Welcome to your bonus list of canning and preserving resources! I’ve been canning and preserving food since we discovered concord grapes in our backyard with I was eight years old. My food dehydrator is used at least once a week and I love having a pantry stocked with nutritious, home canned items. These are the…
Gardening
Discover how to make gardening with kids easy, affordable, and successful!
Kids are naturally drawn to plants and animals. School garden programs have increased in recent years. School gardens can include edible plants, native plants, pollinators, or a combination of all three! They're being used at all levels of education from preschools through higher level education.
Gardening and working with plants bring a variety of benefits for children, including:
- Brings an understanding of where food comes from
- Provides outside time
- Encourages fine and gross motor development
- Teaches responsibility, patience, and awareness
- Provides hands-on experience with classroom lessons on biology, ecology, and environment
Sometimes parents and educators are under the impression that gardening has to be hard and expensive. I'm here to tell you this simply isn't true. Gardening does take attention, patience, and care, but those are free. The physical materials don't need to be expensive, either. Repurposed containers, like large yogurt containers or cut off milk jugs, can made great classroom planters.
Even the simple act of sprouting seeds in a damp paper towel can bring joy and wonder to an early education classroom!
Planning and record keeping are key to a successful garden. Make sure to start your gardening journey by visiting this post to download your free printable garden planner.
Once you have an idea of what you want to plant, make sure to reference my ever-expanding growing guide resources. These growing and harvesting guides will help you have happy, healthy plants and a positive growing experience.
How to Grow Radish from Seed with Kids
Radishes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow in your garden. They can be planted way early in the season and are quick to mature. This means you can start enjoying your harvest just weeks after planting! Because they grow quickly and are well-suited to containers, radishes are a great choice for classroom gardens and…
Growing Epazote – How to Plant & Grow Epazote from Seed
Epazote is a commonly used herb in traditional Mexican cuisine and easy to grow for the home gardener. Epazote has what is best described as an “acquired taste.” It has traditional culinary benefits and is easy to grow, so you won’t lose much by giving it a try. Add this novelty plant to your garden…
Free Garden Planner Printable for Kids
This free printable garden planner for kids is a fun classroom activity that can be used to plan a square foot Gardena home or school. Use it as part of a gardening themed lesson without actually planting a garden or let your child plant their garden in real life. The choice is yours! Either way,…
The Best Vegetables for Container Gardens
Container gardens are perfect for classrooms, gardens with kids, and urban settings. There are lots of veggies well-suited to container vegetable gardening. Read on to discover the best varieties of vegetables for growing in containers and tips for growing your own food in your small space garden! If you’re planning a gardening theme for your kids…
How to Grow Lettuce in Containers
Lettuce is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in containers, indoors or in your outdoor container garden. It’s perfect for growing in classroom gardens and at home with your kids. Discover how to grow this cool-weather crop year round when you use containers! Lettuce is one of the best vegetables for container gardening and…
How to Grow Cucumbers in Containers
Cucumber vines can be enormous plants with long vines that take up a lot of vegetable garden space. They also do surprisingly well in containers. By choosing the correct pots and right cucumber variety, you can easily get an abundant harvest from just a small amount of space. Cucumbers are a child-friendly garden plant, and…
The Best Grass Whips (for kid-friendly weed whacking)
Grass whips are a massively underrated tool, especially if you have a small yard, a budget, or kids. A grass whip is a manual alternative to gas weed eaters and lawn mowers. This means they cut virtually silently, so you don’t disturb children or pets. They also cost a lot less than any string trimmer…
How to Plant and Grow Oregano
Oregano is a popular herb that flavors the food of many different cuisines. It’s an easy to grow perennial herb that thrives with little attention. This makes it perfect for classroom gardens, school gardens, and busy families. Oregano is a popular pizza herb and is used on tomato sauces so it’s a very kid-friendly herb…
How to Harvest Basil Leaves
Basil is a fun, aromatic herb that’s easy to grow at home or in the classroom. Keep reading to discover how to harvest basil (without killing it the plant) and the secret to having huge basil harvests all season long. Basil is one of the easiest herbs to grow with many tasty and unique varieties…