing. Second, make sure it isn't too hot outside - this is a good tip for both your child and your plants. Third, make sure you have all your supplies together - they won't want to wait while you run to the shed to grab that tool you forgot. Finally, let them get their hands dirty - no point having kids out there solely to observe. This week we hit the garden with our selection of herbs, some from the store and some seedlings from our egg cartons. We decided to start with our herb garden. Here's how we did it.
Planting an Herb Garden with Kids
Plan out the space to use.
Layout the plants.
Dig a hole that is as deep and a little wider than the plant.
Sprinkle about a 2 teaspoon of bone meal (helps aid transplanting and stimulate root growth) into the bottom of the hole.
Fill the hole generously with water.
Squeeze the plant container on all sides to loosen the plant.
Drop the plant into the hole.
Fill in the hole with dirt.
Tamp the dirt with your foot, eliminating any air pockets.
Water the plant. and enjoy
We took the same steps when planting our egg carton seedings...just peel off the egg carton or leave it and let it biodegrade with time.
We think the herb garden is looking pretty fine. I know some of those plants look awfully small, but just you wait. Herbs do very well in this patch of garden, lots of sun! When my eldest daughter came home from school I asked her to go and cut some rosemary for dinner. She brought in the rosemary and some oregano and said "It just tastes so good, you have to try this oregano!" This is why we grow our own food. I'll show you our veggie garden next week.
What did we plant?
Rosemary - for potatoes, or any roasted veggies, chicken, etc.
Parsley - salad dressing, added to a salad, added to anything!
Basil - perfect for pesto, salad dressing, added to salad...or eating right off the plant.
Thyme - great for potatoes, salad dressing, anything.
Oregano - the kids love "Greek" food and oregano is key, salad dressing, whatever
Chives - perennial already growing!
Still need Cilantro for those Mexican dinners and Mint for those Mojito's...I'll be planting the mint in a container as it is super invasive.
What foods have you planted in your garden?
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Alissa says
Eee! Cute, cute cute, starting the plants in the egg carton. I love it. Also I love gardening with kids. They get really good at identifying the plants (Mama! They grow chives too!) And I love how happy they are to pick things to put in dinner.
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks Alissa - I love gardening with my girls! The egg carton totally worked! How exciting. Thanks for stopping by. Jen
emma @ frog, goose and bear says
I love our herb garden and I use the herbs so often with cooking. The kids know all of the names of the herbs now too as they go off to fetch what I need from the garden.
learning table says
We planted several herbs in our garden this year too. My basil is getting huge! I wish I knew how to dry it out to save.
KitchenCounterChronicles says
I usually dry my herbs by hanging them in my kitchen window at the end of the summer. Once they're dry I just grind them up and store them is air tight containers. Or you can make some pesto and freeze it until you want to use it. Thanks for stopping by!
Kate @ An Amazing Child says
I also like how you raised the seedlings in the egg cartons; a nice green alternative.
Gardening is such a fabulous way to connect our children to nature. I am really looking forward to when my little guy is old enough for his first garden - next season I reckon 🙂
Thanks for sharing with us. Hope to see you again next Friday.
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks Kate - I'll be back next Friday! Great Link-up! Thanks for stopping by - Jen
Play-based Classroom says
Oh I can't wait to do this! I love growing things, and I love that you added possible uses for each herb at the end. Thanks for the great post!
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks so much...and thanks for stopping by!
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Fabulous! Thanks for the feature! Love the link up! Thanks for stopping by. Jen
Little Blue's Room says
Love what you guys did! Stopping by from Fantastic Fun & Learning via Google+.
Shaunna @ Fantastic Fun and Learning says
I agree completely with your tips for gardening with kids, especially the part about letting the kids get dirty! Thanks for linking this post to Discover and Explore. I hope you'll be back to share for our Moon, Stars, and Nighttime Sky theme this week.