Container gardening is a great way to get your kids outside to have fun – while doing something useful! They’ll love learning how to plant using garden pots and it will help keep them from getting bored. Seriously, what could be better than growing their own food and getting their little hands dirty at the same time. Shoot, they may even be inclined to actually try some of the things they’ve grown that they wouldn’t normally try. I’ve seen my own son try a lot of vegetables he helped grow from our garden, so I know this works.
Containers
Let’s start off with the containers. Garden pots come in a wide variety of styles and materials they are made from, like clay, stone, wood, plastic, etc. For kids, the safest material to use is plastic – its lightweight and its pretty hard to break. The next best option is wood but wood containers are mostly used for decoration as they don’t hold water well and a plastic pot will have to be placed inside the wood container.
This is a really good time to have your kids decorate the pots. On both wood and plastic, acrylic paint works great. Be sure to use paints that are non-toxic. Once your child is finished, pick out a location now where you want the pot to go since it will be harder and heavier to move when its filled with soil.
Potting Soil
I recommend that instead of using just your average dirt, use a good potting soil. They are specially blended for small containers and hold water (a great benefit since there is less maintenance). Getting your plants off to a good start is always a great idea and is easy if you use the proper nutrients. Check the guide on the side of the fertilizer bag for the recommended amount to use. Just don’t add too much as this could kill the plants.
The Plants
Whether flowers, vegetables, or herbs, choosing your plants by type is an easy way to start. Once you have the type picked out, choose the size of plant appropriate to the size of your pots. Some plants will require larger pots (like tomatoes). You can always transplant them into larger pots if they get too big for the pot you started with. This is a great project for your kids (and YOU). They are sure to love seeing (and also eating) the fruits of their labor.
Andy Raydall has been working in gardens since early childhood and has educated others on garden pot and landscaping techniques. If you’d like to know more about garden pots, visit AllGardenPots.com
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