Posted on: May 7, 2007
Growing Kids’ Food Smarts with Containers
Carrots don’t really come from the supermarket, and the lessons that lie therein can teach kids a lot about the foods they consume
By Bev Bennett
CTW Features
Children of the modern era easily could assume that lettuce grows in a bag and that tomatoes are merely saucy toppings for fries. Few have exposure to the growing process, and when the connection between the ground and the dinner table is lost, it’s time to give them the dirt on where food really comes from – not the supermarket.
Start your children on a container garden project.
Children who grow a food crop learn some valuable lessons, say gardening experts.
“They’ll understand the relationship between food and the environment; that things don’t come magically from the grocery store,” says Ellen Zachos, who teaches at the New York Botanical Garden.
And, if your children aren’t on good terms with plant foods, their gardening experience can change that.
“Nothing matches the pleasure of a child who brings his home-grown food to the table,” says Cindy Krezel, a Long Island gardener who works in Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park.
Container gardening is ideal because children can work in a limited space without becoming overwhelmed.
What’s more, anything can serve as a container, from a thimble to a giant terra cotta planters, says Krezel, the author of “Kids Container Gardening: Year-Round Projects for Inside and Out” (Ball Publishing, 2005).
How involved you get as a parent depends on your child’s age and skill level, say the gardeners.
“An interested 2-1/2 year old can do twice as much as a non-interested 11-year old,” Krezel says.
Set up the items your child needs and let him tell you how much help he needs.
To start, buy a planter a child can work with. Children may have to shift the container so their plants get at least six hours of sun a day. The container shouldn’t be too large or too heavy to move into a sunny area.
The container also has to be the appropriate size for the plant at its full height.
A tomato plant needs 16-inches of circumference; an herb plant or a small lettuce head requires a container that’s 6-inches around, according to Zachos, author of “Down & Dirty!” (Storey Publishing, 2007).
If your child is at least 8 years old she may prefer to begin by germinating plant seeds in early spring. Children who are younger or are starting their gardens in the summer will have greater success if they cultivate small tomato, lettuce or herb plants.
Although your child probably sees you digging in the backyard dirt, you’ll want to use a packaged container mix that encourages plant growth for your child’s garden, says Zachos.
Watering doesn’t require special equipment, but it does demand critical judgment. Children love watering plants and often overdo it.
Here’s a simple test you can teach your child:
“Take one finger and poke it in the soil. If your finger is wet, you don’t need to water. If your finger is dry you need to water,” says Kretzel.
