Let your kids explore and get a little more creative over the school holidays with these fun projects they can do in the garden. Gardening is a fun task they can do outside whilst increasing their sense of responsibility.
Get them involved with planting projects, setting up a decorative plant wall or herb garden, learning the importance of watering and much more. Increasing their positive adventures in the garden while they are younger, will help support their idea of gardening in the future.
Grow these easy plants in a Raised Garden Bed
Start off with an easy planting, growing and eating journey. Planting quick growing crops keep kids engaged for longer and means more food for your household to enjoy! Why not start out with some of these easy-going plants and veggies? If you do not already have a garden bed set up in your backyard, or have a smaller backyard with limited space, try one of our Raised Garden Beds to help get you started. We also have a smaller Watering Cans available that is perfect for small hands! Add watering to their daily routine to teach them how to keep plants alive and how to conserve water.
A few good veggies you can get started with are:
Salad Greens
With numerous options of fast-growing salad greens, there’s no reason not to plant them all! These are a great option in shallow areas as the roots do not require a lot of space. Be mindful if you are planting from seeds as these can be tricky to space out evenly! You can get started with greens such as lettuce, kale, spinach and rocket.
Snow Peas
This fast-growing climbing plants is a great option that kids can eat straight from the veggie patch. Keep in mind that these peas do not like a lot of direct sunlight, so they are the perfect starter to grow over winter and spring. They will also need a form of support, so they are able to climb as they grow!
Carrots
One of the more exciting vegetables to grow and eat, carrots can act as a hidden surprise and be fun for kids to pull from the soil when they are ready to eat. Carrots can grow in many different shapes, sizes and colours!
Start your own compost bin
Starting a compost bin is a great learning experience and helps to minimise food wastage at home. Composting is the process of breaking down organic materials, such as food scraps you may have harvested from your garden, or leaves you can collect over autumn and winter. This also helps you save on expensive fertilisers by creating your own. It can be as easy as saving your coffee grinds as a cheap additive to your compost, worm farm or topsoil, and a DIY solution for keeping pests at bay. This is a great task in teaching kids what kind of materials are compostable and giving them a daily routine they can follow in the kitchen and in the garden.
Some things you can add to your compost include:
- All fruit and vegetable scraps and rinds. Be careful to make sure that these scraps are free from pesticides as this can be harmful to microorganisms and worms.
- Stale bread, grains and beans
- Grass clippings
- House plants
- Tea bags
- Coffee grounds
- Uncoloured cardboard
- Bark or wood chips
- Corn stalks
Create a vertical herb garden or GreenWall
If you’re renting or have a small outdoor space, helping your kids to create their very own GreenWall is a great alternative to your traditional garden bed. Our range of Vertical Gardening Kits are easy to install and can be placed virtually anywhere! Depending on the time of year, this is a great learning task for kids to discover how plants grow in the sun and their watering needs. We think creating a vertical herb garden is a great way to make use of your space, of course, herbs can be replaced with any type of foliage plant or flowers of your choice.
You can start off small with our Connect-a-Pot Kits, Slim Vertical Planting Kit, or even inside with our Benchtop GreenWall. For larger options and more space to plant in, our Mobile GreenWall is perfect!
Some easy growing herbs you can get started with:
- Mint
- Basil
- Parsley
- Dill
- Sage
- Coriander
- Oregano
- Tarragon
- Thyme
Regrow food scraps in a Greenhouse
You can almost grow anything, anytime of year with a Greenhouse. Why not make it a bit more fun and have a go at regrowing your food scraps! If some don’t quite make it to the compost bin, then pop them in some water and into your Greenhouse. It’s a fun experiment to show kids how plants can regrow, outside of soil.
Some steps to know:
You don’t need a large amount of water, just enough to cover the roots and bottom portion of your food scraps. This can be the ends of carrots, celery and any vegetable that has a stalk or root attached. Make sure this water is replaced every 2-3 days and your scraps are placed in a large enough bowl for them to grow.
Foods you can regrow:
- Bok Choy
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Celery
- Fennel
- Spring Onion
- Leek
- Lettuce
- Garlic
- Sweet Potato
Set up your own fun weather trackers
A good option for older kids is to get them to help you track rainfall and weather conditions. This is an excellent idea for teaching kids the water cycle and how weather impacts gardening and plant growth. It’s as simple as putting in a Rain Gauge and checking or logging the rainfall amount each day. Watch and see how the garden changes and it’s requirements based on the amount of rainfall it receives. Our Rain Gauges can be easily mounted on any fence or outside wall and have simple to read measurements for anyone to check! Whilst tracking the rainfall, you can also set up a Thermometer. This is a great hands-on option for checking the weather and is another excuse to set up something fun, inside or out!