[justthegirls]

DD is almost 8 and showing a keen interest in gardening. Problem is, I know nothing about it. For Christmas I want to put together a pack type thing for her of things she'll need to get started, but I don't know what she'll need.

We only have a courtyard with no garden at all, so will need a pot of some sort I'm guessing. Our courtyard gets the full afternoon sun with no shade at all. We're in Melbourne if that helps at all. I think she'd love to have a go at growing her own vegies, but don't know if that's possible in a pot? If not, is there something that's pretty hardy and easy to grow that I should consider? What would she need equipment wise?

I've been looking online for a starter kit type thing but no luck so far. I've tried Bunnings also and they didn't really have anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Amanda_R]

Here's what I would get:

1. A nice big pot, or a few smaller ones. Ensure they are wide and deep enough.

2. Good quality potting mix, perlite, a bottle of seasol concentrate, a bag/s of mulch, maybe some slow release fertilizer or similar.

3. Tomato or snow pea seedlings are good starter plants, or strawberries. You may want a trellis to grow them on too (you can get pots that come with them or buy them separately). Twine also to tie them up.

4. A nice watering can, you can get pink or purple (and other colours) steel watering cans that would make a good present

4. Kids gardening gloves, some small gardening tools (trowel, cultivator). You can get childrens gardening tool sets but they may be a bit small for an 8-yo and they tend to break pretty easily. They are available online and I have seen them in toy shops though.

5. A nice book about container gardening for children.

6. Perhaps a mini greenhouse and a variety of other seeds so she can raise seeds from scratch too (might be better to do that down the line).

7. Maybe a membership to the Diggers club, or the Little Diggers club if it's still active.

8. Maybe some 'gardening' hand wash and moisturiser for after she's done in the garden.

There was some others more relevant to the gardening itself but I can't remember now lol. I'd look mostly for container gardening books or kids container gardening books, given that's mostly what you'll be doing. Pretty much all of the above is available from Bunnings, short of the books and the child specific tool kits, but you can build your own which you will probably find your daughter will get more use out of anyway. The smaller growing kits are usually pretty insubstantial, or the pots made from cheap plastic that breaks too easily etc.

Good luck!

[silk]

Here's what I would get:

1. A nice big pot, or a few smaller ones. Ensure they are wide and deep enough.

2. Good quality potting mix, perlite, a bottle of seasol concentrate, a bag/s of mulch, maybe some slow release fertilizer or similar.

3. Tomato or snow pea seedlings are good starter plants, or strawberries. You may want a trellis to grow them on too (you can get pots that come with them or buy them separately). Twine also to tie them up.

4. A nice watering can, you can get pink or purple (and other colours) steel watering cans that would make a good present

4. Kids gardening gloves, some small gardening tools (trowel, cultivator). You can get childrens gardening tool sets but they may be a bit small for an 8-yo and they tend to break pretty easily. They are available online and I have seen them in toy shops though.

5. A nice book about container gardening for children.

6. Perhaps a mini greenhouse and a variety of other seeds so she can raise seeds from scratch too (might be better to do that down the line).

7. Maybe a membership to the Diggers club, or the Little Diggers club if it's still active.

8. Maybe some 'gardening' hand wash and moisturiser for after she's done in the garden.

There was some others more relevant to the gardening itself but I can't remember now lol. I'd look mostly for container gardening books or kids container gardening books, given that's mostly what you'll be doing. Pretty much all of the above is available from Bunnings, short of the books and the child specific tool kits, but you can build your own which you will probably find your daughter will get more use out of anyway. The smaller growing kits are usually pretty insubstantial, or the pots made from cheap plastic that breaks too easily etc.

Good luck!

Sunflower seeds can be fun for kids as well, anything that is going to put some decent early growth will help encourage the habit. For easy, fast growing vegetables, it's hard to go past radishes... though it would be best if she liked them