Gardening with Youth

Engaging with children in a garden is an opportunity to help them learn connections to the natural world by tending the soil, planting seeds, and watching their garden grow. Together you can experience the joy and satisfaction of gardening by celebrating a butterfly on a flower or tasting a newly ripened fruit. In the links below you can find educational resources for educators and parents.

1. Starting a School Garden
2. Cooking with Kids in the School Garden
3. Learning Through the Garden

Webinars and Programs for Children

1. Starting Your Indoor Garden
   A one hour webinar for youth in grades 4-8 who are interested in starting an indoor garden.
2. 4-H Victory Gardeners STEP Club

   Join us for a virtual Short-Term Exploratory Program (STEP). Young people in grades 4–12 are invited to join us for virtual meetings to help grow an at home vegetable garden! Weekly classes May-June.

3. Junior Master Gardener Facebook Live Series
   Free weekly Facebook live sessions led by Junior Master Gardener staff provide garden activities for youth.

Getting Started

1. Gardening Activities for Youth
   This fact sheet identifies gardening activities and tasks as age approporiate levels from the toddler years to the teen years.
2. Garden in the City - Curriculum for Gardening with Children
   The Garden in the City project is designed for youth and leaders who have had little experience with gardening and limited space. It is a step-by-step guide to beginning gardening. Garden planning, site cleaning, breaking ground, planting, weeding, thinning and harvesting are all covered.
3. 4-H Junior Gardeners Club
   This curriculum is designed for youth in grades K -3 and walks through a series of activities to engage young people in gardening.
4. 4-H Seeds Club
   This curriculum is designed for youth in grades K -3 and walks through a series of activities around seeds.
5. Junior Master Gardener
   The Junior Master Gardener program offers extensive gardening curriculum for youth groups and online kids gardening activities.

Family Fun Pages

1. Carrots (PDF)
   Learn all about carrots - recipes, serving suggestions, nurtiional benefits. Check out the Cooking with Children section for tips and tricks of working in the kitchen with your children.
2. Leafy Greens (PDF)
   Learn all about lettuce - recipes, related activities, facts. Take a look at the book suggestions to help your children learn more about lettuce.
3. Peppers (PDF)
   Learn all about peppers - recipes, types, serving suggestions, and facts.
4. Radishes (PDF)
   Learn all about radishes - recipes, types, serving suggestions, and facts. Be sure to try your playing with your food by making a mouse out of a radish.
5. Spinach (PDF)
   Learn all about spinach - recipes, facts, activities and nutritional benefits. Don't miss the recipe for Pita Pizza with Cheese and Spinach - a fun way to introduce your child to spinach.
6. Strawberries (PDF)
   Learn all about strawberries - recipes, facts, preserving suggestions, and nurtiional benefits. Make a strawberry themed fruit wheel craft project with your children.
7. Tomatoes (PDF)
   Learn all about tomatoes - recipes, types, serving suggestions, and facts.
8. Sugar Snap Peas (PDF)
   Learn all about peas - recipes, types, facts, and serving suggestions. Try your hand at growing more than one type of peas in your garden.

Partner Resources

1. Celebrate Earth Day and 50 Years of NJDEP
2. Learning Through Gardening at Home (from NJ Ag Society)
3. The Backyard Naturalist (from NJ Fish & Wildlife)

Resources

1. Plant Diagnostic Lab
2. Soil Testing Lab
3. Rutgers Master Gardeners
4. Lawn and Garden FAQ
5. Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network
6. Professional Training
7. NJAES Event Calendar
8. All NJAES Publications