6. Build the Soil
Autumn is the best time of year to prepare your soil, but it’s perfectly fine if you start in the springtime. Most plants need fertile, well-draining, deep soil, and it should be rich in organic matter. If you start with sod, you may need to cut it up into chunks and smother it with wet newspaper or cardboard.
7. Choose Seeds or Transplants
Some plants grow best when directly seeded in the garden. Other plants start better as transplants. You may produce your own transplants to save money. But if you’re not ready to tackle that yet, go to the nursery and look for pots equal in size to the plant.
Plants with yellow leaves and insect damage are signs you want to watch for to identify stressed plants.
8. Start Planting
Be sure your crops have enough room to grow! If you’re planting seeds, they need to be three times as deep as the diameter of the seed. However, it’s always better to follow the directions on their package.
If you have transplants, you can plant most of them at the same depth they grew in the pot. This is the fun part your children will love since they get to dig in the dirt and watch their plants flourish.
9. Care for Your Garden
During the growing season, your plants will need at least 1 inch of watering per week. Have your children grab a watering can or the garden hose and allow them to water each plant evenly.
If it rains, you’ll want to be careful not to overwater or underwater your crops. You can also use the scuffle hoe to grab weeds and make it fun for your kids to pull weeds with you.
10. Harvest Your Crops
Once the crops mature, you and your children can harvest them immediately for the best quality. If you have lettuce, your kids can cut the leaves and watch them regrow for another harvest. You can also pick peas and beans every two to three days.
If you’ve grown tomatoes or peppers, allow them to ripen to their fullest to get the most flavour. You and your children can sample them to decide which tastes best.
Enjoy Growing a Garden With Your Kids
Part of starting a garden is all about learning as you go. If your crops do poorly the first time around, you can always try the following year. You’ll learn what ways work best because there are dozens of different methods to grow a garden.
Most importantly, allow your children to have fun with the process. Gardening comes with lots of learning techniques and they’ll enjoy it for many years to come.
Jane is the founder and editor-in-chief of Environment.co where she shares practical tips on how to live a greener life.
