The Plant Lady: Garden projects can be great for young and old kids stuck at home

Gardening is a great pastime while practicing social distancing. However, gardening can be so much more. Every aspect comes with a lesson in science, art and patience.

For those at home with children, if you choose to every gardening project can be turned into a deeper scientific lesson; alternatively it can be a therapeutic retreat in these stressful, uncertain times. Below are some of my favorite projects that can be done with kids.

Build a Terrarium

Terrariums are a fun way to create a mini-forest. An old aquarium, large mason jar or any clear container with a lid can be used. No need for charcoal or gravel — simply use a seed starting mix and plant. Use small houseplants or even cuttings to get going. Water thoroughly and place in a sunny, but indirect light location. Make sure condensation forms and stays on the sides of the container. If there’s too little condensation, add water. Too much (running down the sides), just take the lid off and let the soil dry out a bit.

Start Summer Flowers and Seeds Inside

Now is the time to start summer vegetables/flowers — such as tomatoes, beans, peppers, zinnias and sunflowers — on a windowsill or under a grow light (even a fluorescent tube bulb works). Beans sprout very fast and can grow inches every day. To add a teaching lesson, have the kids measure day-to-day growth, count the leaves. If they are old enough, have them graph the growth. To turn it into a full-out science experiment, try growing seeds in different types of soil and watering with various liquids besides water.

Toilet Paper Roll Pots

Start those summer seeds inside toilet paper roll pots. Cut four slits up the sides (about a third way of the way up) and then fold like you would a box. This may require an older child to do, but younger kids can help fill the pot with soil. These pots degrade in about the same time that your seedlings are ready to go out into the ground.

Edible flowers

Why not grow flowers that can be enjoyed outside as well as inside? Nasturtiums, calendulas, snapdragons, pansies and hollyhocks are all edible flowers that can be planted now for late spring and summer flowers. Add these homegrown flowers to a salad or use to decorate cupcakes or cookies.

Sensitive Plant

Always a favorite of visitors at the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, this moving plant will keep kids entertained. When the leaves are touched or blown on, they quickly close as a defensive mechanism. Unlike the Venus fly trap that can take days and requires a lot of energy to open, the Sensitive plant opens back up in 10 minutes. Seeds are readily available at nurseries and online. Quickly submerge the seeds into boiling water for a few seconds to help with germination, then place in a seed starting soil. Native to tropical locales, the Sensitive plant will thrive indoors by a sunny window or outside in partial shade until winter, when it will need to be protected from cold.

Toothache Plant

This fun annual is also called the Electric Daisy, because when the flower is chewed on or even placed on the tongue it causes an electric/numbing sensation. Seeds are found online.

Sunflower Fort

March is the time to start your first round of sunflowers in the ground, by seed or plants. Plant tall varieties such as “Mammoth” or “Kong,” in a square, circle or any other shape you desire to create a fort for kids to crawl into.

Pressed Flowers

Every botanist has made a plant collection — get your kids started early. On your outings, collect interesting leaves and flowers. No need for a flower press. Place specimens inbetween newspaper pages and place in a large book. Add more books or bricks for increased weight. When they are pressed and dry they can be glued onto paper or arranged into a nice bouquet on paper. Perfect for decorating cards.

Start a worm compost

Worms may not be the thing for all kids, but hose that don’t mind earthworms will learn and enjoy from keeping them as “pets”. Plus, you get the added benefits of compost and worm tea. Worm composters as well as worms are available online, as well as instructions on how to use plastic bins to create your own. Yes, you can even keep these inside. Wormfancy.com is a great local source.

Starting veggies from food scraps

For everyday use I find this to be a gimmick, but for kids it can be a learning experience and a satisfying experiment. Take the remnants of veggies — especially celery and green onion bases — and place in shallow dishes of water. Place by a bright window and watch them sprout new harvestable growth. Seeds of avocados, citrus and pieces of potatoes can also be started inside.

Weeding

I’m just throwing this one out there. Weeding neighbor’s yards was my first job when I was 9, so I figure some kids may be old enough and trusted enough to do this task. My mom likes to tell the story about how my grandma made it a birthday party game — whichever kid picked the most weeds won. I don’t think I would trust most kids in my garden, but if you are willing to risk it, at least make it a game.