Growing lush, beautiful plants can be fun and easy, especially if your child care center is equipped with a greenhouse and growing lights. However, most centers do not possess these facilities.  By following a few simple steps, you can teach young children the basics of growing plants. You will need to choose seeds that germinate quickly, use sterilized potting mixture, provide the right amount of sunlight and water, and turn the plants daily in a sunny window.
 
Teachers of young children understand this premise: gardening is more than growing plants. Through tilling the soil, planting and watering, children learn responsibility, patience, sharing and helping others. And along the way, they acquire the foundations for math and science.

Basic Outside and Indoor Gardening Tips
Successful gardening begins with a good foundation, the soil. If planning an outside garden, have your soil tested to discover the necessary nutrients. Soil that packs together when pressed contains clay, which allows it to hold water, which may result in drainage problems. Sandy soil does not stick together and may not contain nutrients needed for root formation. Loam, a type of soil that crumbles easily, is the ideal. You can add grass clippings, leaves, and other compost to dirt in order to achieve the best composition for plants. If using granular or liquid fertilizer, always follow package directions. An adult should be responsible for this step.

A four-by-four foot rectangle (in a sunny location) makes for an easy working plot of ground. Children can stand around the edge and work without actually getting into the garden. This keeps dirt from packing down and protects tender plants from being trampled.  Plant seeds in rows or in hills with four to six seeds per hill. When two leaves appear, remove all but the three stronger plants. This allows for adequate air circulation and provides room for roots to form.

Too often, over-watering is the cause of plant failure. Most plants thrive on an average of one inch of water weekly. When rain does not fall, watering in the mornings allows leaves to dry before evening.
 
Mulching around the base of the plant offers several advantages. Pine needles or dry grass clippings helps the plants and soil retain moisture and keeps weeds away.

Planting seeds or small plants indoors requires a different approach. Use sterilized potting mixture and gently sprinkle with water so the dirt is slightly damp. Spoon dirt into small cups. Make a depression in each cup and place two seeds in each cup. Place in a sunny window and keep moist.

Check the seedlings daily and chart the progress. As the plants grow, they will pull toward the sun. Turn daily to ensure straight growth. Follow package directions and transplant to a larger container when needed. 

Seeds that Germinate Quickly
Not all seeds are created equal. Choose those that are large enough for small fingers to handle. Look for those that germinate quickly and produce leaves early.  Although seeds are the least expensive for gardening, they require time and patience to grow. Children will find the following easy to grow:
Flowers
Marigold
Moonflower
Morning Glory
Nasturtium
Sunflowers
Zinnias

Vegetables
Lettuce
Radishes
Onion sets (purchase “sets” from a gardening supply store for quick growth)
Cucumber
Squash
Pumpkin
Potato (cut potato into hunks, leaving two “eyes” on each piece)

Large seeds, such as nasturtium, morning glory and moonflower, sprout more easily if soaked in warm water a couple of hours before planting.

Quick Gardening with Established Plants
You can also consider purchasing plants from a gardening center. Give each child her individual plant to grow. Choose low maintenance varieties, such as marigolds, petunia, pansy for flowers, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes for vegetables in individual containers.

After the soil is turned, students need help spacing and watering plants. Don't ignore those weeds, even those that produce flowers. It’s best to pull them out as they choke out young plants.

Friendly Insects for your Garden
Never use harmful pesticides near children. Instead, invite beneficial creatures to be a garden’s best friend. These predators constantly stalk and destroy pests that would devour your plants for dinner. Consider using the following insects or mammals from a local organic gardening center or order them through the mail. As there’s no guarantee they may stay near your garden, you may have to restock during the season.
Ladybugs, child-friendly insects, eat scores of aphids, whiteflies, scales and the eggs of Colorado potato beetles. Children will delight in allowing the ladybugs to crawl on their hands.
Lacewings feed only on nectar and pollen, but the larvae feed on aphids, mealy bugs, scales, whiteflies and spider mites. Lacewings are especially helpful in greenhouses.
Beneficial nematodes eat cutworms, white grubs, flea beetle larvae and sod webworms. Purchase from mail-order suppliers or garden centers.  Follow directions on the container.
 
