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Garden Help Desk: Involving kids in the garden

By USU Extension - Special to the Daily Herald | Apr 19, 2025

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

Letting children help with plant selection at the garden center nurtures their interest and involvement in the family garden.

Today, we’re featuring another article written by one of our Master Gardeners.

Involving kids in the garden starting at a young age can teach them more about how a plant grows. Whether you’re just learning or are a master gardener, here are a few things to keep in mind to ensure your child walks away loving the gardening world rather than dreading it.

Benefits of teaching kids to garden

As kids learn about gardening, they can reap many rewards. Oftentimes, these benefits will follow them into their teenage and adult years. Here are just a few of those benefits.

  • Learning to be stewards of the land and how ecosystems work in their own backyard.
  • Gaining an interest in how pests and beneficial insects play a role in the garden.
  • Immersing themselves in nature, a benefit to both their mental and emotional wellbeing.
  • They may be tempted to try a new food or two if they grew it themselves.

Challenges and solutions

Although the benefits are priceless, involving kids in gardening can easily turn into a miserable time if we aren’t prepared. Here are some common challenges and solutions that may help get your child more interested in gardening.

My child doesn’t have the attention span to learn how to garden.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

Children will be more helpful and engaged in the garden if they have child-sized gardening tools.

Start small and keep their age in mind. One small tip is to use their age to determine the number of minutes they can spend learning in the garden. For example, a 2-year-old may only give you 2 minutes of their time before they’re on to the next thing. Think of something that will keep their attention for that time frame and build on that the next time. I find the more time your child spends with you in the garden, the more they are intrigued by it. Simply being in the garden can be beneficial to them, so don’t discount the time they spend there even if they aren’t actively helping.

I want my child to learn, but we just don’t have the space in our yard for a garden to teach them.

If you think small, you can grow anywhere. A small pot on a sunny porch can grow anything from herbs to flowers or tomatoes. A flower bed or shrub bed may have just enough room for a plant or two that a child can tend. You can visit gardens in your neighborhood or public gardens in your city. Even a visit to your local nursery can be a fun experience for your child. Demonstration gardens will often host fun activities or specific classes for little gardeners, so keep an eye out for those.

My younger kids like to think they’re helpful, but it’s really not helping to have them out there.

They really do just want to be involved. I find it helps to give your child one specific task they can take ownership over, and hopefully this allows you to do the rest. If you’re planting and they’re not quite old enough to help, ask them to stack the nursery pots as you plant. If they’re a little older, ask them to dig the holes or help you plant them. Pretty soon, your child will learn the entire process from beginning to end. By starting small, your child will be less overwhelmed and feel more capable.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

Potatoes are a good, sturdy vegetable for young gardeners to harvest.

I have a hard time choosing seeds for my child to plant.

Large-seeded flowers and vegetables like sunflowers, zinnias, pumpkins, beans and peas are all crops that are easy to grow from seed and offer a great return on time and investment. One crop that I find many kids enjoy harvesting is potatoes. It’s like their own little treasure hunt when it comes time to dig them out. Whatever you choose to plant, take the time to nurture the plant with your child. Your guidance along the way will increase the likelihood of the plant surviving and can also be a great opportunity to connect.

Other suggestions

Most kids gain an interest in things that they are exposed to on a regular basis. If you’re a gardener (or aspire to be), let them into your world. Check out children’s literature from the library that has to do with gardens or insects. Visit your local garden parks. Have them flip through the latest seed catalogs and circle plants they’d like to grow. Gift them their very own set of gardening tools they can use to help you in the yard. Give them a spot in the yard where they can dig and plant. The more they are exposed to gardening, the more interested they will be.