Indoor Gardening for Kids - Start in a Dish

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Indoor Gardening for Kids - Start in a Dish

Indoor gardening for kids is actually much easier to handle than an outside garden. An indoor garden can be maintained in one area and you don't have to worry about taking your children out in the rain to pull weeds.

A root top garden is an easy way to start children on their first indoor gardening project. All you need to do is cut off the tops of root vegetables such as carrots, turnips or beets. Remove all of the leaves that are on the stems and cut the stems down to about half an inch. Then, put the stems in a shallow dish or pie plate and cover the bottom of the dish with water. Put decorative stones or pebbles in the bottom of the dish to make it more attractive.

Place the dish on a windowsill where it will get plenty of sunlight. Make sure you keep your root garden well watered. Leaves will begin to sprout in about two to three weeks.

Citrus fruits are also a good place to start for beginner indoor gardeners. Remove the seeds, which are called pips, from oranges, limes, lemons or grapefruit. Fill small planter pots with potting soil. Put two or three pips just beneath the surface of the soil in each pot. If you are planting more than one type of citrus seed, put small labels on each flower pot so that you can tell which kind of plant they are.

When you see the first shoots appear, place the pots in a sunny area such as a windowsill. After the plants have grown two pairs of leaves, carefully transfer each one to its own pot. It will take several months before you see the leaves transforming themselves into small citrus trees.

Another type of indoor garden for kids is greens, such as mustard or watercress. This type of garden is started by placing a paper towel on a dinner plate and soaking it with water. Tip the plate so that all excess water is poured off. Now, sprinkle watercress or mustard seeds over half of the paper towel. Cover the dish with another paper towel or another plate so that it is kept out of the light. When three days has passed, add more seeds to the other half of the paper towel that is on the bottom of the dish.

Make sure that the paper towel stays moist, but is not saturated with water. Re-cover the seeds for another few days. When that seedlings are about half an inch high, leave uncovered and place on a windowsill where they will get plenty of sunlight. Continue to keep the paper towels moist. Watercress and the mustard are ready for harvest when they are about three inches high. These greens are great used in salads or sandwiches.

You can also use any indoor plant as a child's first indoor garden. Since children love to watch for those first green leaves, it's more fun for them if you start the plants from seeds.

A child will remember his or her first garden with joy, and will want to graduate to an outdoor garden when older. So, teach your children the joys of gardening now for enjoyment that will last them a lifetime.