When spring comes around each year, it is a time of new beginnings, and nicer weather. Spring also is a time when you start to get your yard ready for your spring vegetable garden. Your child was still too young to help before, but now your child has shown an interest in helping, and you can easily find ways for your child to help with your spring vegetable garden!

Spring Vegetable Gardens: A Lesson in Patience

Children are usually quite exuberant, and throw tantrums when they do not get what they want quickly. Thus, as a parent it is important to teach them the value of patience. Indeed, getting your spring vegetable garden ready is a perfect way to teach your child this important virtue.

Begin the preparation for the spring vegetable garden by getting the soil ready for the planting. This usually means tilling the grass, and then getting rid of residual weeds. Get down on your hands and knees with the child, and together start lucking out the weeds. Your child will gain a sense of accomplishment with this task.

Once the soil is ready, the next step is figuring out what vegetables you would like to plant in your spring vegetable garden. Take your child to your local gardening center, and have your child pick out a packet of seeds and choose a vegetable to plant. Tell your child that the chosen vegetable plant will be entirely in your child’s care. This will teach your child a sense of responsibility.

When the time comes to plant the vegetables, you plant a seed, and then teach your child how to plant the next one. When it comes time to water the plants, allow your child to water them with the hose if you child wishes. This teaches your child basic gardening techniques.

The fun comes when the child watched the vegetable plants get bigger over time. The child might begin by being a bit impatient waiting for the seeds to grow, but make it into a game, where together each day you go out to the garden and see if any seeds have gotten bigger yet.

Vegetable gardening is a wonderful hobby for children and adults alike. Not only do you get to eat the results of your hard work, but what you eat is nutritious. Not only this, but gardening with your child can result in many wonderful memories, and that alone is truly priceless.