Gardening With Your Kids Using Garden Pots

Have fun with your kids while doing something useful - container gardening! This will certainly help keep them from getting bored and they will love learning how to plant in garden pots. And, seriously, what could possibly be better than getting their little hands dirty while growing their own food. They might just be inclined to try some new foods they wouldn't ordinarily try (I know this works since I saw it happen with my own 6-year old son.)

The Pots

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.

The Soil

Instead of just putting your plants in plain old dirt, I recommend using a good potting soil. Commercial potting soils are made specifically for container gardening and they're made to retain water (that means less maintenance!) Helping your freshly placed plants get a good start by feeding them with proper nutrients is always a good idea. Use the guide that is printed on the side of the bag and mix the recommended amount into the potting soil. You can kill the plant by adding too much so be careful.

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.

Before starting any project using garden pots, make sure you check out Andy Raydalls web site about container gardening : All Garden Pots.

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