Master Gardener: Gardening with children

By Noreen Arnbrecht

Master Gardener

What child does not love digging in the dirt, playing in the water and finding funny, fuzzy little insects? Helping children plan and grow a small garden in a healthy outdoor environment is a great way to cultivate their curiosity and inspire a love of nature and gardening. Kids and gardening are a natural combination and a great way to spend time together as a family. Choosing a pumpkin patch as a gardening project is exciting because pumpkins are the happiest of vegetables and a "must" for children's gardens.

Here's how to get started and help kids have fun with the project:

TOOLS

Children love having their own tools, and they need special tools to fit smaller hands. Most garden shops and home-improvement centers have tools for children, including work gloves to fit little hands. Giving children serious tools helps acknowledge the importance of their gardening project. Be sure to include a hands-on lesson on how to use and care for each tool.

SEED SELECTION

Pumpkins are fun for children to plant because the seeds are bigger and easier for little hands to handle. Pumpkins are very colorful and come in all sizes and shapes, from the tiniest to the very huge. They make great pies, roasted seeds and best of all, Jack-o'-lanterns.

To help with seed selection, visit a local garden center or open a seed catalog to see the varieties of pumpkins from which to choose for the pumpkin patch. Most children love miniature pumpkins -- like Jack Be Little -- which is light gold, as well as the perfect little white Baby Boos varieties -- Park, Burpee and Shepherd's. Both types are just three inches across and well-suited to growing vertically on poles or wire trellises if space is limited.

Children are also drawn to the other end of the spectrum and like the gigantic Prize Winner Hybrids which are exhibition pumpkins and can grow to more than 300 pounds. These colossal pumpkins are round with glossy bright reddish-orange skin. Another popular large variety pumpkin is the pinkish-orange Big Max, a heavy pumpkin that often weighs in excess of 100 pounds and is 70 inches around.

SEED PREPARATION

Germination of the pumpkin seed is the first important step for a successful pumpkin patch. Start the germination process by preparing the seeds. Help children file the edges of each seed lightly with a nail file, especially the seeds of giant pumpkins because the shell is very thick. Do not file the pointed edge.

Explain that filing allows moisture into the seed more quickly and allows the leaves to emerge from the shell without damage.

After filing, children can soak the seeds in warm (not hot) water for an hour or two.

SOIL PREPARATION

Help select and set aside a large area in the garden for the pumpkin patch, as growing pumpkins requires a good amount of space. Vining pumpkins require 50 to 100 square feet per hill. Pumpkins are warm season vegetables and can be planted in late May, or when the soil has warmed up. Make sure the garden spot gets plenty of sun and is close to a readily available water source.

Till the area and add a soil amendment that guarantees the minimum percentage of nitrogen, phosphate and potash. Or consider adding an organic fertilizer derived from natural sources which is also available at garden centers and through horticulture supply companies.

PLANTING THE SEEDS

Mound the soil into low hills.

Make a saucer shape in the top of each mound and plant five or six seeds in the mound, one to two inches deep. Place the seed either on its side or with the pointed end down. Space the mounds 6 to 8 feet apart. (Seeds can also be sown in rows and the seedlings thinned to one plant every two to three feet). After planting, insert a Popsicle stick into the seed packet and put it in the ground next to the plant to mark the spot.

Seeds take up to 10 days to emerge and should be watered about every other day or when the soil appears dry. Do not soak the soil, as overly wet soil can cause disease.

After about two weeks, the seedlings will have their second leaves. Help select the strongest two or three seedlings in each mound and cut the remaining weaker seedlings at soil level. Cut, rather than pull, to avoid root damage to the stronger seedlings. When there are three pumpkins on a vine, help the child watch for and pick off new blossoms to insure each pumpkin gets proper nutrition.

As you are working together, explain what you are doing and why.

Tell children that plants, just like people, need to eat and drink. Encourage children to ask questions and ask them to tell you what they are noticing as the plants grow. Help them keep a garden calendar on the refrigerator door or in their room to track growth progress.

Children can even scratch their names on the surface of their own pumpkin when it is small. It is fun to watch the letters stretch out as the pumpkin grows.

THE GROWING SEASON

Small pumpkins take about 90 to 100 days to mature. Large ones take about 130 days.

Watering and weeding are not always the most fun activities but you can keep children interested by showing off the garden to friends and neighbors and giving "garden tours" throughout the growing season.

Take in-progress photos for scrap-booking and to show grandparents. And relax your standards -- crooked rows and a few weeds are OK.

Remember, one of the best things you may be growing is a future gardener with a life-long interest in plants.

HARVESTING THE CROP

Pumpkins are ready to harvest when they feel hard on the outside and sound hollow when tapped. Testing and tapping is fun for children.

Harvesting the pumpkin patch can be a fun fall family project done just before or just after the first frost. Be sure to leave a 2- to 3-inch stem handle on each pumpkin to hinder spoilage.

Store them in a cool, dry place and, as Halloween approaches, help the child host a pumpkin-carving party for friends.

Noreen Arnbrecht is a Master Gardener and lives in rural Greeley with her husband and her outdoor cat Gracie.

Breakouts:

What you'll need

«Garden Space

«Tools

«Seeds

«Soil preparation and amendments

«Water source

Cooperative Extension

Colorado State University Extension in Weld County provides unbiased, research-based information about consumer and family issues, gardening, natural resources, agriculture and 4-H youth development. As part of a nationwide system, Cooperative Extension brings the research and resources of the university to the community. In Weld County, the Cooperative Extension office is at Island Grove Regional Park, 525 N. 15th Ave., Greeley. For information, call (970) 305-6535, or visit the Web site at www.coopext.colostate.edu/WELD/.

On The Web:

Colorado State University -- www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/pubgard

www.planttalk.org

www.answerlink.info

CSU Extension Garden Notes No. 234 Organic Fertilizers

Pumpkins - Baby Pumpkins - Planttalk No.1801

Pumpkins - Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Squash, and Melons - Extension No. 7.609

Pumpkins - Growing Great Pumpkins - Planttalk No. 1807

Pumpkins - Harvesting Pumpkins - Planttalk No. 1829