No backyard? No worries! City kids can have fun and learn a lot from planting and caring for flowers, herbs, and vegetables in containers that can be kept on the terrace, windowsill, or indoors. Toby Adams, managing director of the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden at The New York Botanical Garden, maintains that raising any sort of plant or flower can help children better appreciate the food they find on their dinner plates.
“They get to be part of the planting and learn to take responsibility for another living thing,” Adams says.
But the education doesn’t end there. “It also involves learning about seasonalities—we can only grow some foods here in New York, and some foods we only grow in the springtime, and others in the summer,” says Patricia Hulse, family program director at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
“Watching a little seed become roots, stems, and leaves and then a flower that attracts butterflies and bees, with fruit developing, and to know that you took part in that process—it’s a pretty powerful experience for a child,” Adams says.
Here, Adams and Hulse share their tips for creating a container garden with kids:
Let your children decide what to grow in their garden. “The fun part about being a gardener is choosing what you want to grow,” Adams says. You can even help your child choose a theme for the container garden. “You can do a ‘pizza garden,’” Adams suggests. “You can have a bush or cherry tomato plant, a basil plant, and some marigolds for color.” Hulse recommends herbs, like rosemary and lavender, and edible flowers, like nasturtiums. “Kids love being able to say, ‘This is a flower I can eat!’” she says. Adams also recommends vegetable crops, like loose-leaf lettuce, sugar snap peas, and basil.
Visit your local plant exchange or hardware store for a solid container and the right tools. Adams recommends a flowering pot with good drainage. “Ceramic pots are nice because you can apply paint to them and they are relatively waterproof,” he says. For a small container garden, kids won’t need more than a watering can and their hands, Hulse says.
As you plant, drop seeds in at an angle. This will actually help the plant grow straighter, Adams says. After planting, Hulse recommends labeling each plant “to help keep track of when that seed was planted and what it’s going to become.”
Take care of the plants by watering, pulling out weeds, and making sure your container garden receives plenty of sunlight. Children especially love watering, Hulse says, but make sure they are not over-watering—only water when the soil is dried out. They can also help with weeding. Parents should prune plants of bundles of leaves and flowers growing too closely together. If you’re growing basil, pinch off the seeds that form on the leaves and branches. “When the basil plant does that, it results in a change in the chemistry, and it doesn’t taste too good,” Adams says.
Great Programs For Kids With Green Thumbs
Kids can get their hands (and knees!) dirty at one of these great gardening programs:
New York Botanical Garden: Besides a schedule of family events and workshops (check out “Bulbs Unearthed” throughout May), the garden runs an ongoing children’s program for ages 3-12 years. Kids work in pairs on their own plots to grow fresh produce in the Howell Family Garden. For more information, visit nybg.org.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden: The BBG’s Spring Children’s Garden offers programs for “Seeds” (ages 4-5 years), “Seedlings” (K-1st grade), and “City Farmers” (2nd-7th grade). Plus, check out “Gardening With Children,” the BBG’s guide to teaching kids about planting and cultivating. For more information, visit bbg.org.
