Gardening Resources for Children

Children's Gardening Resources - The Children's Gardening Calendar

Children's interest in gardening should not be restricted to the traditional growing season. There are plenty of garden tasks children can help with throughout the year, planning activities, extended season and indoor growing kits available and garden related craft activities to keep them occupied when it is too cold or wet for outside gardening.

The children's Garden calendar is a useful planner for children's gardening activities and offers suggestions on how to maintain their 'budding' interests in gardening throughout the year.

Safety in the Garden Young Gardener's 1st Garden Children's Gardening Calendar Gardening & the National Curriculum

Winter is a time for tidying up in the garden - that is when the weather is good enough! Children can add compost to their gardens and dig it in, being careful not to trample too much over the soil and compress it.

December

December is the quietest month for gardeners - it is too cold in the garden for anything to grow, including weeds! Few plants will want to grow indoors either although some may flourish on a warm, sunny windowsill. For children who wish to do some gardening in December look for mini terrariums which are great for giving plants the best chance to grow in this cool, dark month. The Young Gardener terrarium kit adds a fantastic craft element too where children can produce a beautiful stained glass effect terrarium.
Children who pressed flowers last summer may like to look at them to bring back happy gardening memories and could use them in craft activities e.g. making cards or a collage of their garden.

January

The frosts and snows of January can make the garden look like a winter wonderland. Children can be taught how the cold weather is needed to kill off nasty bugs and diseases that can spoil plants.
January is a good time for children to start thinking about which plants they would like to grow in the upcoming season. Show children pictures of suitable flowers, vegetables and herbs (see our recommendation in our Young Gardener's first garden section) and ask them to choose their favourites. Find out why children have chosen certain plants over others and ask them to draw a plan for their garden.
Children will be limited to indoor gardening in January and as the weather is likely to be poor outside a combined craft and growing kit such as the Young Gardener Grow-a-Grass Tiger or Bird is perfect.
Some varieties of Sweet Pea and Strawberries can be planted 'under glass' in January.

February

In February the soil is still cold but Spring bulbs should start blooming. Children are interested in knowing how bulbs and seeds differ. Inside each bulb is a whole tiny plant - roots, stem, leaves and flower bud, plus all the nutrients needed for it to grow - wrapped in fleshy layers. A seed is like a plant embryo contained in a shell which can germinate and grow into a plant under the right conditions. The plants inside bulbs are more developed than those in seeds and this means they are able to start growing earlier in the year under more difficult conditions.
Children will be able to start sowing some seeds such as Marigold, Cosmos and Pansy indoors in February so some small plants are ready to be transferred to the garden when the weather becomes warmer. Follow seed company instructions.

Spring is the busiest time of the year for gardeners - the garden needs preparing, seeds need sowing, plants start to grow and so do weeds! Garden pests such as slugs will also be particularly busy in Spring as they enjoy the damp weather. Many seeds can be sown over 2 or 3 months, staggering when seeds are sown will ensure children's gardens 'live' longer and offers a steady stream of produce e.g. if a child plants pea seeds in March, April and May then they should be expect peas to be ready in July through to September.

March

Children should prepare their patch in March ready for sowing seeds and transferring seedings. Our Young Gardener's first garden page offers some great advice on how children can choose a suitable spot and prepare it.
Many seeds e.g. sunflowers and beans can be started off indoors in March if children want to get a head start in growing their plants - check the seed company's instructions.
There are several seeds children can start sowing directly into their garden near the end of March including varieties of cornflowers, nasturtiums, radishes, carrots, peas and lettuces.

April

By the middle of April all chance of frost should have passed and the child can transfer their seedlings into the garden.
Varieties of sunflowers, marigolds, sweet peas, beans, rocket, parsley and coriander can be sown directly into the garden in April. Advice on planting seeds outside can be found on our Young Gardener's first garden page.
Plant some more of the seed varieties already planted directly into the garden in March.
Tomatoes and Pumpkins can be started off indoors in pots.
Weeds will be beginning to grow so children should tackle these before they start to grow big and strong.

May

By now the weather should be warming up and the child's developing plants may need watering every day. Children should be careful not to over water the plants and watering should be done in the evenings. A watering can with a rose will help children distribute water evenly and slowly.
As the young plants develop they may need thinning out so that they can grow big and healthy. By the middle of May children should be able to see if their garden is overcrowded in places. Carefully removed plants can be transferred to other parts of the garden, placed in pots or given to friends.
Sow any more seeds as necessary/desired.
Tomatoes and pumpkins can be transferred to the garden.
Continue weeding regularly.

Summer is one of the most enjoyable times in the garden with flowers coming to bloom and vegetables starting to mature. Children should spend plenty of time admiring the labours of their hard work, looking at colours, enjoying smells and watching insects and butterflies attracted to their garden. The most important task for summer months is watering.

June/July

Pumpkins can be grown directly in the garden in June time.
Many of the flowers will be in full bloom and the garden should be looking its best. Children may wish to preserve memories of their garden by drawing pictures of it or by taking cuttings of blooms and leaves then drying them in a flower press.
Plants will begin to die. They can be encouraged into producing more flowers by deheading - removing the dead flower heads. Many flower heads contain seeds, children can collect these so they can have 'free' seeds for next Spring. Store the seeds in envelopes somewhere cool and dry.
Some Pansy varieties can be sown outside in July for flowering the following Spring.
Vegetables will be ready for harvesting from late June.

August

Many of the flowers will be starting to die, children should regularly dehead flowers to ensure their garden looks as attractive as possible.
August is a busy time for harvesting vegetables and whilst nothing can beat freshly home-grown vegetables many can also be prepared and stored to give a good supply over the Autumn and even Winter months.
Ask children to help in other areas of the garden such as with fruit picking.
August is a good time for children to start thinking about next year's garden whilst this years is still fresh in their minds. Ask questions such as: Which flowers liked growing in their garden? Which didn't? Was the size patch about right or would they like to grow more variety on a larger patch next year? What would they change about the layout and planting scheme?

Early Autumn is a busy time for the gardener as they collect the last harvests of the year, start tidying up and begin to prepare for the next year's growing season.

September

In addition to the summer time vegetables, which should almost be over, some Pumpkins may also be ready in September. Children could try making some delicious pumpkin pie or soup.
Cut off any green tomatoes and place them on a windowsill to ripen, it will be getting too cold for them outside now.
Start to clear up the garden removing any dead plants (collecting the seeds) and any weeds.
Lettuce seeds can be sown in September to be ready in Spring.
September is the perfect month for planting Spring time bulbs such as snowdrops, daffodils, tulips and crocuses, which will give a colourful display in the child's garden from late January. Children should wear gloves when handling bulbs as they may cause irritation. Follow the instructions on the packet.
Leaves will be falling from trees and need clearing up. Children can be encouraged to help and could save them in a container to make a leaf mould, which, when ready, can add valuable nutrients back into the soil.

October/November

The pumpkins should be ready now - just in time for Halloween. Children can draw faces on the pumpkins then ask an adult to carve out the features.
Finish off the last bit of weeding and clearing away of dead plants.
Children should carefully clean and check their gardening tools before storing them somewhere safe and dry over the winter months.
Days will be getting darker and colder now so to bring a little colour and put their gardening skills into practice children may like to plant some indoor plants. The Young Gardener my window box is a great option with its brightly coloured stickers and pansies.