Dawn Isaac - Gardening for Kids: 35 nature activities to sow, grow, and make

Gardening FOR Kids Gardening FOR Kids nature activities to sow, grow, and make Dawn Isaac For Ava, Oscar, Archie, and the Hail Weston Pre-School gardeners. This edition published in 2021 by CICO Kidz An imprint of Ryland Peters & Small Ltd 2021 Jockeys Fields, London WC1R 4BW 341 E 116th St, New York, NY 10029 www.rylandpeters.com First published in 2012 as Garden Crafts for Children 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Text Dawn Isaac 2012 Design and photography CICO Books 2012 The authors moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress and the British Library. ISBN: 978 1 80065 011 4 E-ISBN: 978 1 80065 046 6 Printed in China Editor: Caroline West Designer: Elizabeth Healey Photographer: Emma Mitchell Art director: Sally Powell Head of production: Patricia Harrington Publishing manager: Penny Craig Publisher: Cindy Richards Contents introduction G ardening has always been a perfect childrens activity.

It combines muck and magic, a chance to get messy, and the promise of great things from even the tiniest seed. This book is designed to inspire in children a love of all things gardening. As well as exciting but achievable growing projects, there are also beautiful craft ideas that use items gathered from the garden and outdoors. As the large family garden is a rarity these days, the vast majority of projects in this book can be created with almost no outside space at all. Even a sunny kitchen windowsill can give a child the chance to grow a whole range of herbs, salads, and flowersand, whats more, they can keep an eye on progress while they munch on their breakfast. The projects include lists of all materials needed as well as step-by-step instructions and photographs, making them easy for children to follow.

The range of ideas means that there are plenty of simple projects to fill a quick 20 minutes, as well as more complex ones that will keep children occupied for an entire afternoon. Perhaps more importantly, while children may think they are simply having fun, they will also be learning about gardening, from topics such as seed sowing and the germination process to the thinning out of crops and the importance of pollinators. The basic techniques that children will learn in these projects can be used again and again. As their confidence grows, so their imagination and natural curiosity will hopefully lead them to explore this hobby further, perhaps in adapting some of the project ideas, taking part in a school gardening club, or even creating a small garden of their own. sowing and growing Children love to watch seeds sprout and then go on to develop into flourishing plants for the garden. Buying seeds The cost of buying different types of seed can soon add up, so why not consider sharing the costs and splitting the packets with some gardening friends? If you do this, make sure you both have copies of the growing instructions from the back of the seed packets and remember to store the seeds somewhere cool, dark, and dry. Buying seeds The cost of buying different types of seed can soon add up, so why not consider sharing the costs and splitting the packets with some gardening friends? If you do this, make sure you both have copies of the growing instructions from the back of the seed packets and remember to store the seeds somewhere cool, dark, and dry.

Potting mix You can buy special seed potting mix, but most general-purpose potting mixes will do the job just fine. Do make sure you firm the potting mix down before and after sowing, though, so that its in contact with the seeds. Pricking out Once your seeds have germinated, you will see some simple seed leaves form and after that a pair of true leaves, which usually look a little different. At this stage, you can prick out the seedlings, which simply means moving them on to individual cells or pots where they have more room to grow. To do this, hold the leaves very gently and loosen the potting mix around the roots with an old pen, small dibber, or even your finger until you can easily lift the seedling from the potting mix. Potting on When a plant is becoming too big for its pot, you can pot it on to the next size up. Potting on When a plant is becoming too big for its pot, you can pot it on to the next size up.

Do this by gently squeezing the sides of the pot to loosen it, then place your hand over the top of the container, either side of the stem, and tip it upside down. You may need to pat the bottom of the pot to get it to release the plant. Next, place the plant in a larger container, already partly filled with potting mix, fill around the sides with more potting mix, firm it down, and give it a good watering. Planting out Make sure that you give your plant a good drink of water about an hour before you begin planting. Then prepare your planting hole by digging a space twice as wide as the plant, forking over the bottom and giving it a good watering. Take your plant carefully out of its pot, place it in the hole, making sure it is planted at the same depth as it was in the pot, backfill with the soil and firm it down well.