Gardening with kids is a fun, hands-on way to learn about nature, food, and patience. These easy tips from Gibson & Green, plus fast-growing seed suggestions, will keep little hands busy and curious minds engaged all school holidays long.
With school holidays upon us, now’s a great time to get your garden growing! Gardening with kids is a fantastic activity —there’s so much to learn about the growing process and where their food comes from.
To keep the kids interested, plant seeds with a short germination period—you don’t want to be waiting a whole month to see your seeds sprout!
Read more: Our Favourite Nature Playgrounds, Parks and Sensory Gardens for Christchurch Kids
Autumn gardening with kids:
Our favourite seeds to grow:
Our Top Growing Tips:
Kids can have a short attention span, so we want to do what we can to ensure our seed-sowing is successful the first time around.
- Use a quality potting or seed-raising mix.
If your soil is lacking nutrients or is too firm, you might not have much luck germinating seeds! We recommend using coir pellets or our biodegradable pots, which can be planted straight into your garden once the plant is established with 2–3 sets of leaves. - Fresh seeds are best!
Don’t reach for an old packet from the back of the shed—check the use-by date or grab some fresh seeds to ensure a high germination rate. If you do have older seeds, you can still sow them, but only a few may germinate successfully. - Create your own mini greenhouse.
An easy way to help your seeds germinate is by creating a mini greenhouse using a clear plastic container. Sow your seeds in coir pellets or small pots, place them in the container, and pop the lid on. Just be sure to keep your seedlings watered and lift the lid daily to allow some airflow so they don’t overheat in the sun. This is especially helpful as the weather starts to cool and also keeps seeds safe from sneaky birds.
Any questions or photos—we’d love to hear from you! Tag us or send us a message @gibson_and_green or email [email protected]
