Growing gardeners

There’s a great element of curiosity and delight derived from being out in the garden, and even the littlest children get enormous pleasure from planting, picking and just getting their hands dirty.

I think it’s vital that kids learn where food comes from, and what better way to do that than planting vegetables, herbs and fruit at home?

Keeping it simple is the key. It doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t even need a proper garden. You could get a bucket or flowerpot and fill it with soil and buy a packet of seeds: something that’s quick growing and that children enjoy eating. Strawberries are wonderful, although you might need a net to keep the birds off. Carrots are great too; there’s a great deal of delight that comes from pulling a carrot out of the ground. Herbs like parsley and coriander are good because they grow really quickly. And there are other fun things kids can do in the garden, like going on bug hunts or moving the snails away. They can make signs out of ice cream sticks, paint flower pots and make bug deterrents out of shiny things that you hang over the garden on string.

Of course it doesn’t happen overnight, so a little patience is required, but once the produce is ready the kids should have the opportunity to pick it, take it inside and do something with it, like make a salad. You’d be surprised how many kids love vegetables when they’ve grown them themselves!