[muckbutno money]

My two grand daughters love planting things, at the moment they are growing sunflowers, marigolds, carnations, pansies and some packs of wild flowers that they got free at the Springwatch event in the town centre. The girls are 4 yrs and 2 yrs.

The 4 year old, Kiah, loves helping me to dead head and, I have to admit, she is very good at it. I don't let the little one dead head though as she is little over enthusiastic and pulls of every flower she can see!

It would seem that I have little gardeners in the making!

[fluffypebble]

Cherish it. I have to use blackmail, bribery and corruption.  Well extra pocket money, treats and not being grounded to get my 15 year old to the plot.

He is a good digger though.

[tetley]

Can't get my two to stay longer than 5 mins in my plot   shame really.

[wildeone]

my daughters LOVE the garden and my 4 year old gasped with exaggrated, but heart felt, delight when we cut and cooked our first courgette this evening!  Such  a magical age! I want to be 4 again!!!

[crowndale]

I think you have to catch them young!  My eldest has always suffered outdoors with his health (astma, eczema and hay fever) so he was a lost cause from the off.  My daughter spent her formative years in a succession of high rise flats in Hong Kong so was a lost cause as was no.2 son who was born there.  I am hoping for better success with any fostered children I may get once approved as a carer.  My own children just think I am insane.

[mrs plumtree]

My 8 and 10 yr olds have a piece of allotment each and are really enjoying watching their 'own' things coming up. We only gave started them this year (we took on a half allotment last year and another half this year) and they chose what they wanted to put in themselves. One has carrots, a curry plant and strawberry bushes and the other has potatoes, mixed herbs, mixed flowers and strawberry bushes.

They prefer their 'own' strawberries and are possesive over their pots and carrots (maybe a potential problem when it comes to eating them, lol). I think that's the difference from last years lacksadaisical help last year to lots of help all over the plot this year, letting them have their own personal patches. Long may it continue!

[Aunt Sally]

My "kids" love gardening...  but they are 29 aned 31 years old  :roll:

[Little Miss Muffet]

my 7 year old loves it.hes growing broad beans ,sunflower,cress, so far but also helps his mum and dad in the garden loads.
for a seven year old he is fab nearly every morning and nearly always the first thing he does from school is to go out and check how the plants are doing.he also enjoys slug patrol where he looks for slugs if he sees any they get salted .the only problem is there is slug puddles everywhere and i absolutley hate slugs i can not go ear them they make me cringe.

[flowergirl]

for my 9 year old everything on the allotment is boring but she likes watering and watching the fire in the incinerator(from a health and saftey approved distance of course!!)and riding her bike down the path as there is some "well cool" (in her words) bumps and she can get up some speed by the time shes at the car park!

[David.]

My very soon to be 12 year old used to love picking flowers, digging up potatoes, watering, etc. (50p for helping each time + wheelbarrow rides), but now all she wants to do is grow a bigger marrow than me and win the village show competition (last year she came 3rd, previous year 2nd) and I reckon she might actually manage it this year.

[freyaluck]

All mine love it, even have my 23 month old as a trained slug and snail picker LOL
I have to say the bit they love most is eating the produce straight from the plants, be it a flower or a carrot.   I find they are a lot less fussy when they have seen It grow from a tiny seed and helped look after it on its journey to our Plates.

[flowergirl]

yeah mine loves the slug killing and regually shouts "SLUG" at the top of her voice so she can hack it to bits with a trowel(something she learnt from my mum)is this normal behaviour!!!

[freyaluck]

We do kill alot, but I prefer to chuck em in a bucket and take a walk up the road to a meadow and tip em all out, just depends if I have the time, now I am looking after my dads dog I tend to bucket them more as I have to walk him (the dog) LOL.

[Annie]

We just put in the wellie! Small people are great slug hunters,albeit that you  also have to feign astonishment at every passing worm too.Izzy has also surprised me by recognising rogue potato plants from last year and pulling them out for me.The down side..only50% peas make it into the house and only a proportion of those to the pan!She loves digging up potatoes and carrots and loves too eat veg. and will try new things just in case she misses something delicious.However i do have to net the broccolli,no cabbage whites this year but she loves this raw and will not wait for it to grow full size.

[jacnal]

My step-son (4) loves gardening so much his grandma (MIL) gave him a little piece of her front garden. It's got potatoes and flowers (don't know name yet  :oops: ) that were planted for fun but are doing really well. Since he's been at the allotment, he's loving it even more, wanting to go whenever he's here, looking under rocks and wood for wildlife (we recently spotted a slow worm!), and digging holes. He also loves watering  :roll: even when not necessary  :roll: . Considering he's with us on Saturdays only, he's doing pretty well! Oh he loves collecting slugs and snails too. Cares for them and is so protective, then salts them to death  :shock:   Okay, my fault - I started with the salting and he followed suit :oops: We're having to protect the good bugs though, and he's slowly learning that eartworms live but slugs and snails die  :twisted: !