Gardening is great! It’s even better when you do it with someone! And kids love getting in the dirt and playing around to begin with. So why not show them how to build and grow their own square foot garden. Whether it’s a garden of fruits and vegetables that they get to eat, or just pretty flowers that they get to nurture and watch grow, it’s a great learning opportunity for children.

Taking things from seed to flower has so many lessons that can be taught, practical and educational. So here’s how to teach kids to grow their own garden:

10 Steps to Get Your Kids to Garden

1. Get them interested—The interest has to be there for gardening before you even start. It’s not too hard to get kids interested. Just show them what it’s all about. Show them the way a seed turns from a seed into a plant. You can even go with the gross angle if it will work with your grandchild. Sometimes the bugs and creepy crawlies will really draw a child in. Know your child’s interests and play to that. It will make it fun and your child will really get into it.

2. Get the right tools for the job—How fun is anything if the tools you have are too big or too small for you to use? It’s just frustrating. Get your grandchild his and/or her own gardening tools: gloves, aprons, rake, shovel, watering can, etc. Make sure it’s kid sized and bright colors will really draw them in. You might even want to let your child pick out his own tools.

3. Begin growing things that are easy to grow—Let your grandchild be involved in the decision making on what to grow, but help steer him in the direction of things that are easier for beginners to grow. You might not want something that’s going to take a long harvest time because a child will lose interest if he doesn’t see the fruits of his labor quickly.

Here are some great suggestions of what you could try with your beginner gardener. All of these will be great to try with your beginning gardener:

• Tomatoes
• Sunflowers
• Marigolds
• Squash
• Radishes
• Peas
• Beans
• Sweet peas
• Pansies
• Poppies
• Lettuce

4. Down to the basics—To start out with you don’t want to make your grandchild do big jobs like tilling the soil and adding nutrients. You can do that without him/her (unless we’re talking about an older child who might have an understanding and interest in this sort of thing). This is stuff that can be taught later, though, after they realize how fun it is to grow their own garden.

Start out showing them how to plant the seed in the dirt—You can either plant first in some egg cartons or directly into the ground. Planting in egg cartons is great for smaller children to keep those seeds in place. You can put the egg carton right in the ground and it will disintegrate, leaving the seeds in their place to grow and thrive.

5. Be one with all of nature—There is beneficial wildlife to your garden, but there are some creatures you’d like to keep away. Help your grandchild learn the difference between the two. And come up with ways to attract the critters you want around to help pollinate your garden and the ones you want to keep away.

6. Show them the magic of gardening—Nothing gets a child more excited than magic. And gardening is a magical thing. Like if you take the cutting of a begonia plant and replant it another will grow. This will amaze them and have them wanting to try it with other plants.

7. Decorate—Get creative and use things from around the house to decorate the garden. Make your own pinwheels to set up around the garden. Decorate planters for the flowers they grow to be planted in. Make a bird feeder to go in your garden. Nothing fancy, but brainstorm with your child to make this garden his own.

8. Don’t forget to care for the garden—Once the seeds are planted, children need to know that now the real work begins. We need to be aware of what unwanted vegetation is (weeds) and how to best dispose of it (pulling) to keep what we’re trying to grow strong and healthy. Plenty of water and sunshine will be important to help our newly-planted plants grow healthy and strong.

9. Don’t stop just because the season changes—Keep the garden going year round, even if that means moving it indoors for the time being.

10. Always be enthusiastic—Be willing to try new things with your grandchild. Before you know if your little gardener is going to be a pro and might even teach you a thing or two!

So get out there and get growing that garden with your grandkids. Remember to have fun! It’s not a chore—it’s a hobby. Treat it as such and you’ll never get tired of it!