by Michelle Moore

Why it's So Important to Garden with Kids

Imagine sitting in your Pullman, Washington apartment quietly watching TV. Suddenly, 8 police officers, guns drawn burst in to search your home. Now imagine their surprise when they discover they’ve just executed the largest tomato bust in campus history!  In all fairness to law enforcement, they don’t see too many college students growing tomatoes in their closets with high power grow lights.  Two students, a civil engineer, and a business major found out first-hand just how surprised people are to see young people growing vegetables.  It often seems the younger generations don’t have much interest in gardening.

Certainly there is a common perception that younger generations, everyone since the baby boomers, show more interest in video games and the virtual world than digging in the dirt.  It seems that gardening skipped a generation.  As food sources became more prevalent and less expensive, vegetable gardening became more of a hobby than means of survival.  At the same time, many women entered the workforce and no longer had the time or interest in planting a garden. The extent of gardening in many households consisted of mowing the lawn and controlling weeds. Generations X and Y are products of what I would call the Roundup Era. If they are fortunate enough to have neighbors or grandparents with a garden, some children learned to appreciate fresh home-grown food. Many, however, do not know from experience that fresh tomatoes don’t taste like cardboard.

Aside from the flavor of home grown food, many people have not experienced the joys of nurturing and caring for a living thing; or the satisfaction of watching and waiting for something to grow.  It is often not until people start purchasing homes that they start to garden. For those concerned that we are losing the younger generations, there is some hope.  New converts are of the most serious nature and tend to jump in with both feet.

Nearly every new gardener I know relates their interest to memories of their grandparent’s gardens. Only a few were lucky enough to grow up with gardens of their own.  Once exposed, however, the gardening bug is easy to catch. I’ve heard people discussing their gardens and sharing information at parties, BBQ’s, restaurants and at work.  For years, my company employed outstanding high-schools students after school and for the summer. At first they did not have any interest in gardening but became more interested as they learned more. Several college students came back while in college to purchase seed starting supplies and grow lights for their dorms and apartments. Luckily, none of them were greeted by an arsenal of search-warrant bearing officers.

Many schools are not incorporating gardening into their curriculum. A sad truth because not only do children love to garden, they learn important life skills at the same time. Children learn about biology, health and nutrition as well as how to follow instructions and do math.  While many schools do not recognize the value of a gardening program, schools in California are an exception. The California Department of Education has a “Garden in Every School” program. Many schools and school districts throughout the country are now following suit.  Recently a teacher in an inner city school in Chicago told me about her horticulture program targeting at-risk youth. As the only teacher running the program, she was under staffed and under- funded, yet her efforts made a difference in many students’ lives.  She said many of her students were in gangs or at risk of joining them. While she may not see instant results, she says many of her students come back to tell her the horticulture class changed the course of their lives. 

School programs are wonderful for kids, but nothing beats time in the garden with parents or grandparents. Last year, I spoke with a father who purchased a greenhouse for his back yard. He told me his 12 year-old daughter didn’t like to eat anything healthy, so he was buying a greenhouse to teach her how to like fruit and veggies.  He said he was sure that once she helped him plant, she couldn’t help but learn to like fresh food.  His first crop was strawberries because that was something she would eat.  His next crop was going to be tomatoes grown upside down in a Topsy Turvy.  If he has success with those two crops there are many more to try, including white tomatoes and purple carrots. Who could resist growing and eating those?

Last year, during an Earth Day Event, we held a child’s gardening clinic. We were not sure if many kids could come, but we were pleasantly surprised. Several parents told me they came to see us specifically because their kids wanted to learn more about gardening.  We knew the event was a success when a young boy loudly declared, “I L-O-V-E THIS PLACE!” after viewing a lima bean sprouting demonstration. His enthusiasm was contagious as many adults then came to see the demonstration themselves.

There are many fun gardening related products for kids ranging from mini-themed terrarium gardens, to spider web frames to mini greenhouses kids can play and grow in.  Just starting seeds is enough to get some young gardener’s hooked. 