Aside from these, birds, lizards, praying mantises, spiders and toads are predators that should be highly visible in a garden. Honeybees pollinate fruit trees. Red worms work the soil. How do you attract these helpful creatures? Provide food, shelter and water—and of course, avoid pesticides.
 
Check the garden area daily to prevent an army of hungry insects from taking over. Use an “insecticidal soap” made of 5 to 6 drops of liquid detergent per quart of water in a spray bottle. If caught early, this spray kills soft-bodied pests, but will not kill ants, beetles, or those insects with armored scales. This mixture is friendly to both people and the environment.

Suggestions for Young Gardeners
Gardening is more than digging in the soil, dropping in a few seeds, and watching them grow. Children will discover that of living things need sun, warmth, soil and water. These suggestions will help teach your students valuable lessons.
• Small hands need child-size trowels, digging forks, and other garden tools.
• Protect clothing with man-size shirts that button in the back and sleeves rolled up.
• Wash hands after gardening or digging in dirt.
• Be aware of poison ivy roots where you garden. Teach children to identify “leaves of three” from pictures. If the plant is nearby, observe the appearance.
• Plan for all children to participate. Provide a raised bed for children in wheelchairs or those with special needs.
• Invite senior adults in your community to team with your students. Learn gardening tips from those with experience.
• Be aware of children with insect (bees) or plant (ragweed, pollen, and mold) allergies. Alert parents to your gardening unit.
• Record on a large calendar: record the dates seeds are planted, when first leaves appear, the ratio of seeds sprouted to those planted. Also include the daily temperature and weather.

Grants for Gardening Projects
Grants can support your gardening project. Are you aware that area businesses and industry provide small grants for kids? One of the best sources of information can be found at www.kidsgardening.org.
All those listed under site require that at least 15 children between the ages of 3-18 years be involved in the project. Check out some of the following:
• The Home Depot provides a $250 gift card for seeds, materials, and equipment to start a garden. Another feature includes publications of the National Gardening Association (NGA), Ten Terrific Vegetables, Growing Ventures, and Growing Lab: Activities for Growing Minds.
• Mantis Award Program. The project must be charitable or educational in nature. Twenty Mantis tillers/cultivators will be awarded.
• Hooked on Hydroponics Award. Provided are hydroponic materials and garden system, indoor light system, books and curricula.
• Healthy Sprouts Award. Supports nutrition and hunger. A $200 gift certificate by Gardening Supply, books, and Eat a Rainbow—lessons on health, taste and nutrition.
• Wild Oats Gardening With Kids. Grantee must be within a 30-mile radius of a Wild Oats Market.

Sidebar: Gardening Books that Delight Children
Before you begin a unit on gardening, designate a library shelf for books about plants, growing and stories encouraging children to dig in the soil, plant seeds, grow flowers and harvest simple vegetables. The following are a few books available on the topic:
• A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Lewis Stevenson. This beloved children’s book written in 1908 is actually not about gardening, but of adventures of children, often in garden settings. The beautiful illustrations continue to delight youngsters today as of generations ago.
• The Carrot Seed, by R. Krauss (Harper & Roe, Pub.)
• And the Good Brown Earth, Kathy Henderson (Walker Books)
• A Child’s Guide to Wild Flowers, Charlotte Voake (Eden Project Books)
• Jack and the Beanstalk, the familiar children’s story
• Jody’s Beans, Malachy Doyle; Illus. Judith Allibone
• Fly Traps—Plants That Bite Back, Martin Jenkins, Illus. David Parkins (Walker Books)
• Starting Gardening, Sue Johnson and Cheryl Evans (Usborne)
• A Basic Dictionary of Plants and Gardening, Nick Wright and Bobbie Neate (Neate Publishers)
• Growing Organic, Eat Organic, Lone Martin, Illus. Martin Ursell
• Eddie’s Garden, Sarah Garland (Francis Lincoln)
• Jessie’s Flower, Ron Bacon, Illus. Liz Dodson Kingscourt. (Big Book, Shorthand Pub.)
• Apple Green and Runner Bean, Phyllis King (Walker Books)

References

Web Sites:
http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Glade
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/childrensgardening

Carolyn Ross Tomlin, M. Ed., has taught kindergarten and early childhood education at Union University in Jackson, TN. She writes for numerous education publications.