How to give your child a green thumb

Fran Sorin considers instilling a love of nature in children at an early age critical. The author of the recently re-released book, Digging Deep, believes that introducing children to gardening will help to nurture that relationship.

Sorin is a long-time Garden CBS radio correspondent, delivering her Digging Deep message across North America. As the director of community action gardens in Philadelphia, including a children’s initiative that reaches the most underprivileged schools in the city, she believes she some answers. Here are some of them.

1.  Show your kids how much you love gardening. Even if you’re a beginner, don’t worry. It’s your attitude that’s going to inspire your kids as much as anything else initially.

2.  Make spending time outdoors a priority. It can a fun time- building forts and tree houses, chasing toads, pulling dandelion weeds (who can get that root out?), and playing barefoot on the grass are all tools for getting kids more connected to nature. Or encourage your child to do her homework, read, draw, or just sit and relax  surrounded by the beauty of nature.

3.  Take your kids on nature walks, to visit public parks, local arboretums, and community gardens as family outings.

4.  Create a small butterfly garden together. It’s as easy as planting a butterfly bush and a few native perennials that attract butterflies…like Joe Pye Weed, Russian Sage, and Black Eyed Susan. Your child will flock to that area to keep an eye out for butterflies. 

5.  Let your child select four or five easy-to-grow veggies or cutting flowers they want to grow from seed. Suggestions- sunflowers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, cosmos, lettuce mixes.

6.  When the weather is warm enough, select a small sunny location close to the house- or if you already have a veggie/flower cutting garden- allocate a certain amount of space to be your child’s designated area.

7.   Make seed planting fun and a learning experience but focus on the process rather than just the end result.  Your child’s garden plot doesn’t need to meet your standards.

8.   As far as maintenance, watering and weeding, do some behind the scene work to keep things healthy – if need be.

9.   Celebrate your child’s gardening and their gardening success once flowers bloom and harvests begin.

Sorin addresses parents: “I encourage you to make it (gardening) a priority and do as much of it as you can. If you only have 15 minutes in the morning to do a bit of weeding before jumping into a hectic day, take your cup of coffee with you into the garden and go for it. Those 15 minutes of connecting with your garden and getting your hands in the earth will do more for your soul than you can possibly imagine. It’s an ideal time to practice mindfulness, clear out the clutter in your brain, and just be with nature.”