Elementary School Garden Ideas

Children always enjoy watching a garden grow.

An elementary school garden enables children to enjoy the bounty of nature, from vegetable crops to the visual appeal that flowers bring forth every spring. Gardening can teach children how to care for plants and appreciate the earth. You can create a garden for your class if the school permits or help till the school garden. Every school is different, depending on the land that is available for gardening and the school rules.

Strawberry Patch

Enjoy the fruits of your harvest as a class.

Grow your own delicious strawberries for the children to enjoy. Show the children how to work the soil by tilling the ground and adding organic matter such as compost. The University of Illinois recommends planting June-bearing strawberries as soon as the ground is workable in the spring. Show the children how to water and care for the plants. Strawberry plants need about 2 inches of water per week. Have a strawberry picking and eating day once the berries are ripe and mature.

Mixed Vegetable Garden

Choose a variety of different tomatoes.

Teach the children how to care for a mixed vegetable garden. Growing a variety of crops including tomatoes, carrots, beets, potatoes and radishes. Create lesson plans that teach children about the importance of eating vegetables. Prepare the soil with the children by tilling the ground and adding fertilizer. The level of soil preparation needed varies, depending on where you live. Some soils need additional care to yield successful crops. Show the kids how to water the ground each week with 2 inches of water. Grow tomatoes in a separate location because these vegetables need more acidic soil. Show the kids how to test the pH of the soil and make changes to alter the pH. Adding limestone can make soil more alkaline; adding sulfur creates acidic soils. Buy a garden guidebook for your area and following growing instructions.

Flower Rock Garden

Show the children how to plant flowers in the early spring. Choose flowers that grow well in your area, perhaps daisies, pansies, tulips or posies. Help the children paint flat rocks in a rainbow of colors. The children can paint flowers and other designs on the rocks as well. Allow the paint to dry and use these rocks as a border for your flower garden.

Indoor Garden

Some schools have no land available for an elementary school garden. You can still grow plants and flowers by bringing the garden indoors. Buy large flower pots and allow the children to paint the pot with flowers, lizards and other decorations. Have each child paint her name on the pot as well. Buy potting mix and allow the children to plant what they prefer, such as flowers, peas or other plants. Dig a 3-inch hole and put three seeds inside. Water the plants weekly, place the pots on a sunny window and watch the plants flourish throughout the year.

References

• Oregon State University: Growing Your Own Vegetables
• Aggie Horticulture: School Gardens
• A to Z Teacher Stuff: Themes: Plants
• University of Illinois: Strawberries

Resources

• Cornell University: Growing Guide
• Kids Gardening: Why Youth Gardens