Gardening


The Topic:

Gardening
Easier - Gardening is taking care of a piece of land where flowers or vegetables are grown (a garden).

Harder - Gardening is the cultivation of plants usually near the home. Home gardens consist of a small plot of ground used to grow flowers, fruits, and/or vegetables. Gardening is also the cultivation of individual plants in pots or other containers either indoors or outdoors. Gardening is closely related to the art and science of horticulture, a branch of agriculture specializing in growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, shrubs, and trees.

Kids Gardening from the National Gardening Association: http://www.kidsgardening.com/; At this site you will find fun classroom and home activities for teaching children about gardening.

Kids Valley Garden: http://www.copper-tree.ca/garden/index.html; This site was designed by kids to offer gardening tips for kids.

KinderGarden: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/kinder.htm; This website for kids provides an introduction to gardening and some fun activities.
My First Garden from the University of Illinois Extension: http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/firstgarden/index.html; Learn how to grow your own food! This kids site will help you plan a garden and teach you the gardening basIcs. A teacher's guide is also available for each section.


After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following activities.

Build a Garden. Sites like My First Garden and Gardening with Children have great information and ideas on how to start a garden project at your local school or for your community.

Begin Composting. Visit sites like (1) Cornell Composting, (2) How to Make Compost, a Composting Guide, (3) Composting from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and (4) Composting for Kids 1. Then start your own compost project. Keep a journal of your day-to-day compost project activities: design and structure, startup, materials added, etc.

Help Solve the Gardening Mystery Puzzle. Join Bud and Sprout to help Detective LePlant on his search at the Great Plant Escape. To solve this case, you must identify the different parts of plants, what each part does, and how plants grow.

Complete a Gardening Webquest. Follow or adapt the guidelines provided:
(1) Garden Quest (Grade 7) by S. Byrd http://www.netxv.net/esc/technology/. . ./garden webquest.htm
(2) How Does Our Garden Grow? by T.R. McGee http://people.uwec.edu/MCGEETR/edmt382/gardenquest.htm
(3) Planning a Community Garden Webquest (Blog - begin with introduction under left column)
http://susan.aclblogs.net/index.php/category/1/introduction
(4) Planning a Garden by S. Davis
http://cte.jhu.edu/techacademy/fellows/DAVIS-S/WEBQUEST/Index.htm

A Dozen Plus Some More
4H Garden: http://4hgarden.msu.edu/main.html; Explore resources on children's gardens for children, parents, and teachers.
Composting at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting
Article provides a good overview of composting.
Other resources on composting:
(2) Composting from the Journey to Forever project http://journeytoforever.org/compost.html
(3) Composting from the Natural Resources Conservation Service http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/FEATURE/backyard/compost.html
(4) Composting for Kids http://sustainable.tamu.edu/slidesets/kidscompost/kid1.html
(5) Composting from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/compost/
(6) Cornell Composting http://www.css.cornell.edu/compost/Composting_Homepage.html
(7) How to Compost.org http://www.howtocompost.org/
(8) How to Make Compost, a Composting Guide http://www.compostguide.com/
Garden Gate: http://garden-gate.prairienet.org/; Here recreational gardeners and nature lovers find selected links to informative and interesting horticulture sites around the world.
Gardening for Kids: http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Glade/3313/; This is a great resource for children interested in learning more about gardens.
Gardening Know How: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/; Explore, learn and discover all the answers to your gardening questions.
Don't miss these ideas:
(2) Children in the Garden
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/category/children-in-the-garden
I Can Garden: http://www.icangarden.com/; This is a Canadian gardening site.

My Garden: http://www.hal-pc.org/~trobb/horticul.html; Here is a collection of worldwide horticultural and biological links (dedicated to the Master Gardener Program).
National Gardening Association: http://www.garden.org/home; Learn about National Garden month at this portal site for gardening information.
Weekend Gardener: http://www.chestnut-sw.com/index.htm; This is the site of a weekly electronic gardening guide; practical horticulture for busy people.
Related Websites
Gardening Guru: http://www.thegardeningguru.com/; This is an 'ask the expert' website for gardening to help beginning or experienced gardeners.
Telegarden: http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/garden/; Visitors can plant, water, and monitor the progress of seedlings in this electronic garden.
Websites For Teachers
Gardening with Children: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Children/children.htm; This website contains ideas for gardening with children including planting gardens.
KidsGardening from the National Gardening Association: http://www.kidsgardening.com/
Here you find information, project ideas, and activities for parents, teachers, and their kids.



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Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 04/99. Updated 1/08.