I am going to start some today with my son, who had his 3rd bday yesterday and the present he loved the most out of all the games and toys he recieved was his gardening kit (just like moms!) and huge pot LOL My family thought I was kidding !!

What seeds are you doing?

Tonight we are WSing (me and 7yo daughter) the first couple plastic milk jugs we've been able to come by. It's freezing outside so I hope it doesn't make too big a mess in the kitchen! Palyne

My grand daughter, age 6 and I WS a bunch of seeds on Sunday, she caught on real fast, and at one point was actually showing her mom how to do it. She loved it, but I also had her sow a few beans in a cup to put on her windowsill at home, and a few zinnia seeds, their young and will want to see something growing soon, instead of waiting to see the effects of Winter Sowing. Her mom told me that she was carrying them in the house and telling them she would take care of them, :) Kids...I love em
Alberta

Hi,
I have started a 4-H gardening group. On Tuesday night the 10th we are going to start a milk jug of winter sown seeds. I got a "mixed" pkg. of seeds free with an order and will let them select 4 "mystery" seeds. It should be fun. We are also starting 5 gallon buckets of compost they will take home and add too until spring when they can use it in their gardens. Does anyone else out there do gardening with 4-H kids? I am in Kansas and would love to hear from you.
TrowelGal

I have done 4-H garden club for many years as a leader and also for about 9 years as a member. I stopped for a few years after my own kids were grown, but learned that I got so much energy and learned so much from the kids. At the moment I have 2 groups one at a small private Christian school and another "neigborhhood" group at my house. I have also done one at a Community Garden in the past. At the school we are now starting a garden - I wish that I could take videos of the activity that goes on, but I am too busy. In three weeks we have done several experiments with seeds and soil. The weather has been good and we have also gone out to clear the dried weeds from the hay field so that it can be tilled. Their teacher said he would try to start the rototiller (it had not been used for at least 2 years). It started easily and you should have seen the kids as he started toward the garden.
At the end of one hour there was a 25' by 25 foot Garden.
Next week we will divide the area into beds for teams of 3 to 4 students.
I think that more people who enjoy gardening as a hobby should share their time with kids and especially through
4-H. We will also be preparing demonstrations for next month. Do you require members to do public presentations?
How old are the members in your club? I do some winter sowing, but here in Washinton we do not have much of a winter.
At the school the students are K thru 8th. At the neighborhood club they are 1st thru sophomore. The high school boys have been in 4-H since they were little and mostly work on their own now. Two of them plan on careers in horticulture.
I also work almost full time and just had my 60th birthday.

Hi Cedar,
Thank you for replying to my question about 4-H. We have some similarities, same age, love of gardening AND kids. I also love the enthusiasm of the children and look of anticipation as they learn about the beauty of gardening. This is my first year to do 4-H and we have only had two meetings so far. There are 6 children from 10-12 years old. We just had our 2nd meeting and made 5 gallon compost buckets and winter sowed a milk jug with "mystery seeds". The Moms come with the children and seem to enjoy it as much as their kids do.
Since you are experienced at this please tell me about projects that worked well for your group and if you had any that fizzled (save me the work of trying those projects please).
When you asked if public speaking was involved, did you mean me or the children?
Our climates are very different and I am jealous that you can be working outside already. I am in zone 5 and we have snow on the ground. Our summers are hot and humid. May 7th is our last frost date.
You mentioned gardening in your yard with neighborhood children. I do that too! Three years ago I introduced Christopher and Dana to gardening by giving them each a 12' by 4' space to garden in. Christopher has done very well but Dana runs home as soon as she gets hot. But they are lovely children and I love working with them outside. We even have lunch together on my deck 6 or 7 times each summer. My grandchildren all live far from me so these two are like my "in town grand darlings".
Happy gardening.

Trowel Gal
I am trying to think of anything that has been a complete disaster. At this time the 4-H kids who meet at my house are very interested in gardening and two of the mothers are "leaders in training". They garden at their own homes. I use the 4-H Vegetable project guides to help organize my activities. There is good project material out there. Check with your Extension agent or 4-H organizer person. The members have very much enjoyed going on field trips to nurseries, orchards and gardens. Some years our plant sales have been the favorite activity. Plant sales lend themselves to winter sowing. Some of the kids have done the Farmer's market and roadside sales. We have grafted fruit trees, made Fairy Gardens, created trellises, made stepping stones. When I did 4-H at the Community Garden one of the boys made a snail hotel in his plot of hollyhocks and all he ever did was collect snails!
In WA the members make up their own project goals and the leader helps them to accomplish their goals- so that does help me set up the meeting adgenda.
Demonstrations and public speaking is a requirment for the members. They show how to do or tell about something that they have learned. They do it at the county demo days, county fair and those in 6th grade or older can qualify for state fair.
This year some of our activities will be starting plants for a Lewis and Clark garden for the fair, plant a row for the hungry, plant sale at the school to raise money for a hoop house and community service either at nursing home or at a local park.
I am happy that you have started a 4-H garden club. You will find it very rewarding. Get your parents to help you to plan some field trips. I think that that was always the top activity.

I have been working on winter sowing with my 1st graders. I want each child to be able to fix a small pot with plant in it for Mother's Day.

My 2 daughters each have their own containers and we just picked out more seeds last week. Would that still be considered winter sowing or is it spring sowing?