Organic Gardening for Kids

Winter is a great time to tidy up and prepare your garden for the coming season's planting. Manure and compost can be dug into beds designated for vegetable growing. It is important to clear and compost dead or rotting plant material as it can harbour pests and diseases.  You can get started on your crops as early as February, sowing peppers and tomatoes indoors on a windowsill. Gardening with kids is a great way to teach them about biodiversity and when growing vegetables and fruit, they gain a better understanding of where our food comes from.

What to Grow

Organic gardening is particularly useful in relation to food production. Food plants should be chosen  using a number of criteria. Firstly it pays to grow what you and your family like to eat as it is very unrewarding to spend a whole season tending to a crop for it to end up in the bin. Secondly, emphasise plants that require less fertiliser, water and time but still produce well; this can be difficult as these plants often contravene the first rule! You should also choose plants that are suited to our growing conditions. With climate change it may be possible to grow more tender plants but the changes have also brought about less predictable weather patterns resulting in water shortages or excesses at different times in the season. Lastly, start small - it is much more satisfying to have one good crop than a lot of spectacular failures.

Where to Grow

The location of your plants has a big impact on how well they grow. For instance, it is possible to create very effective microclimates for plants with special needs, such as growing peaches against a wall painted white. Convenience also plays a big part in a successful organic garden, so grow plants in locations that are easily accessible (herbs will be used and looked after far more often if they are located next to the kitchen door)

How to Grow

Mulching

Mulching is an essential technique for the organic gardener. It consists of laying (preferably) organic material over bare soil to improve plant growth. It works on many levels including the prevention of water and wind erosion, temperature regulation, reduced need for watering, weed suppression and the addition of nutrients. Mulch materials are many and varied including wood chips, gravel, black plastic, straw or even old carpets.

Nutrients

It is important to maintain soil fertility in the garden. One of the best ways of doing this is by composting all your organic waste. This produces a highly nutritious compost ready for use in your garden after about a year. For a quicker turn-around consider using a wormery which also has the secondary benefit of producing a rich liquid fertiliser from the run off. Growing green manures such as comfrey, fenugreek or clover has a big effect on soil fertility. These plants can be cut down at the end of there growing season and dug right into the soil. Children love to get involved in the composts and wormeries and are sometimes even more fastidious than their parents at ensuring that the right waste goes into the right receptacle. It's educational for them to see the way in which food waste can be transformed into compost through their efforts, and used to help grow food again. It's a satisfying cycle and the ultimate lesson in recycling.

Pests and diseases

A healthy garden is a diverse garden. Growing a wide variety of plants encourages beneficial wildlife which in turn helps to manage the less beneficial ones. Companion plating can also be an effective means of pest control, Marigolds are well known discouragers of problem insects but many herbs have strong essential oils that are also quite effective (eg Lemon Balm which contains citronella). Crop rotation is another important aspect of organic vegetable gardening this helps prevent the build up of soil diseases that occur when the same plant is grown for more than one season in the same place.

Most importantly, involve the children in all the decision making, discussing what plants should be grown where, and how the crops should be rotated.