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Sam and Holly go gardening...
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Gardening is good for the soul, or at least that is what community
editor Sam Pope and her husband Carl think. They have always been keen
to get four-year-old Holly involved in all things horticultural , here's
how they've done it…
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In previous years we have tried to involve Holly in gardening, from
potting a simple plant up to picking sweet corn and runner beans for
tea. Holly loves it too and relishes the chance to be in the outdoors,
getting dirty with some compost and a full watering can. This year
we decided to get her helping out from the very beginning, from planting
the seeds to picking the crop! The photo diary below explains what
we all did and why, which should hopefully give you some tips if you
want to try gardening with your child.
Choosing the seeds
Holly received some lovely seeds for her birthday from a friend so
we thought we would start with planting some of them. Here, she's
looking at a packet of sweetpeas, which look pretty and smell divine.
This is always important when considering plants for children; think
of the end product and the pleasure they will get from it, by sight,
smell and touch. Also note the gardening attire: dark colours for
the inevitable muddy stains, simple leggings and a shirt (she should
have had a coat on too, but there you go…) and the ubiquitous pink
wellies. Ready and set to get planting!
A'trowelling we go…
Once you have decided on your seeds, the next step is to plant them.
Since we were planting fairly early on in the gardening year - March
- when frosts are still likely, we decided to plant the seeds into
pots and to let the seedlings establish themselves indoors before
transplanting them out later in the year when it's warmer. Holly is
using a child's trowel, ideal for little hands, as her daddy's would
have been far too heavy and unwieldy! Her dad put some compost into
a larger container for her to then put straight into a pot. Of course
you can just let them get the compost straight from the bag but it
can be difficult for little ones to get the soil out of a bag that
is as big as them. This makes it easier and less likely to waste compost
everywhere!
Oops, we forgot the gardening gloves!
[gardening gloves necessary.jpg] When children are handling seeds,
it's sometimes best to let them do so with their bare hands, especially
if the seeds are on the small side. However, when mucking about with
compost and other soil, gardening gloves are better as they keep nasties
away from underneath fingernails and mean children can handle things
like daffodil bulbs which can be toxic. It also avoids the worry of
them grabbing a hand of cat or dog poo by accident. These are special
gardening gloves for kids, again in pink, and yes, she has changed
outfits… the sensible clothes option didn't last too long (and neither
did the cleanliness of these clothes).
Normally you can just push the soil in a little to make a whole for
your seedling but with larger types, such as sunflowers, it can be
fun to let your child use a dibber to make the hole. Here Holly's
using a child's version again and enjoying it very much! The seed
packets should tell you how deep to go - watch the children as they
do this as, if it's too shallow, the seed might get washed away when
watered and, if it's too deep, the seed might not develop at all!
 
Use big seeds
Just a little tip really: when planting seeds with children, the
bigger the seeds the better. Small hands can find it hard to hold
tiny seeds, as we found out when trying to plant verbena and stocks.
Sunflower seeds are excellent, as are these sweetpea seeds. The added
benefit is that you can all see where they are and that they have
really made it into the pot!
Don't forget to water them
After you have planted the seeds and 'put them to bed', as I say
(covered them back over with soil again!), don't forget to add a little
water to hydrate them. A child's watering can is ideal for this as
the stream of water is gentle enough not to dislodge the soil and
wash away the seeds. Do watch your child though - Holly gets very
enthusiastic about watering and can overdo it sometimes!
Straight after planting the seeds, we put the pots and propagators
onto various window sills to catch the (rare) sunlight and stay warm.
Within a few days, a few signs of life were shooting up - so much
so that we had to put them somewhere cooler so they didn't become
too far advanced! The sweetpeas, nasturtium and sunflowers did the
best, as you can see from Holly's delighted face! It was great for
her to be part of this experience and to see the results. She did
forget about the seeds in between planting them and seeing the seedlings
come up but she's excited now that her plants are on their way and
can't wait to plant them into her garden. We have reserved a small
patch for her next to our herb garden (some herbs help to keep pests
and beasties away) and we know she'll enjoy watching the flowers bloom
and the sunflowers rocket upwards.
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