Keep Your Kids Busy Gardening With 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 Containers
Now let's begin with the garden pots. Containers are available in a wide variety of materials and styles. They can be made from plastic, stone, wood, clay, etc. Since they are lightweight and pretty hard to break, I recommend using plastic pots for safety reasons for kids. Wood containers would be a good second option. Wood containers are usually made to be decorative and not necessarily water proof so you will probably end up putting your plastic pot inside the wood one.
Now is a great time to have your kids decorate the pots. Acrylic paints work well on both plastic and wood. Look for paints that are non-toxic. Once the pots are decorated to your taste (or rather, your child's taste), you should pick out the location where you are going to put the pot as it can be heavy once its filled with soil and harder to move.
The Potting Soil
I recommend that instead of using just your average dirt, use a good potting soil. They are specially blended for small containers and hold water (a great benefit since there is less maintenance). Getting your plants off to a good start is always a great idea and is easy if you use the proper nutrients. Check the guide on the side of the fertilizer bag for the recommended amount to use. Just don't add too much as this could kill the plants.
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.
