Tips for Indoor Gardening With Kids
Gardening can be a fun and educational project for kids of all ages. It provides them the
opportunity to learn about how plants grow as well as healthy eating and nutrition. It
also helps them develop responsibility and other life skills.

Explore a few suggestions for growing an indoor garden with your child.

1 Use a chart to help keep your child on track. Include what the plants need and how
often plus what your child should look for when tending to them.

2 Have your child create a journal about the experience. To make it more fun, your
child can take photos or draw pictures of the plants as they grow.

3 When the plants are ready to harvest, work together so that your child experiences
the reward for the efforts.

4 Involve your child in finding or choosing delicious, healthy recipes to make with the
vegetables and herbs grown.

5 Work together to prepare the produce for storage.

to create the environment. Every plant
is different: some may require pruning,
adjustments to watering and soil and
various harvesting or replanting times.

Keep a journal, binder or some type of
tracking system to remind you when to care
for them and how to do so, and to track
your successes or failures for next time.

You might decide to use an indoor
growing system that does most of the work
for you. Consider how much time and effort
you and your family want to invest. If you
decide to use a growing kit, you still want
to check and track your plants’ progress to
be involved in or aware of the process and
make sure everything is working correctly.

Be sure to always follow all directions for
appropriate use.

In terms of harvesting, some plants
need to be completely picked and then
replanted. Other plants, especially herbs
and leafy greens, can be harvested as you
need while the plant grows and regrows
where it was cut.

Finally, keep in mind your family can
do everything right and still fail. It can
be frustrating, but indoor gardening is a
learning process. You can try new things
next time for better results and a garden that
contributes to a sustainable lifestyle. n
Parenting isn’t easy, but there
are strategies that can help.

Find support and resources
at familytreemd.org/flip
or our 24-hour Parenting
HelpLine at 800-243-7337.

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