Gardening is a perfect activity for kids and parents to share together. Whether you have acres and a tractor or a few pots on the porch, kids love to care for their growing plants. A green thumb is not even required. There are lots of vegetables and flowers that are resilient and will grow no matter how frequently you forget to water them.

Kids can help with every step. Let them help to decide what vegetables they want to eat from the garden or what color flowers will decorate the front steps. The Marshall County Co-op is a great place to find local, seasonal plants. Choosing something that grows quickly will help young kids stay interested in the ever increasing progress of their garden. Green beans, onions, and radishes produce quickly.

Be sure to let them help with the planting. After all, that’s the most fun (i.e. most messy). Playing in the dirt, digging with a spade that is small enough to be manageable, and finding worms is irresistible to kids. Matthias loves his little gardening gloves and sharing a spade with mama. One dollar watering cans made kids feel like they are helping nurture their plants.

Gardening makes your space look nice, provides you with fresh vegetables, and teaches kids a valuable lesson about food. In the US, we shop almost exclusively in supermarkets. We purchase our potatoes along with our diapers. Gardening teaches that our food comes from the earth. That great food takes time to grow. That nothing tastes as good as a green bean plucked off the vine.

Although we live in town and don’t have a lot of space, I take the time each year to plant some vegetables, flowers, and herbs. My family couldn’t live off what we grow, but we appreciate the first tomato to turn red and celebrate the taste of fresh zucchini in the pasta.

And Matthias love to help. He has learned that gardening is fun, and, even more than being fun, it tastes wonderful!