Tips for Gardening with Children

There is one huge piece we haven't discussed, why this garden project is so important and how it came to be.  We work with lower income families, families in generational poverty, families in situational poverty, and one of the brain storm ideas we had in supporting healthy foods and meals was a community garden.  Not only are we teaching children about how to tend and care for something, how to grow, where food comes from, and take pride, but also the lesson on how to sustain your own existence.   It is an absolute joy to see families eating food that they have grown and harvested. So, this project has more meaning than just in class project.

We came across a great list of tips when gardening with children and how to keep their interest high.

o  Start gardening with children when they are young and curious.  Preschoolers can and do have success and fun growing a garden.

o  When working with younger children and trying to keep their interest don’t overwhelming them, take breaks and use simple language.

o  Make it FUN!!!  Don’t make it a chore.

o  Clearly define expectations.

o  When explaining gardening techniques and information use books, visuals, puppets, skits, pictures, and props.  Make it FUN!

o  Encourage questions and help find the answers.

o  Don’t project your expectation.  A single carrot or tomato is a success!

o  Involve children and their ideas.  Ownership is important.

o  Make it FUN!

o  For very young children keep a simple garden plot and grow plants that grow quick.  Allow each child to attend to their own plants.

o  Plant crops according to your planting zone.  Experimenting is fun too but make you talk about how sometimes experiments work and sometimes they don’t.  Treat even dead or diseased plants as a success. Use it as an opportunity for a teachable moment. This is all part of the planting process.

o  Don’t assume that they understand gardening concepts.  Teach everything.  Make it FUN!

o  One of the main reason’s we garden is to eat what we grow.  Do cooking projects with your harvest, have the school lunch made from the harvest or make a classroom cookbook.

o  Capitalize on what children like to do or share what they know with other people.  Young children love to be helpful.

o  Field Trips to local farms.

o  HAVE FUN!!!! J

Poisonous Plants

It's important to research which plants are poisonous to humans as well as animals. Here is a short list of some common plants.  Also, check the links below for more complete lists.

POISONOUS PLANTS

LABURNUM: are small deciduous trees with bright yellow pea-shaped flowers. The flowers are highly toxic if ingested.

YEW (Taxus): small evergreen trees or shrubs of rounded habit, with dark-green needle leaves and fleshy red berry-like seedpods (on the female plant). Most parts, but especially the seeds are highly toxic if ingested.

HOLLY (Ilex): deciduous or evergreen bushes and trees with often spiny leaves, small flowers and berries (female plants). The berries can cause stomach upset.

OLEANDER (Nerium): evergreen shrub clusters of funnel-shaped flowers, followed by long, bean-like seed-pods. The whole plant is highly toxic and skin contact with the foliage can irritate.

IVY (Hedera Helix): evergreen climbing shrubs, with small flowers and often black berries. All parts can cause stomach upsets and skin contact with foliage can irritate.

COMMON BOX (Buxus): evergreen shrub or small tree with clusters of small yellow flowers and pale green or brown berry-like fruit. All parts can cause stomach upset and skin contact with foliage can irritate.

PRIVET (Ligustrum): either deciduous or evergreen bush or small tree, often used as hedging around gardens. Small flowers in spring or summer, and dark berries in the autumn. All parts can cause stomach upset if eaten.

HORSE CHESTNUT (Aesculus): deciduous tree which produces the conkers we all like to play with. The conkers though are toxic and can cause stomach upset. Not to be confused with the rather similar looking edible chestnuts!

RHODODENDRON also known as AZALEA: deciduous or evergreen shrubs, often grown in borders or as flowering specimens due to the large number of beautiful flowers. The whole plant is toxic and can cause stomach upsets and even difficulty breathing and comas if ingested.

POISONOUS VEGIES & FRUITS

While these are not poisonous plants as such - after all, we are encouraged to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg each day - certain parts of them can be toxic.

Remember: any unripe fruit or vegetable can cause stomach upset and generally affect the gastrointestinal system.

APPLE: the seeds/pips are toxic, containing cyanide.

APRICOT: the kernel, which looks a bit like an almond, also contains cyanide, and children have died as a result of eating a few of them. However, they do taste very bitter, so most children - if they even try eating a kernel - will be put off by the taste.

RHUBARB: while the stems are used for all sorts from jam to wine, the leaves are highly toxic.

POTATOE: unripe or green potatoes are toxic, as is the foliage. Hence the need to store potatoes in the dark and cut out any parts which are green before cooking.

TOMATO: the unripe fruit of the tomato plant can cause stomach problems, while the stems and foliage often irritate the skin.

STRAWBERRY: a number of people develop allergic reactions to strawberries.

BRASSILICA: these are vegetables such as cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts, etc. A number of people find them indigestible and develop allergic reactions to them. If your child really doesn't like sprouts, there might be a valid reason for it!

While a number of these 'poisonous plants' can and do at times cause serious health complications and even death, the majority don't have such drastic effects or have to be eaten in large quantities before they do much damage. However, it is best to be aware of any possible toxic effect a plant may have, especially when considering planting up gardens for young children. Don't let this list put you off eating apples!

POISONOUS FLOWERS

LILY OF THE VALLEY (Convallaria): Beautiful dark green plants with white bell-shaped flowers, often seen growing wild in woodland. The whole plant is highly toxic if ingested.

DAFFODIL (Narcissus): the stems but especially the bulbs can cause stomach upset.

FOXGLOVE (Digitalis): the whole plant including flower is highly toxic and can affect the cardiovascular system as well as the gastrointestinal system.

HYACINTH (Hyacinthus): as with the daffodil, the bulb can cause stomach upset and generally affects the gastrointestinal system. Note that the BLUE BELL are also in the same family.

BUTTERCUP: the milky-white juice in the stems of the buttercup can cause damage to the gastrointestinal system and also irritate the skin.

IRIS (Iridaceae): the whole plant can cause stomach upset and discomfort, but the tubers in particular affect the gastrointestinal system.

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE (Atropa): the whole plant is very toxic.