Gardening with Our Children

Many parents who enjoy toiling away in their gardens consider it an activity that must be kept separate from their child-rearing duties. We tend to think of our moments in the garden as ones of quiet contemplation; our time with our kids, however, may more often be characterized by noise and disorder. Parenting is a full-time job, and it may not be possible for us to carve out blocks of time for solace with our flora amidst all of our other obligations. Can we find a way, then, to integrate our parenting and our gardening pursuits in a way that will allow both to thrive?

If we really want this cooperative venture to work, we have to consider our children's involvement right from the initial planning stage. Because they know less about this hobby than we do, and also because they are generally more spontaneous by nature, they will need to see results for their efforts if they are to stay interested in the activity. The ideal plants for us to choose, therefore, are the ones that do well in our climate and that grow and mature quickly. Seed catalogs are climate-specific, so if we use these resources we will know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated the seeds we buy as hardy enough for our area. The USDA also publishes a Plant Hardiness Zone Map that specifies average annual minimum temperatures by zone. We can utilize this map to choose plants designated to grow well in our respective zones.

Of course, if we're cultivating vegetables then we'll need to grow what our children will eat. They can make a list of favorites, which we can then pare down to a feasible planting schedule. Some quick-maturing vegetables include spinach, summer squash, peas (various varieties), broccoli, beets, and radishes. Because they can grow from seed to edible food in 25-60 days, choosing some of these vegetables to start with will help to hold our children's interest while they're waiting for slower-maturing plants like melons, tomatoes and peppers to grow.

Other kinds of vegetables might engage them because they offer peculiar challenges. Carrots, for example, are hidden surprises that our young ones will likely enjoy finding and digging up. Mini and Early Chantenay carrots are shorter varieties that grow quickly (about 50 days). Imperator carrots take a bit longer (about 70 days), but the wait can be well justified: full-grown roots will be around 9 inches long. Such an underground treasure can be a veritable trophy for a young child.

One of the simplest ways to keep them occupied in the garden might be to allow them to eat while they work. Sugar snap peas, bush beans and miniature and cherry tomatoes can be plucked right off the plant (when ripe) and devoured. Cultivating a few varieties of ready-to-eat vegetables provides kids with a visible incentive. So long as they're engaged in the work then we will be free to pursue it, also. The garden can become a symbol of family bonding, of shared time that yields beautiful - and edible - results.