The 4-H Gardening Project teaches youth how to grow a garden no matter where they live. Whether they are planting in the ground, in containers, in window boxes, or raised beds, youth learn how to plan and care for their gardens while exploring plant science concepts within the context of growing for food production.
Objectives
Youth will:
- Plan, prepare, plant, and care for a garden
- Learn about the lifecycle of plants
- Select, harvest, and prepare vegetables or other plants for exhibit
- Design and conduct experiments in plant science areas
4-H Gardening Curriculum
Available through the Extension office or online.
Beginning-level youth of any age can learn to grow edible plants, including fruit trees. Add edibles to the current landscape, swap existing plants for edible plants, create a new garden, or do all three! The activities guide you as you complete a site evaluation, plan which edible plants to use, plant and nurture them, and then enjoy the fruits and vegetables as they ripen.
Gardening Level A-See Them Sprout
Youth learn how to plan an in-ground or container garden; how to prepare the soil; and when, where, and what to plant. Level A introduces basic plant science, garden friends and foes, tool safety, using the vegetable harvest, and horticulture-related careers. Youth “learn by doing” in 12 fun activities that include germinating seeds, growing a super-sized pumpkin, experiments with plant parts, and visiting a grocery store to explore vegetables and vegetable products.
Gardening Level B-Let’s Get Growing
Youth learn how to modify their garden plans. Other topics include seed varieties and cultivars, starting seeds indoors, using transplants, and composting. Level B also introduces integrated pest management. Science topics include plant families, how plants respond to light, and how to grow new plants from plant parts. Youth “learn by doing” in 12 fun activities that include building a plant maze, making a worm box, judging vegetables, and composting.
Gardening Level C-Take Your Pick
Youth learn different planting methods, how to improve soil, and how to extend the growing season. They explore photosynthesis, hybrid vs. standard forms, herb gardening and preservation, plant companions, and storing and saving seeds. Level C also includes how to identify and prevent weeds, insect damage, and animal pests. Youth “learn by doing” in 18 fun activities that include cross-pollinating flowers, making an acid/base indicator, producing a chromatogram, and helping others in garden projects.
Gardening Level D-Growing Profits
Youth learn to make the most of their garden space using different planting methods, then how to harvest, store, preserve, and/or sell their bounty of vegetables and herbs. They study plant genetics, plant diversity, and plants in space. Level D further explores integrated pest management and summarizes horticulture-related careers. Youth “learn by doing” in 18 fun activities that include using garden-planning software and apps, investigating the effects of pollution, growing hydroponic plants, and conducting a cultivar trial.
2016 Gardening Curriculum: Helper’s Guide
Accompanies Gardening Level A-D curriculum books above.
Take your garden to the next level with easy-to-implement intensive gardening methods that use available space and the entire gardening season. Having a garden is special. Being able to save and share its bounty is good too!
Soilless Growing Systems: A Hydroponics Curriculum for High School 4-H Clubs
Youth will learn how to grow plants without soil, how the hydroponics industry has developed, the most common types of soilless growing systems, and advanced plant nutrition. Included also are activities related to conservation and limited resources and comparing and contrasting soil-based and soilless growing systems.
Soilless Growing Systems: A Hydroponics Curriculum for High School 4-H Clubs Leader Guide
A purchase of the Leader Guide comes with a download of the PowerPoint training slides that may be used as part of instruction.
Washington 4-H Records, Forms, and Guides
For youth members
Includes place to plot garden design and records of planting, experiments, inventory, income, and expenses.
For adult helpers and club leaders
Publication contents include: starting a new lawn, grasses to plant, seeding recommendations, lawn maintenance, disease, insect, and weed control.
EM057E- Home Vegetable Gardening in Washington (Home Garden Series)
This full-color guide to growing vegetables in a Washington home garden setting covers growing conditions, how to plant seeds and transplants, ways to arrange vegetables, integrated pest management methods, and more.
Helpful Resources
Activity Ideas
Educational Fruit & Vegetable Bingo Game
This fun bingo game comes with enough pieces for 2-6 players and promises to make learning about fruits and vegetables fun! Players select picture boards and place a chip over the corresponding image as cards are read aloud by the caller. Each card has educational facts about a the healthy food groups. The first person to cover the selected pattern and yell Bingo wins!
Makes a great complement to our Healthy Living Curriculum!
Features
- An educational and fun twist to bingo
- Learn informative facts
- Fun for all ages
Includes
- 6 player boards, 112 chipboard bingo squares and 42 picture cards with an image on the front and facts on the back
Gardening in a Glove – University of Minnesota Extension
In this 4-H club meeting, youth learn about seed germination by creating a garden in a glove.
Hanging Mini-Greenhouses – University of Minnesota Extension
In this lesson, youth learn about the plant-growing process and the benefits of home gardening by planting herb seeds in a hanging greenhouse they make out of a two-liter bottle.
Gardens – University of Minnesota Extension
In this 4-H club meeting, youth learn about crop rotation in a garden.
4-H at Home: Plant a Plant Person – National 4-H, Texas A&M, US Department of Agriculture (PDF)
This packet includes the activities “Plant a Plant Person,” “Test out Hydroponics,” “Recycle, Garden, Repeat,” “Grow Your Own Herb Garden,” “Build Your Own Bird Feeder,” and “Get Into Greenhouse Gardening.”
