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Engaging Planting Methods for Kids

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17 views2 pages

Engaging Planting Methods for Kids

Uploaded by

Ankur
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

PLANTING METHODS

Article by Amber Ellis (FoodCorps NC alumni / Brunswick County Cooperative Extension)

Gertrude Jekyll, said, “A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful
watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.” Children are
curious and like to learn by doing. A garden provides a space for children to experience
the responsibility for nurturing living things over time.
Starting a garden through planting seeds and transplants allow youth to dig in the soil
and observe seeds pushing through the surface, unfolding leaves and eventually maturing
to be harvested and eaten. Below is a list of different planting methods that one might
use with children.

SEED TAPE BROADCASTING


1. Cut lengths of toilet paper, paper towel, Take a handful of seeds and simply toss or
tissue paper, or newspaper into 2-3 inch sprinkle across a small patch of open soil.
FIGURE 4-1 Seed tape can be made by children
wide strips Water the area and let grow!
gluing seeds to strips of paper towel.
2. Check the seed packet to see how far
Skills and curricula potential:
to space the seeds and mark the paper
multiplication, compound words
with a pencil or marker.
“broad”+”cast”
3. Add a dot of all-purpose, non-toxic glue
(school glue works well) to each mark. Advantages: quick, least messy
4. Top each glue dot with a seed and allow Disadvantages: non-precise, lots of seeds
to dry.
Examples: winter peas, black eyed peas,
5. Roll or fold and store until ready to clover, buckwheat
plant
6. When ready, dig a shallow row, place
tape, and cover with soil to the depth
indicated on seed packet.
7. Water and let grow!
8. Skills and curricula potential: fine
motor skills, measurements, fractions,
multiplication
Skills and curricula potential: measuring
length, area, estimating, fractions
Advantages: easy planting
Disadvantages: requires more materials
and prep time
FIGURE 4-2 Let students explore seeds before Examples: carrots, lettuce, radishes,
planting spinach, turnips,
ROW PLANTING TRANSPLANTS
1. Dig one, long, row to the appropriate 1. Dig a hole about the same size as the
depth for your seeds root ball of your seedling.
2. Give each student a seed. 2. Place seedling in and “tuck in” the
3. Have the students take turns measuring plant with soil.
a placing their seeds 3. Give plenty of water
4. Once all seeds are placed, refill the row Skills and curricula potential:
with soil measurements, fractions, pre-fix meanings
5. Water and let grow! and compound words
Skills and curricula potential: Advantages: quicker growing and
measurements, fractions production time
Advantages: quicker, every student gets Disadvantages: costlier than seeds, fewer
to plant opportunities to plant
FIGURE 4-3 Big seeds like pumpkins or peas are Disadvantages: less student involvement Examples: kale, collards, tomatoes,
easy for little hands to sow. peppers, eggplant,
Examples: beets, chard, carrots, radishes,
lettuce

FIGURE 4-4 Transplants ensure plants will FIGURE 4-5 Youth planting and caring for their seeds develop responsibility and respect for nature.
establish quickly in the garden.

Common questions

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Broadcasting offers skills in multiplication and learning compound words, with the advantage of being a quick and less messy method but is non-precise and uses a lot of seeds. In contrast, row planting teaches measurements and fractions, allows each student to plant a seed, and is more precise due to structured seed placement, which ensures proper spacing and alignment of plants .

The primary disadvantages of broadcasting are its non-precision and the excessive use of seeds, which can lead to uneven growth and wastage. Improvements could include using a broadcast seeder to ensure more even distribution, combining with light raking to cover seeds and increase contact with soil, or dividing the area into sections to control seed density manually .

Engaging children in gardening can enhance their understanding and appreciation of food sources, encouraging healthier eating habits by knowing the effort involved in growing produce. It fosters a connection with nature, instilling environmental stewardship and respect for living processes. Over time, this could lead to a more sustainable mindset, where children act consciously in their relationship with the environment, fostering holistic views on ecology .

Gardening teaches industry as it requires regular maintenance, care, and attention, teaching children the value of hard work and perseverance. Thrift is taught through understanding the resources used, learning to recycle (e.g., using waste paper for seed tape), and appreciating the value of homegrown produce. This hands-on experience fosters life skills of conservation, resourcefulness, and the intrinsic reward of reaping what they sow .

The advantages of using seed tape are that it provides an easy planting process and teaches skills like fine motor skills, measurements, fractions, and multiplication. However, it requires more materials and preparation time compared to other methods. Seed tape is suitable for planting small seeds like carrots and radishes .

Incorporating gardening into school curricula can enhance education by developing fine motor skills and arithmetic calculations through measurement and fractions in seed tape methods. Broadcasting introduces vocabulary like compound words and entrepreneurship aspects of agriculture. Each method also instills patience and a sense of responsibility and can be linked to broader sustainability discussions, fostering a comprehensive understanding of environmental sciences .

Gardens can function as educational spaces by integrating subjects such as math through measuring and estimating, science through studying plant growth, and language arts via vocabulary like compound words. Furthermore, they teach life skills like responsibility and environmentally-sustainable practices, promoting holistic growth. Gardens offer lessons tied to tangible outcomes, engaging students practically in the curriculum .

Gardening helps in developing patience and careful watchfulness in children by providing a space for them to nurture living things over time. As children observe seeds pushing through the soil and leaves unfolding, they learn to be patient and attentively watch the growth processes, which teach industry and thrift. The responsibility involved in maintaining a garden imparts lessons about trust and respect for nature .

The use of transplants is beneficial for plant growth because transplants establish quickly in the garden, offering quicker growing and production time. Educationally, this method can teach children about measurements and the meanings of prefixes and compound words while providing insights into the biology of seedlings. However, it tends to be costlier than seeds, offering fewer opportunities for children to plant from scratch .

Different planting methods accommodate various learning preferences and outcomes. Seed tape emphasizes fine motor skills and mathematical concepts like fractions. Broadcasting encourages understanding of natural processes through its simplicity. Row planting offers hands-on patience and measurement, while transplants provide immediate satisfaction from quick plant growth. Tailoring methods for specific skills can meet diverse educational objectives, fostering inclusivity in learning .

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