How to plant seeds of interest in your kids for backyard gardening

In this article, you’ll find answers to questions like:

1. How to get my kids involved?
2. What are the easiest veggies to grow?
3. How do flowers help our garden?

Looking for a fresh project everyone can enjoy at home? A garden can be as easy as growing seeds in a pot on your windowsill to planting outside in the dirt. You can harvest and cook homegrown vegetables as a family and help root a lifelong interest in healthier eating.

1. HOW TO GET MY KIDS INVOLVED?

Fragrant potted herbs, such as basil, dill and rosemary, are easy to pick up at garden/hardware stores and farmer’s markets. Simply planting beans allows young children to observe germination. Get your children hooked by inviting them to sketch or paint a design for your garden and encourage creativity, says Debbie Bester, executive director of Memory Trees in West Palm Beach. Bester’s nonprofit organization runs an afterschool program that teaches children the basics of gardening.

With your children, look at vegetable seeds/seedlings online or in catalogs, and learn about what could grow in South Florida. Let them take the lead in selecting what to grow, she says, noting research shows children are more willing to eat what they grow.

2. WHAT ARE THE EASIEST VEGGIES TO GROW?

Beans, collards and onions are examples of easy-to-grow local vegetables. The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension at the University of Florida offers this helpful list of the top 12 easiest seasonal vegetables to grow in South Florida. Florida’s growing season is year-round. Consult the university’s Florida Fresh page for planting times.

 3. HOW DO FLOWERS HELP OUR GARDEN?

Flowers attract pollinators, like butterflies and bees, which are how flower reproduce in nature. Native wildflowers are the best choice, according to the university. Click here for 50 varieties.

Certain flowers also can deter pests, like marigolds. Flowers also are great for making bouquets and botanical paper, as described on KidsGardening.org.

SOURCES:

• Debbie Bester, executive director, Memory Trees