7 Tips for Gardening with Young Children

Gardening with your child is a wonderful way to connect with one another and create a deeper relationship with the land around you. It doesn’t take much to create a time that fosters curiosity, wonder, and awe!

  1. Know your stuff. Be smart about gardening before your small helper joins you.

  2. Relax. Toddlers will pick the first green tomato before it ripens.

  3. Keep your goals simple.

  4. Make your planting rows obvious.

  5. Have a “can-do” garden.

  6. Eat what you grow.

  7. Have fun!

A sandbox-sized plot is perfect for the younger set. Give them their own sturdy, child-sized tools, and expect them to get wet and dirty. Set them up for success by making small raised beds that are easy for them to reach into but which keep them from climbing in and walking on the plants.