Charlie Nardozzi of the National Gardening Association has some great ideas to help get kids interested in gardening.
The National Gardening Association's Growing Ideas catalog, designed for use by parents and teachers, includes all sorts of ideas and projects to help you get started in gardening with kids. Simple gardening projects are fun -- and they can also help children develop reading, math and science skills.
Here are some simple projects to try with your kids:
It's easy to grow a citrus tree from the seeds you find in an orange or a grapefruit. Just place a seed in a container of potting soil, no more than 1" deep, keep it watered, and provide a warm, sunny location. In three or four weeks a citrus tree will sprout from the soil.
Potatoes are easy to grow too. Take an old potato that's begun to sprout in the pantry, and cut off a few inches of the sprouted end. Stick some toothpicks in the potato to support it over a glass jar filled of water. Place the cut side down in the water, and put the jar in a sunny location. The next thing you know, potato vines will have sprouted. Make sure the water level doesn't dip below the cut end of the potato.
You can use the same method for planting carrot tops. Cut off the top 1" of a carrot (figure A). If it's still green inside, it will grow. Set the cut top in a shallow bowl of water so that the water just covers the base and allows the top to stay above the surface. In a week or so you'll see new growth. Keep the water topped off so the carrot doesn't dry out.
Avocados can be grown in the same manner as potatoes. Save an avocado seed, pierce it with toothpicks, and suspend it with the flat side down above a jar of water. Make sure the bottom of the seed is always in contact with the water. Avocados may take several weeks or even a month to get going, so be patient. Once the seed has sprouted and produced leaves and roots, you can transplant the young tree into a container of soil (figure B). Don't plant the seed too deeply in the soil: it should still be visible above the surface after planting.
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