This rhyme was one of the anthems sung in the Dig For Victory Campaign.� It may help present day vegetable gardeners as they find muscles they did not know they had!

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Dig! Dig! Dig! And your muscles will grow big�

� � Keep on pushing the spade

Don’t mind the worms� �

Just ignore their squirms� �

And when your back aches

laugh with glee� �

And keep on diggin’�

Till we give our foes a Wiggin’�

Dig! Dig! Dig! to Victory”

Gardening Imps is a website offering products specially for children.

Children are becoming more involved in gardening.� Allowing them to have a go develops a growing interest!�

It is important for young ones to have tools that they find easy to use.� Struggling with an oversized, uncomfortable fork will soon dampen their enthusiasm.

http://www.gardening-imps.co.uk/� has high quality products� specially selected to encourage children to develop a passion for the garden environment and a love of growing. There are lots of fun items and it is worth a look.

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Now is the time to get the children interested in gardening.� Give them a small patch - let them define the shape with string and put stones around the border.

Choose easy-to-grow plants and as many different ones as you can get into the small space. Carrots, radishes,� spring onions and beetroot� are good vegetable choices.

Help them prepare the soil:

• remove all stones and clods
• dig the patch
• break the soil into small crumbs - they can jump up & down, or use a fork

Let the young ones design the planting scheme. Do they want:

• plants in rows
• or blocks of plants in different shapes

They can plan it on paper, draw out the design with a stick on the soil, then sow the seeds.

Keep an eye out for pests, & develop a strategy together for keeping pests out of the garden patch. Put up bird scarers made from CDs or ribbons hanging from sticks.

Find a small can or jug which can be used to water the seeds regularly.

Oversee the project to ensure rapid results - which will encourage further vegetable gardening!!

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Mint is a good plant for children to grow, because it is:

• tough - can stand hoeing, pulling etc
• vigorous - grows quickly, so is satisfying
• frequently used - making it seem worthwhile
• safe to handle - no thorns or allergies

Find a small area which can be handed over to the child.

Mark it off with sticks, stones or bricks

Help clear the weeds & dig the soil

Plant runners of mint, begged from a neighbour, or from the garden center

Water well

Remember to ask for supplies of mint, from the child gardener, for:

• flavouring new potatoes, peas etc
• salads
• mint sauce - chop the mint, just cover with boiling water, add Equal quantities of vinegar & a spoon of sugar
• mint jelly - add chopped mint to a lemon jelly, or apple jelly

Broad beans are good vegetables for children to grow.�

The seeds are large, so their little hands� can control them.

The shoots are plump and vigorous, satisfying the junior gardener.

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Pumpkins make a great kid’s project.� You can eat them, join the race for the biggest pumpkin, and hollow them out to make a lantern at halloween.

They are rampant growers, and just take off.� The only problems are slugs, which� eat the young seedlings.� Start the seeds� off in a pot on the kitchen window sill.� When the seedlings are an inch or so, transplant into the garden, but surround with a circle of soot.� The slugs d’nt like wriggling through this.� Cover the seedlings with a big glass jar to keep the birds off, and after a couple of weeks they should be safe.

� Once you see that there are several fruits, pick one for a pumpkin pie, or make some jam or chutney.� This keeps the interest going until halloween.

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Give the kids a seperate patch. Our pumpkins took over the salad strip. Then we had to decide whether to smother the radish or kill the enthusiasm of the junior gardener by kerbing the pumpkin shoots.

If they have there own patch away from the official veg garden, it is up to them. Do they prefer a plate of radish at tea-time, or a proud display of pumkins at Halloween Their young minds will probably find a way of achieving both!

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