A Master Gardener's Tips
John Coykendall of Blackberry Farm encourages generations to garden together
Gardening offers grandparents extended periods of time with their grandchildren, as well as the satisfaction of sharing physical work and creating something together. John Coykendall, the master gardener at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn., piqued his 6-year-old grandson’s interest this way:
- Make sure the child has an interest. Don’t force it.
- When the child shows a taste for a certain food, talk about how it is grown. Look at books together. Talk about growing that ingredient and let the little one imagine how he would like to cook it.
- Draw pictures of each vegetable that you plan to plant. Give each a personality and make up stories about their lives.
- Show the lifecycle of each chosen vegetable from seed to plant to vegetable to kitchen.
- Look at seed catalogs together.
- Reward his well-done garden work with something special: a child-size shovel or hoe, a straw hat, and pair of overalls.
- If possible, weed, water and maintain the garden together at the same times every week. If not possible, take pictures every week and send these to your grandchild with notes about what is happening in the garden and what you will do together the next time he visits.
- Harvest, clean, and cook together.
