Green fingers: Get your child interested in gardening

Most children enjoy digging in the sand, planting seeds, and watering flowers. Adding some quirky elements such as cute gardening gloves, animal-shaped watering cans, and markers for their own vegetable and flower patch, will entice children outdoors and lure them away from electronic diversions like television and iPad entertainment.

Here are some easy ways you can get your child interested in gardening…

• Allocate a space that’s all theirs. Keep it kid-sized to prevent boredom. Let the gardeners-in-training mark their plot with decorative borders and friendly garden gnomes. If your space is limited, create a container garden for them with some of the easy-to-grow vegetables and herbs which thrive in small spaces.
• Kids’ small hands will love to grab hold of kiddie-sized garden tools. Having their own rakes, trowels, gloves, and watering cans will make it easier for them to have fun in the garden while also developing a sense of responsibility and ownership.
• Get your children to love homegrown vegetables by using them as fresh pizza toppings. Create a pizza and salad garden by planting easy and quick-to-grow tomatoes, lettuce, eggplants, garlic, onions, and herbs such as basil, rosemary, and oregano.
• Create a rainbow in your garden by planting colourful vegetable variations side by side. Try yellow and red cherry tomatoes, green and red peppers, and red and green lettuce and cauliflowers which today come in shades of green, purple, and orange. Or create a rainbow with different colour planters which are great for herbs.
• Don’t expect it all to go according to plan, but listen to their ideas and let them experiment. Ensure they are not overwhelmed by the tasks and projects. If your budding gardener asks a question you can’t answer, look up the answer together.
• Make it a rule that they don’t eat anything without permission – even some tomato leaves are poisonous. Hats, garden gloves, and sunblock are essential. And try your best to go organic – the earth will thank you and so will your kids.