Short answer: children can start gardening from about age 1 with simple jobs like digging, scooping and watering, and by age 5 or 6 most can sow seeds, plant seedlings and pick their own vegetables. The keys are tools sized for small hands, quick wins (plants that grow fast), and an adult close by. Here's what kids can do at each age, and how to set them up.
Why garden with kids?
Gardening gets kids outside, builds fine motor skills and teaches patience in a way screens can't. Kids who grow vegetables are often keener to try eating them. It's also a simple way to talk about where food comes from and how we look after Country.
Gardening with kids, age by age
Ages 1 to 2: dig, scoop and pour
Toddlers love the doing more than the growing. Give them a patch of loose soil or a sandpit and let them dig, fill and tip.
- Digging and scooping soil, sand or potting mix into pots
- Watering with a small can or cup
- Touching and smelling plants like mint, lavender and lemon balm
- Always supervise closely, as toddlers put things in their mouths
Ages 3 to 4: plant big seeds and help water
Preschoolers can follow simple steps and start to see cause and effect.
- Pushing big seeds like sunflowers, beans and snow peas into the soil
- Making planting holes with a dibbler or a finger
- Watering their own pot every day
- Picking strawberries and cherry tomatoes when they're ripe
Ages 5 to 6: their own patch
By school age, kids can look after a small bed or a few pots of their own, with a little help.
- Sowing small seeds like radish and lettuce in rows
- Planting seedlings and firming the soil around them
- Pulling weeds (show them which ones first)
- Harvesting and helping to wash and prepare what they've grown
Age 7 and up
Older kids can handle full-size hand tools and bigger jobs like turning compost, building a trellis for climbing beans or planning what to plant each season.
Choosing garden tools for kids
Look for tools that are light, sized for small hands and have no sharp metal edges. Cheap plastic toy tools often snap the first time they hit real soil, which is frustrating for kids.
Our Joey Kids Trowel, Chicky Kids Fork and Nesti Kids Scoop are made for ages 1 to 6. They're about 20 cm long, weigh around 50 to 60 g and are moulded in one solid piece from recycled bottle caps, so there are no small parts to snap off. They also work in the sandpit and at the beach. Kids aged 7 and up usually suit our adult tools, the Womby Hand Trowel and Casso Hand Fork.
Safety tips for gardening with kids
- Potting mix: follow the warning on the bag. Open it carefully, dampen the mix to keep dust down, wear gloves and wash hands after use.
- Sun: hats, sunscreen and garden time in the morning or late afternoon in summer.
- Plants: grow plants that are safe to touch and eat, and teach kids to ask before tasting anything.
- Water: never leave young children alone near buckets, ponds or water tanks.
- Chemicals: keep fertilisers and sprays locked away, or skip them in the kids' patch.
Five tips to keep kids interested
- Start small: one pot or a 1 m x 1 m patch is plenty.
- Grow fast plants first, like radishes, which can be ready in about four weeks.
- Let them choose what to grow.
- Give them their own tools and their own patch.
- Eat what you grow together.
Frequently asked questions
What age can kids start gardening?
From about age 1, with close supervision. Toddlers can dig, scoop and water, and by age 3 most can plant big seeds.
What size garden tools do kids need?
Ages 1 to 6 suit tools around 20 cm long and 50 to 60 g. From about age 7, light adult hand tools usually work well.
What should kids plant first?
Fast, reliable plants with big seeds or quick results: radishes, snow peas, beans, sunflowers, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. See our list of easy plants for kids to grow in Australia.