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 4.88 (Highly recommend) from 10 votes (458 Visits) |
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Container Gardening for kids with limited Backyard space |
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Anonymous Author (January 2007) |
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Container Gardening
Even if you don't have a backyard, you and your children can create a special garden to enjoy ....Container gardening is a lot of fun for little ones. They enjoy working with a smaller and easier to manage area.....and kids love to water...well i know
my 2 yr old does
.......... there is no jealousy over who's plot is whose either....they can all have their own containers .....
The other advantage i have found is that Kids will try the food they produce so if you have a picky child like i do
this will help to introduce foods other than chips....My 5 yr old is now willing to taste tomatoes...this is huge and all because he grew them himself
Be creative by Using everyday "containers" to garden in. Half a hollowed-out orange or grapefruit as a pot that can later be transplanted directly to the ground, your child's old wagon,, or try your child's favorite old shoe, a shell,..... anything can be used as long as it has some drainage holes or you drill some in....put a few rocks or paper over the hole to stop soil escaping.....You can just use pots too....The only things that will limit choices in containers is that the containers be the right size for the plant .
Well-aged compost is good to fill containers with, mix it with sand to help with drainage. Potting mix can also be used
Put more than one kind of vegetable in a pot if the space is really limited. Try lettuce, parsley and cucumber in the one pot like a summer salad.....lettuce, and radishes are easily grown in a container as are Cherry tomatoes . You might even want to try Cherry tomatoes cascading from a hanging basket. Some varieties can be harvested in under a month from the time your kids plant them
Once the kids have planted their containers, they will need to water it daily if the weather is very hot. Explain to them that just as they get thirsty so do plants. ..... The containers will need to be fertilized...and the plants will need six hours of sun each day.
So let the kids dig in, and get started on container gardening.
