Gardening With Children

Building a home and homestead with seven children has been both challenging and immensely rewarding. Gardening is a huge part of what we do on the homestead, so it is vital that our children are included in the gardening process. Being in the garden with my children has become one of my favorite pass times. And so I would love to share with you how we garden together as a family of nine.

family of nine photo, dad with striped shirt and cap, mom with teal head cover and brown skirt, older boys in middle with t-shirts, three girls in dresses, fall tree in background

Gardening with a newborn

Newborns need to be cuddled and nursed. Some people are able to wrap their newborn up in a baby carrier and tackle the garden work with ease. I was never one of those people. My babies didn’t like the many different carriers I tried along the way. And I came to realize through the years that my body just needed time to rest while holding my little ones. So the garden endeavors slowed down and we kept our garden plans small and simple with our last two newborns.

baby in red dress sitting in blue Bumbo seat in front of miniature sunflowers, reaching over to touch seeding plant.

That doesn’t mean we didn’t garden, we just kept it simple. The newborn stage is not the time to add a bunch of new garden spaces. Nor is it the time to attempt to grow new and difficult plant varieties. It’s the time to just do what you know and work with what you already have in place. And the Bumbo Seat is a great little “babysitter” if you don’t have an older child to help you out while gardening with a pre-toddler.

toddler girl in green dress sitting in a red and yellow swing in the sunshine

Gardening with toddlers

Toddlers are busy little people and need to be watched closely. They aren’t really able to help in the garden, yet. But there are a few things they can “unhelp’ with. That’s why we have found the best way to garden with toddlers is to set up a safe place for them to play. Setting up an area in or close to the garden allows you to keep a close eye on them. Patio swings, large boxes, and kiddie pools are all great. However, having an older child that can play with the toddler is best if available.

little girl in blue and white dress and blond hair using a paint brush to water paint cobblestone path, idea for gardening with children

Gardening with children 2 – 5 years old

Two to five year old children can start to learn how to “help” in the garden. They can mix soil and amendments together and water plants using little watering pitchers. Larger seeds are good for training in seed starting at this stage. And they can fill pots with soil, help pull smaller weeds, and help entertain the toddler.

Painting with water is a favorite activity for this stage if you need some time to do a project that a younger child can’t help with. We have also used spray bottles, old kitchen items, sidewalk chalk, box forts, scrap wood pieces, kiddie pools and sand/pea gravel to occupy little ones in the garden.

gardening with children, little girl in pale blue dress and blond hair picking chamomile flowers

This stage is also a great time to teach little ones how to harvest. They love to pick things in the garden so much that they often pick what you don’t want them to pick. So it’s good to be proactive and show them all the things they CAN pick. And pick they will. A harvesting task that is quite tedious for an adult can be pure joy for a two to five year old.

little girl in blue calico dress with lace around the neck, blond hair, looking at newly planted Vegega grow bed, white medal siding beside grow bed, gardening with children

Gardening with 6 – 9 year olds

This is the inquisitive stage. Make time to answer the many questions. It’s the age group that can learn to garden in their own little garden space. And six to nine year old children can really begin to help in the garden. They can help with watering on a larger scale, adding compost to beds, much of the planting, and some of the weeding as well.

gardening with children, three girls in garden on cobblestone path, white sweet william in bloom, covered mini tunnel grow beds in the background

Gardening with Children 10 – 12 years Old

It’s amazing how much an older child can do in the garden. This is the stage where they can be given almost any garden task and accomplish it independently. They can manage their own garden space and start to learn whole garden management. Many in this stage can help with building projects, like garden beds, gates, and vertical supports. And, they are able to help with the younger children in the garden as well.

boy resting in green and gray hammock in the shade with dappled sunlight on smiling face, fence and woods in background

Gardening with teenagers

Once a child reaches the teenage years, he or she is capable of running a full garden space, independently, if desired. If desired is the important thing to remember. Not everyone is going to make a living out of gardening, but I believe it’s good for everyone to be a part of gardening in some way no matter where the Father leads them in life.

Our three oldest boys are all very different. Even so, they each play an important role in the family gardens. Nathan loves construction, so he enjoys building things for the gardens. Joshua, pictured above, loves being in the garden and may decide to make a living from the garden. He enjoys almost all aspects of gardening. And our oldest, Caleb, has an engineering mind, so he prefers to be a part of the planning side of gardening. The teenage years are a time of embracing the skills and calling the Father has given and connecting with Him there, in the garden.

two pink bleeding heart flowers up close with leaves around and dewdrops on leaves

Gardening with children and family unity

Working as a family in the garden has been a huge part of keeping our family unified. And being able to produce our own organic food by working together is incredibly rewarding. Sitting down to a meal that we all had a hand in producing is pure joy, and delicious. It’s so worth all the hard work!

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Share your love for gardening with children

Do you have experience gardening with children? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. For more posts on gardening, I invite you to visit my Organic Gardening page.

Blessings,

Carrie