Young gardeners are found in all age brackets. They could be a toddler or a senior citizen. They’re young at gardening and need tips to help them improve their growing skills. Winter gardening tips to enjoy with young gardeners will help them stay interested and motivated so when spring comes, they will still want to get busy planting seeds and growing food.
You need a little creativity during winter to keep young gardeners interested and focused on the next growing season. Enjoy these tips with young gardeners during the winter so they will be anxious to get back outside in the garden next spring.
Get Them Interested
Pique the young gardeners’ interest by asking them if they know where their favorite fruit or vegetable comes from. Then talk a little bit about how the favorite food is grown.
They may be surprised to learn that blackberries grow on thorny bushes, sunflowers turn their flowerheads to follow the sun during the day, and that carrots come in rainbow colors.
Get Them Excited
Check out some online garden supply centers with your young gardeners and check out some of the unusual plants that can be grown in your climate.
Chocolate cherry tomatoes, Indian corn, watermelon radishes, and white eggplants are fun foods that are easy to grow in a home garden. Allow young gardeners to pick out a couple of interesting fruits or vegetables to plant in the spring garden. It will get them excited about the upcoming gardening season.
Get Them Involved
This winter, teach the young gardeners how to re-grow food from items in your kitchen.
- Re-grow celery by placing the bottom end of the stalk in a shallow glass of water. In a few days, you and your young gardeners will notice new leaves emerging from the celery stalk. Transplant the stalk into a container of soil. In a few weeks a new stalk of celery will be ready to harvest.
- Potato peels with ‘eyes’ can be planted in soil and new potatoes will grow and be ready to harvest in a few weeks.
- Onions, leeks, and scallions can be re-grown by placing the bulb end into water. New edible green tops will begin to grow from the bulb in a few days.
- Carrots, beets, and parsnips can be re-grown during the winter and ready to transplant outside into a spring garden. Cut 1/2-inch (1.25cm) of the top portion of these vegetables and place in a shallow container of water. In a few days, new green sprouts will emerge from the tops that will grow into new edible plants in the spring.
Winter Is A Busy Time
Winter is a busy time for old and young gardeners alike. It’s a time to get prepared for a new and exciting garden adventure when the warmer months return.
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