Teach your kids early about gardening

Girl holding potted plant at nursery. Photo/Courtesy 

For long, Kenya has been recognised as a leading producer of coffee and tea and over the last three decades has grown into a major horticultural exporter of cut flowers and vegetables to Europe and other parts of the world.

We are blessed with a climate where a wide diversity of plants can be economically grown but with increasing urbanisation and the population drift into urban centres, fewer and fewer children have the opportunity to see food crops and other plants actually growing.

This, coupled with the fact that over half the population is under the age of 15, demonstrates a need to increase gardening and horticultural education for this sector of the population.

In the UK, there is currently a strong move towards making horticultural and gardening lessons part of the school curriculum for children between the ages 5 and 14 so that they benefit particularly from the teaching of how to grow food and eating of fresh vegetables which, it is reckoned, improves academic achievement, better life skills, health and wellbeing.

Here in Kenya, unfortunately, very little is done in schools to encourage interest in gardening and horticulture. Introducing this subject into the school’s curriculum would provide the opportunity for all children to get their hands into the soil and experience for themselves the joy of watching seeds germinating and growing into mature plants.

In later life, they may not follow a career in either gardening or horticulture or any one of the many careers related to gardening and horticulture, but they will benefit from many of the skills that will have been learnt at that early age.

Some countries regard gardening as so important that they now have on their calendar a National Gardening Week when the horticultural and related industries gear up with various events including shows, television and radio programmes, gardening demonstrations, launching of new books, magazines, societies and clubs.

Although learning about gardening and horticulture in schools will provide enormous benefit to the children, it has to be admitted that like many subjects, it shouldn’t end there.

In answer to the question ‘How to Gain Gardening Knowledge?’ many old time gardeners will say there is nothing like experience. To a certain extent, this is true but there is no better way to gain experience than by literally soiling your hands from a young age and watching your own plants grow.

Nothing is more exciting than trying different plants and learning their names, where they come from, whether they grow better in sun or shade, whether they survive better on red soil or black cotton clay, whether they grow better if pruned annually and so on.

Anyone who has the enthusiasm can learn the basics from books, the internet and by mixing with other gardeners and seeing their gardens, but there is nothing like doing it yourself because this way, you quickly learn from your mistakes. You will never know all the answers on Day1 and as technology changes, you will continue to learn as the years go by.

Unfortunately, in Kenya there are no gardening clubs except for the Kenya Horticultural Society. This society does have a junior membership grade and in their annual flower shows, there are always classes for children.

The KHS has branches in all the major areas of the country and hold monthly meetings where gardens are visited and talks/lectures given on a wide range of subjects. There are plant sales at least once a year and occasional garden courses.

The 1995 edition of the KHS book ‘Gardening in East Africa’ covers all the basic subjects and although now nearly out of a print, a new edition should soon be appearing.