Kids and gardening

[MrsC]

Hi all,

Just wondering how many other grapes children have an interest in gardening? My son (10) bought his first propagator last night with some of his birthday money and is going to have a go at planting some toms, he can't wait! He's always shown an interest before, but is getting keener the older he is getting.

[shirlthegirl43]

Our two are sort of interested. They help with general garden clearing and will mow lawns etc if nagged enough They love big demolition jobs though - privet hedges are not safe!

They are not great at following up on seeds they sow but do enjoy eating the crops that I finish off rearing. Maybe this year things will change.

[BrideXIII]

son2 is interested, not so much in the growing, but loves the digging , bodging, and composting, and is a great little weeder if you catch him on a good day, all good, and is looking forward to us getting an allotment so he has more space to do it all in

[jaykay]

My youngest two (8 and 12) do volunteer to come to the allotment, and enjoy picking the crops when ready. Last year my daughter (the 8 year old) grew a runner bean plant from seed, initially in the greenhouse, then planted it outside and tended it whilst it grew. She was really proud of her 8' tall bean plant. Their favourites are fruit picking (strawberries and raspberries) probably because you can eat them straight away, but also were fascinated by early potatoes - it was like finding treasure in the ground.

Hope your son enjoys growing his choice of veg from scratch with his propagator.

[sewer rat]

Iona is quite good now that she is up a bit. She is prepared to weed (no small feat when she was asked to weed the courgettes - 250 plants in tyres ), and likes sowing seeds and watering the cucumbers, and various other bits and pieces, but her absolute favourite thing is serving my customers either on site or at the local Farmers Market - think she likes the smell of cold hard cash !!

[jackie j]

My daughter was interested when I first got the allotment and would come with me but now she just says I'm not coming, then moans when I say anything about the allotment cos she hasnt been for ages and doesnt know whats growing.

[janeyo]

My 4 yr old has his own little bit of garden with poppies sunflowers, pumpkin etc and likes to sow seeds wth me. he likes to harvest veg too, esp the strawbs and toms and the things he likes!

Not sure about the littlun yet as he hasn't been walkabout in the garden yet as has only just learnt to walk! Got him some wellies so it's only a matter of time....

[mr worm]

well im 14 got my own lottie thanks to my mum been intetrested since i was 7

[shirlthegirl43]

well im 14 got my own lottie thanks to my mum been intetrested since i was 7

Good for you!

[RedThorn]

My 4 year old loves helping me dig and plant! Every potaoe that came outa the ground was followed with shrieks of joy! (Main reason that I didn't get more potatoes outa my containers - she kept pestering me to dig them up and I didn't have the heart to deny her! She also aboslutely loved helping with the watering - took me twice as long but oh so worth it.

[allotmentlady]

Both my children have grown up with the lottie and gardening. They have their own raised beds, they dig, fetch manure, sow seed, plant out and harvest with me. They love having barbie on the lottie and eating fresh toms etc........

Both are excited about spring coming and the new season starting, they, like I, still amazed at what grows from a tiny seed, even after all these years.

[miffy]

My son loved the garden from the age of 2-9, first he just used to dig, then he was looking for treasure which included any bugs he could find, then he wanted to plant and grow like his mum and then to be like time team and dig up 'finds'. He has gone through a time of not really caring but over the last year has started to take an interest again particulary in the birds and frogs etc we get in the garden and he has said he wants to help me on the lottie and has bought his own fork to help me turn over the soil to put 'his' potatoes in. So watch this space!

[petal]

mine enjoy digging holes and harvesting. They love 'who can grow the largest pumpkin/sunflower competitions and they like growing cherokee trail of tears beans and learning about its heritage. The trick is to weed when they are not around so they don't become too put off.

[Paulottie]

Mine are 5 and 7....love to 'help' which invariably means the task takes twice as long...bless em... and probably a dispute over job-sharing so...one at a time is better (and easier to end up with rows rather than waves.) They can be quite helpful with harvesting...for a while anyway.

Each of mine has a raised bed 3m x 1m where they get a say in the crops and flowers that are grown, To some extent they tend the beds.

Essentially they have always been around veg growing and can name all the veg and most weeds. They went through a moany stage ('can we go yet!') but now they have friend and camps etc. up there and mostly are quite happy.

[di]

Our little ones are 4 & 6...DS was just a babe when we took on the lottie.They're both really keen to help...sometimes we get moaned at when we say where we're going....but once there it's often a struggle to get them home.
As for straight/wavy lines....I find it a perfect excuse!!....whether they were responsible or not!