Green Projects for Preschoolers: Plant a Kid-Friendly Vegetable or Herb Garden

Preschool aged children love to dig in the earth. Encourage their curiosity by helping young children plant a vegetable or herb garden. By teaching green practices and helping children to understand how to treat the earth, you can instill a life-long love and respect for growing things.

Green Project Step One: Take Your Preschooler to the Garden Nursery
Children thrive when they are involved with decisions. By taking your preschooler with you to pick out vegetables and herbs, your child will feel more connected to the family garden. He or she will also feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when the plants begin growing. A home garden is also a great way to encourage young children to eat veggies!

For your child's first vegetable or herb garden, choose a combination of starts and seeds. The vegetable and herb starts already have some growth and are a good visual for your child. Choose seeds to plant so your child can learn about the entire plant cycle.

Look for kid-friendly veggies such as carrots, zucchinis, and even pumpkins. For herbs, let your child pick out one or two by scent.

Green Project Step Two: Build Your Kid-Friendly Vegetable or Herb Garden
If you do not already have a small plot in your yard, establish one. One green method is to use rocks as your garden border. You can find rocks at the garden store or you may already have some in your yard that you can use. Add some good soil and compost to the vegetable or herb bed.

Another option for building a garden space is to make a tiered raised bed. Look for green building products made from recycled materials or eco-friendly lumber at your local garden store.

Green Project Step Three: Plant Your Veggies and Herbs
Let your preschooler help with the planting. Encourage your child to feel the earth by digging a small hole with his or her hand. Help your child plant starts so that the root systems do not get broken! For seeds, show your child how to add the appropriate number of seeds per planting hole. Once all the veggies and herbs are planted, be sure to water the new green garden well.

Green Project Step Four: Help Your Preschooler Document the Garden
Offer some paper and crayons to your child to document the new green veggie and herb garden. Your child can draw a map of the garden and indicate where he or she planted favorite items. As the garden grows, your preschooler can create new drawings. Help your child learn to write the names of the plants.

Imagine beautiful colored pictures of round, orange pumpkins or long striped zucchinis or deep red tomatoes. Once the veggies and herbs are harvested, bind your child's drawings together using string for a wonderful scrapbook of your green project.