Gardening at 24 Months

T has been gardening with me since he learned to walk. Last Spring at around 14 months he picked his own strawberries off our plants. Last summer at around 16 months he loved to help water our pots and pick tomatoes, which he then promptly ate. In the fall at around 19 months, he started digging in the dirt with his own tools, raking leaves (a favorite as long as we had them) and repositioning my small flower pots on our front steps. That is still a favorite as you can see from these pots lined up on my front door mat. 

Now at 24 months, he helps plant larger seeds like peas, removes plants from their plastic containers for me to plant and transports anything in his wheelbarrow. He loves helping, and I love having his help. Gardening with a toddler requires a lot of patience, as almost all things with toddlers does, but it also requires the right perspective. It can be difficult to make that mental leap between wanting a super productive, perfectly planted and cared for garden and the reality of gardening with a toddler. T has pulled out plants, broken asparagus ferns, stepped on newly planted flowers, soaked me with the water hose and just about anything else that he could do that wasn't my intended result. 

It's easy to get frustrated, to remove him from the garden or try to limit his involvement in those times, but I try to always remember that he's learning, exploring and generally trying to help. For example, when he pulls out a plant, he's mimicking our weeding of the garden and simply cannot differentiate between weeds and garden plants. To remedy this, we chose something easily identifiable that he can pull from the garden - the "helicopter" seeds from our neighbor's tree and some small pieces of wood that were in our garden soil. While this doesn't 100% solve the problem, it helps and allows him to contribute to our garden maintenance. 

Working hard to shovel mulch.

By far, T's favorite activity in the garden is hauling anything with his wheelbarrow. We bought this one from our local Lowe's store for significantly less than I saw at other online retailers. It was his 2-year birthday present and has been one of our best purchases for him. 

Great for balance and coordination. 

Filling his wheelbarrow. 

This year we added 2 more raised beds to our backyard garden for a total of 5 beds. T helped move the garden soil into the new beds.

With a lot of plants to add to our raised bed gardens in the backyard, T hauled our plants back there in his trusty red wheelbarrow and even tried to plant a marigold on his own. He found it a bit frustrating. After letting him struggle a bit, I helped him make the hole a bit bigger, and we finished it together. Unfortunately, once I step in to help, he tends to give up completely. So I try to let him struggle and hopefully accomplish it on his own before I help. He literally screams out in frustration, but it's such a distinct scream that we know he isn't hurt, scared or otherwise in need of immediate attention and therefore can react accordingly.

After we finished planting, I was labeling some potted plants using popsicle sticks. T was helping stick them in the pots once I wrote the plant name. When I was done with the pots that needed labels (my daffodils and tulips that will go in the ground this fall), I had two popsicle sticks left. T decided to label those himself and stick them in some pots. These moments put a big smile on my face.










So what's next for gardening with T? Giving him his own small garden to play in - whether that be growing plants or just digging in the dirt. I want him to have a space where he can do whatever makes him happy without the limitations that come with our gardens in order to keep them growing. 


How does your child garden with you? What are your secrets to keeping your garden growing while your toddler is exploring? I'd love to hear your stories. Leave a comment!