Children's Garden Tools

If you are a gardener, you know the simple pleasure of being outside and spending time in the natural setting of your garden, be it a vegetable garden or a flower garden. And if you've spent much time there, it soon becomes obvious that your children are naturally drawn to the experience as well. Once they see you there they are always walking where they aren't supposed to go, pulling up plants along with the weed, and harvesting flowers and vegetables before they are quite ready. But it's hard to deny them that pleasure.

To help them gain a better understanding of how the garden works, we just have to mentor them along and get them doing the right things at the right time. But it quickly becomes obvious that the great garden tools we use are not at all appropriate for little hands. So let's take a look at some children's garden tools.

The first garden tools most kids might get are the simple plastic tools found in most stores. While a plastic trowel or rake is fun for the kids, they will enjoy them in the sandbox or on the beach. But when it comes to helping Mom and Dad or Grandma in the real garden, the plastic tools are likely to come up short. The are too clumsy to use, and will only serve to frustrate the little ones.

A popular gift, then, is a simple children tool set. A typical set will come with a trowel, often a little rake, and a miniature hoe. Usually they come with a cloth carrier or toolbox. A great little addition is a watering can, which is almost always a hit, particularly in hot weather. Some of the water may actually make it to the garden.

Once your little ones get to be about four years old, they are still interested in helping, but the old tools might be a little simple for them. Here's a couple of ideas.

Long Handled Tools - You can find tools that have handles about 28 inches long, which are well suited to the older kids. Toysmith makes a set that has 2 rakes, a hoe, and a small shovel. This set is a great move up for them.

Another great idea is a small wheelbarrow. Both Toysmith and John Deere make a model for the youngsters, these are light in weight and sized just right for a 4 year old.

Finally, as the hands get a little larger, if they see you using gloves as you garden, they will want to use them as well. These are not very expensive, and fun to use,

Get some row markers with a large surface, and have them help you label your plantings. Keep the packages and let them identify the seedlings as they come up, this will help them avoid pulling up the wrong plants and spoiling all the fun!