Some ideas of fun projects for kids include:

Germinating Lima beans (See instructions below)

Propagating cuttings in clear gel cups (See instructions below)

Creating a fun grass head (See instructions below)

Planting sunflower seeds

Starting a worm bin

While it seems unlikely that college students will be growing tomatoes in their dorm room en masse, perhaps it will become common enough not to elicit the attention of law enforcement. If enough kids are exposed to gardening at a young age it’s much more likely they will continue to reap the rewards into adulthood.

PROJECTS TO TRY WITH KIDS

These are three fun projects to try with kids. They are easy to do and will take between a few days and several weeks to grow.

This is fun and takes only a few days. You will need peroxide, lima beans, paper towels, a small reusable plastic bag and a few dry lima beans. To prepare the beans, dip them in hydrogen peroxide then soak overnight. Once the beans are soaked, simply place a few beans between a moist paper towel and place in the plastic bag.  Put the bag in a sunny location. Do not let the paper towels dry out.  Spray with a spray bottle to keep hydrated. From here there are a few options. Check the beans each day and note their progress.  Measure the length and observe the changes to the seed. Start one or two seeds each day for a week to two weeks. At the end of the week, open each bag to see each day’s growth at once.

Gel Propagator Packs look like pudding cups, but they contain rooting gel. The gel provides the plants taken as cuttings the stability they need and the hydration to develop roots.  What is unique about the gel is that you can see the roots as they form. Coleus and geraniums are two excellent plants to root because they have a high success rate and will grow visible roots quickly.

This project may require a bit of shopping as some items may not be in your home. You will need: knee-high nylon stockings with a sandal toe (note: a reinforced toe will work but will not look as nice), 6” of thick cotton string or cording, rye grass seeds, small rubber bands (mini hair bands work well), pipe cleaner or ½” piece of string. Coco fiber or water retaining potting mix, glue gun or gorilla glue. 

Make the Head

Assemble the tools in one place. Turn the stocking inside out and place it over your hand leaving several inches slack at the top by the toe.  Make a form with your hand like you are gripping the ball. Push the top few inches into the space between your fingers and your palm. Fill the pocket with a small amount of rye grass seed. Cover the rye grass seed with moist coco fiber. Use your fingers to lightly stretch the nylon fabric allowing you to overstuff the top area to create a larger head.  Make sure the material is packed tightly, but do not compress, to ensure the seeds do not migrate away from the toe area which will become the top of the head.  Fill until you have the desired shape and size.  Use the finger of your free hand to poke a hole in the coco approximately 1 1/2” long and insert the cotton cord. Roll the rest of the nylon over your hand and secure tightly with a rubber band. 

Make the Face

While being careful not to displace the seeds, form ears and a nose by pinching material in the nylon and gently twisting to create the desired shape. Once you are satisfied with the shape, place a small rubber band over the twisted nylon to hold the shape in place. Now you are ready to glue on some eyes and a mouth. Pipe cleaner or string works well for the mouth. Hot glue holds well and multi-purpose glue will work too but it won’t hold as long.

Plant the Grass Head

Simply place the grass head in any cup or jar which supports the head. A clear container will allow you to easily see the water level, but nearly any cup or container will work as long as the top ¾ of the head is above the lip of the container.  Forcing vases work nicely.  Fill the cup so the water nearly reaches the bottom of the grass head, making sure the wick is fully covered. Set your new grass head in a sunny window. You will start to see grass growing in about a week and then water as needed.

Michelle Moore is the General Manager of the Greenhouse Catalog where she has worked with greenhouses for 20 years. Michelle writes and lectures about greenhouse gardening as an Oregon State University Master Gardener and member of Garden Writers Association. Michelle is a Fulbright Scholar and earned an International MBA from Thunderbird, School of Global Management. Michelle and her husband live in Oregon, but they enjoy hints of summer all year in their greenhouse! You can contact Michelle at: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or www.GreenhouseCatalog.com/garden.