Saving seed from your favorite plants in home and school gardens is a fun end-of-the-season activity.
4-H Friday Fun! Seed Germination – The University of Maine (YouTube video)
4-H Friday Fun! is a series of at-home activities for parents and kids. In this video, join Zabet NeuCollins as she explains and explores seed germination and experiments with seed germination with items that can be found around the house.
The PDF instructions and data collection chart are available through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension website.
World of Worms – University of Minnesota Extension
In this lesson, youth learn about worms and how they benefit soil in gardens and fields by listening to a worm story, learning about worm anatomy, and doing an experiment observing worms and what they need to survive. There is also an optional activity of building a worm farm for making compost.
Seed Bombs and Guerilla Gardening – University of Minnesota Extension
In this independent learning guide, youth secretly serve their community by beautifying public spaces with seed bombs.
Pumpkins – University of Minnesota Extension
In this 4-H club meeting, youth learn about different uses of pumpkins by germinating their seeds.
Microgreens Growing Guide – University of Minnesota Extension
Learn to grow microgreens for a fun, tasty, healthful treat! This guide provides all the information you need to grow and enjoy your first crop of microgreens.
Washington Specific Reference Material
Yakima County Master Gardener Program
Master Gardeners are university-trained volunteers who serve as educators in their communities. The Master Gardener program originated in Washington State to enable WSU Extension to better serve the public — specifically home gardeners.
The Yakima County Master Gardeners are active in presenting garden programs, developing community gardens and sharing gardening knowledge.
Gardening in Washington State – Washington State University
A general resource site for all things related to a variety of garden types in Washington State.
Gardening Tip Sheets – Washington SNAP-Ed
Gardening Tip Sheets provide information about planting, growing, harvesting, storing, and cooking specific types of vegetables. In addition, there are Gardening Tip Sheets that provide instructions for home gardening techniques and ideas.
Saving Seeds in the Home Garden – WSU Extension Clark County (YouTube video)
Have you wanted to save your own home garden seeds, but didn’t know how? Saving seeds can save you money, protect heirloom varieties from disappearing and be a fun and rewarding family activity.
Join WSU Extension Clark County Master Gardener Vione Graham for a presentation on saving seeds from the home garden. Participants will learn which seeds can be saved, how to collect and store them and more.
Ask a Master Gardener: Seed Saving and Sharing – Washington State University Extension (PDF)
Reference for getting started with seed sharing with information on self-pollinating seeds vs. wind-pollinated seeds and bee pollinated seeds.
Other Reference Material
From 4-H Programs
Vermicomposting, a 4-H Spark Activity – North Carolina 4-H (YouTube video)
Join us for this video and we will learn about vermicomposting and talk about food waste. We will see what an actual vermicomposting bin looks like! From the curriculum Vermicomposting NC.
Gardening in Our Warming World: Youth Grow! – Cornell University Extension
Home, school and community gardens, public spaces and land use are all living labs that provide evidence of changing climate conditions. They are examples of how people adapt and adopt sustainable practices to address these changes to alleviate the acceleration of climate change. Gardeners see the impacts of the changing climate on their gardens, and they deal directly with extreme wet and dry conditions, unseasonable cold and freezing conditions, increases in new pests and invasive species, changes in plant diseases, variability in heat and hardiness zones, and extreme weather events. Our Gardening in a Warming World and Gardening in Our Warming World: Youth Grow! materials aim to provide guidance and resources to support youth leaders, garden-based educators and volunteers as they are increasingly called upon for information in the face of this new challenge.
From Higher Education Institutions
A steb-by-step guide to saving seeds – Oregon State University Extension
Seed saving is an excellent way to engage in the worldwide movement to preserve some of the older “heirloom” varieties of seed.
From Related Organizations, Journals, and Professionals
How to Start Seeds Indoors in 4 Easy Steps – Swansons Nursery
Seed Saving – Seed Savers Exchange
Whether you’re new to seed saving or want to brush up on the time-honored practice, these seed-saving basics are a smart place to start.
Seed Saving Chart – Seed Matters (PDF)
Information on how different plants are pollinated, the distance needed between plants to isolate them from cross-pollination, seed life span, and more.
A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers – Organic Seed Alliance (PDF)
- Kits, Projects, and Activities from National 4-H
National 4-H Gardening Curriculum Collection
National 4-H Plants, Gardening, and Agriculture Curriculum Collection
4-H Activities – Gardening at Home Course
A series of activities created by Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to introduce youth to gardening skills. Requires a free Clover account to access lesson plans.
Grow herbs right inside your kitchen with this easy “do it yourself” mini herb garden! Perfect for any windowsill, this kit comes with everything you need to grow your own parsley, basil, or chives. Simply add water and enjoy.
Metal and Wood Planter Stand with 3 glass globe vases with the clover logo. Great for small counter or desk top 4-H Hydroponics Planting Activities.
Beginner and advanced gardeners alike will understand the importance of testing their soil to ensure their plants have the best chance of flourishing. This Soil Master Kit contains 10 tests each for pH, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus – the key components of quality soil.