Summer Craft Projects for Gardening with Kids

Summer is a great time for craft projects with the kids. The weather is beautiful and they have a lot of free time, so create a memorable craft project outside that can last the entire summer. A long-term craft project will teach you child a lot. Specifically, creating a craft project that involves gardening can introduce your child to ideas about health and good eating without coming across as a school lesson. Creating beautiful, artsy, and unique planters is a great start to beginning a summer container garden. Vegetable and herbs do amazingly well in containers and small places. Even if you have a big yard container gardening can be a great way to garden. Weeds are kept at a minimum and you can conserve water and time. You want the craft project to fun and inspirational, not a burden and time drainer.

To create beautiful plant containers for a container garden you have more than a few options. One of the first and most inspirational could be to mosaic some large terra cotta pots with beautiful tile or even stones form your yard. To begin this process make sure you large terra cotta pots are clean. A mixture of 1-gallon water to 1-teaspoon bleach will clean the pots while maintaining their long life. After the pots have dried you will need to begin putting tile adhesive on the outer surface of the pot. Work in small areas and attaché the tile or tile pieces before you move onto a new area. Once these pieces have dried on the pot for twenty-four hours you can begin to grout. Smear the grout all over the outer surface of the pot. Cover all of the tile. Once a haze has formed, in about five minutes, begin gently wiping the grout off. Once your tile is showing again allow the pot to dry for twenty-four hours. You are now ready to fill with tomatoes, lettuce, basil, and even peppers. When you visit the home and garden store you can ask for the clerk to point you in the right direction for plants that grow well in containers. There is a large selection of plants perfect for this.

To spend a little less money or time creating beautiful outdoor plant containers let you children paint the pots however they want. This is a great time to express their individuality. If you are using a terra cotta pot you will want to prime the outside of the container with outdoor primer before your children begin to paint. The same is true for large plastic pots. Be sure to buy a primer meant specifically for plastic containers. You local clerk at the home in garden store will come in handy here as well. Once your child has finished and the paint has dried be sure to put a few coats of a clear sealer on the pots. You do not want their hard work fading or peeling away halfway through the summer. You should seal the artwork regardless of what type of container you use. For an inexpensive take on this project try using five gallon buckets for planters. Be sure to drill at lest three holes for drainage in the bottom of the bucket. Five gallon buckets give a lot of surface for your child to paint on. You will also want to prime before painting here as well.

When choosing the plants you will grow be sure to incorporate your child's ideas. Let them choose the plants. This is a great way to find out what healthy vegetables they might enjoy eating. Make it their responsibility to water the plants everyday. This will provide structure, give them responsibility, and provide them with a sense of accomplishment. To carry the project on even further ask you child to use the internet to research possible recipes that will incorporate their garden vegetables. Creating a craft project out of a container garden is an everlasting arts and crafts project that will inspire you children for years to come.