A Gardening With Kids Project
Children love growing things, but sometimes
they need a little encouragement and some
instruction to get them interested. Having
children decorate their own clay flower pot
and helping them plant Calendula, which is also
known as pot marigold is a great way to begin
a gardening journey that often last their entire
lifetime.
Calendula is an easy to grow annual that is edible and
grows quickly. It blooms midsummer until the
frost in the fall and is perfect for a child's first
plant.
You will need:
Calendula seeds
potting soil
8-10 inch Clay pots
1" foam brush
fine-point brush
primer paint-a white base is good
assorted craft paints
The pot:
Brush a coat of primer paint on the surface of the
clay pot. Let it dry. Children may paint the top of
the pot a different color or use dots, stripes, zig
zags etc. to decorate. Let each color dry before
adding another. Allow the pot to dry completely for
a day or so before using.
Planting the seeds:
Place small rocks in the bottom of the pot for drainage
and fill with potting soil about an inch from the top.
Place four seeds in the
soil, poking them in lightly. They should be evenly
spaced so there is an equal amount of room between
each one and edge of the pot. If all four come up you will have
to thin them later by choosing two of the best looking
seedlings. Cover the seeds with more soil until the
pot is almost filled. Water lightly, making sure the soil
is moistened, but the seeds are not disturbed. Place the
pot in a sunny spot outside on a deck, porch or on a windowsill.
Be sure to not let the soil
dry out, but keep it moist until the seedlings appear. After
this water, but don't keep the soil "soggy". When the plant
because larger and established, watering once a day will be
fine. On very hot days it may need to be watered
twice if it's outside.
There is so much you can do at this point
with your child. They can keep a notebook to record
the growth of their plant, when it blooms, how many
flowers, how often they water it etc. You can use it
as a learning tool for measurements and graphing, or
keep it simple and concentrate on the growing and
nurturing of plant life.
Teach them to
pinch off the blooms as they wither, and more will
continue to grow, which is called deadheading. Near the
end of the summer stop
pinching the flowers off, and seeds will form. The calendula
seeds in particular are very interesting and super easy to
dry and harvest. Let them
dry on the plant, collect them and save for next year.
Let your child decorate envelopes and give some of
the seeds to friends and family members with directions
on how to grow. You can also do this same project with
nasturtium or dwarf zinnia seeds.
More Kid's Gardenings
Growing Sunflowers
Easy Annuals
Gardening with Kids