How to grow your child’s green thumb

Children who cultivate a green thumb are well set for life, and there are plenty of simple ways to make gardening fun.

Plant the seeds of craft and creativity in your children with clever gardening ideas as COVID-19 restrictions ease.

Getting your hands dirty and tending a plant can provide hours of entertainment for families according to Better Homes And Gardens green thumb Melissa King.

The options for garden creativity are endless, however King suggested starting with projects such as building miniature terrariums, making ‘poppy dolls’, planting herb gardens and creating potted veggie gardens.

“Use an old recycled glass jar to create a miniature terrarium,” King said. “You’ll need a jar with a screw-on lid, some small indoor plants, pebbles, horticultural charcoal and potting mix. Put a layer of pebbles at the bottom of the jar for drainage and a layer of charcoal to help keep the terrarium clean. Add a good layer of potting mix and start planting. Get creative and decorate the soil surface with little rocks, moss or fun figurines.

“Seal the jar and pop it in a bright spot away from direct light.”

Fox (11) and Jet (13) helping out in the family's vege garden in Macedon. Picture Jay Town

King said planting ‘fun’ flowers with kids was a great way to help them catch the gardening bug.

“We all remember popping the buds on mum’s fuchsias, the fascination with giant sunflowers and “scary” Venus flytraps,” she said.

“Why not get the kids to plant a patch of quirky, colourful flowers. They’ll love chocolate Cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) with rich burgundy flowers that really smell like chocolate.

“Plant a patch of poppies and introduce kids to ‘poppy dolls’ which are made by gently pulling down the petals and tying string or ribbon around the stem to form a ‘waist’.”

Potted kitchen gardens allow kids to grow their own vegetables and could be done in a garden or on a balcony.

“Choose big, colourful pots and put them in a sunny spot,” King said.

“Fill them almost to the top with potting mix, don’t forget to wear your gardening gloves, and get planting.

“There are lots of dwarf or compact growing veggies which do really well in pots at this time of year like mini cabbages or mini cauliflower, lettuce and silverbeet with colourful stems. Liquid feed them every two weeks and you’ll be harvesting in no time. Don’t forget to make some crafty plant labels too.”

Getting your hands dirty and tending a plant can provide hours of entertainment for families according to Better Homes And Gardens green thumb Melissa King. Picture: Supplied

King also suggested planting a pot of your favourite pizza herbs, like basil, rosemary, oregano and parsley.

“Once they grow you can host your own little pizza party,” she said.

Another fun project for kids was to dry and store seeds.

“Pumpkins are ripe and ready so now is a great time to save and store the seed,” King said. “Scoop out the pulp and pumpkin seeds from inside the pumpkin, put them in a colander and rinse to separate the pulp from the seeds. Pick out the biggest seeds, place them onto a piece of paper towel and put them in a dry spot with good airflow for a couple of weeks until they are nice and dry. Pop them in an envelope and store them somewhere cool and dry until spring when they are ready to plant.”

Other garden craft ideas include decorating terracotta flower pots with paint or markers and painting rocks in a garden or balcony garden.

King said ‘grass eggheads’ were another easy-to-make option. All you need is boiled egg shells, tops cut off and egg scooped out, potting mix, grass seeds and a permanent marker. “Draw a fun face on the egg shell. Fill the egg almost to the top with potting mix and sprinkle on some grass seeds. “Cover the grass seed with a thin layer of soil and water them in with a gentle mist from a spray bottle. In a matter of days the grass will start to shoot and you’ll have a full head of hair in just over a week.”