Garden Time Review and Giveaway – Can Gardening Get Any Easier?

grown and lit
Indoor Herb Garden ready to use
Garden Time is an automated grow system that makes indoor gardening super easy and we’ve got 4 kits to give away!
When we were contacted by Garden Time to ask if we would like to do a review of their product, I’ll be honest, I thought it would be some new fangled gadget, BUT I was pleasantly surprised. Continue reading

Writing Names on Fruit and Vegies

Message on a Banana
Message on a Banana
WRITING NAMES AND DESIGNS ON FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Scratching your children’s name into growing pumpkins, zucchinis or melons is such a fun and simple activity, but it gives the children months’ worth of enjoyment as they watch their creations grow!
Here are 3 tried and tested edibles that work really well for this activity:

  • Pumpkins, zucchinis (and any other members of the squash family)
  • Watermelon
  • Passion fruit (scratch your design while they’re still green)

Continue reading

Kids' Gardening Books Reviewed

Herbert Peabody and the Incredible Beehive
Finding quality kids gardening books can be a bit of a challenge at times, so this blog reviews two new books on the market; Herbert Peabody and the Incredible Beehive by Bianca C. Ross, illustrated by Tabitha Emma Bray and Garden to Table – A Kid’s Guide to Planting, Growing and Preparing Food by Katherine Hengel.

Herbert Peabody and the Incredible Beehive by Bianca C. Ross, illustrated by Tabitha Emma Bray

What a breath of fresh air! A kid’s book that highlights the benefits of bees to gardens and the environment! Continue reading

10 Tips To Get Children Involved In The Garden

Fun In The Garden
Fun In The Garden
We are frequently asked “How can I get my kids interested in gardening?”.  And these days with easy access to a range of electronic entertainment devices, it is more important than ever to encourage children to create their own garden and grow their own food.  Here are our top ten tips to encourage your kids into the garden.     Continue reading

Bush Tucker – Warrigal Greens

Warrigal green quiche
What better way to celebrate National Reconciliation Week than with a popular bush tucker plant and recipe.
Back when I was in school, we were taught that Australian history began when Captain Cook “discovered” Australia.  And celebrations of Indigenous culture were almost non-existent. Thank goodness things have changed!
Nowadays, we have a Welcome to Country ceremony at most official functions. Children are immersed in Indigenous culture from their pre-school days.  And at school, Australian history begins long before 1770.
Bush tucker is becoming increasing popular and many of the plants are super easy for kids to grow. In this blog, we will highlight a bush tucker plant that you will probably have seen growing wild and thought it was just a weed. Continue reading

Winter Vegie Growing Competition

Winter vegie growing challenge
Yates and Junior Landcare have teamed up again to offer children, families, schools and community groups some fabulous prizes just by growing their own winter vegies and sharing their story.
Yates will be providing free seeds and Gardening 4 Kids stocks plenty of child friendly garden tools, equipment and gloves to help you on your way with the challenge.  And this year, our very own Erica Lovel will be on the judging panel.
Gardening 4 Kids will be offering tips and advice throughout the Challenge via our Facebook and Twitter pages. We will share our successes and our failures! Continue reading

250 Garden Grants up for Grabs

Lower King Community Kindergarten WA
The Coles Junior Landcare Garden Grants program is offering funding of up to $1,000 to schools and youth groups to help create gardens in their grounds and communities.
Coles has sponsored the grants program since 2008, and has seen a broad range of projects come to fruition, including vegetable gardens, composting and worm farms, Indigenous bush tucker gardens and green walls. Continue reading

Top Tips for Encouraging Your Child to Eat More Vegies

 

growing cabbage
Growing Cabbage
There is nothing more satisfying or heart-warming than discovering your child in the vegie patch munching enthusiastically on something fresh, super healthy and delicious (unless of course it’s your prize winning crop of strawberries that you were saving for the top of your Sunday pav!)
Current research clearly shows the importance of children being involved with what they’re growing.  My children seem to be about 400% more likely to eat vegies they have grown themselves! Continue reading

Gardening Gift Ideas for Kids

Flower Patch Garden Kit for kids
Planeteco’s Flower, Herb and Vegie Patch Kits are the perfect gifts for kids who love gardening.
We are often asked about gardening gift ideas for kids. Here are our top gift suggestions that cater for a wide range of ages, abilities and likes. If you need any further advice or have any questions please email us at info@gardening4kids.com.au.

  1. My First Gardening Tools– This set is the perfect gift for any little green thumb whether they are new to gardening or “old hands”. They come in four different colours (blue, green, orange and pink) and feature a set of gardening tools, a pair of gloves and a bucket. Continue reading

Mini Blogger – Composting by Sophia aged 11

Sophia and compost bin
Sophia Mixing Her Compost
Why compost?
Composting is a great way to reduce waste and feed your garden. By composting your fruit and vegetable scraps you are not only doing a good deed for nature but you are helping reduce pollution; for example when you throw your fruit and veggie scraps in the normal rubbish bin it rots and produces toxic gasses. When you compost you avoid this.
By composting you are also creating a cycle: first you eat the fruit and/or vegetables and then throw the scraps in your compost bucket, when your compost bucket gets full you take the bucket out to your big compost bin and over time the scraps will break down so that you can use it on your veggie garden. This is excellent soil for your new vegetables to grow healthy and also saves you money because you don’t have to buy soil. Once it has all broken down you can use it on your garden, then when your fruits and veggies are ready to pick the cycle restarts. Continue reading