When given the chance to do some gardening, six-year-old Melissa Kerik doesn’t hesitate.
She jumped right into the task after her mom, Maryanne, handed her radish seeds and a plastic windowsill greenhouse. She stood on a chair while putting radish seeds into 12 peat pellets already in the tiny greenhouse, which looks similar to an egg carton.
Asked why she likes seeds and gardening, Melissa of Brandon provided a quick response.
“Because it’s fun,” she said.
Children are the target market for a new line of garden supplies from McKenzie Seeds in Brandon.
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Two years ago, the company launched the line with fun names like Sunflower Munchkin and Pumpkin Spookie, sold in cartoonish packets to appeal to kids three years old and up.
McKenzie’s retailers and consumers have responded positively to the innovative product, said Britt Lawson, brand manager at McKenzie.
The company is now selling 12 types of seeds, along with a small paper pot that kids can use to grow a tomato or sunflower plant before transferring it to the garden.
The company also has a special section on its website dedicated to products for children.
“As far as I know, I don’t think there’s anyone that does this kind of thing exactly,” said Lawson, referring to seeds designed specifically for kids.
The kids’ varieties produce smaller plants than other McKenzie seeds, she said. “Maybe (they’re) a little more manageable for kids and maybe you could grow it in a container,” said Lawson, who added the popularity of the product is likely connected to the growth of 100-mile diets in urban Canada.
“Gardening, itself, is kind of taking off,” she said.
Melissa got interested in growing plants last year when her mom brought home seeds.
Maryanne said it was an education for her daughter.
“It gives her a sense of responsibility as well, because she looks after them … nurtures them,” Maryanne said.
“She’s already asking me this year if we’re going to be doing gardening soon … She’s so fascinated with watching the seed start growing.”
Lawson is pleased to get the sales response.
“When we first introduced the line, we felt like there was an opportunity with kids’ seeds. It’s a fun, inexpensive activity they can do with their parents.”
The seed packets are selling well, but Lawson said seeds called Squash Moonbeam and Cucumber Green Dragon probably appeal to kids between ages four and 12.
“I’m sure there’s a time period after that where gardening isn’t cool anymore.”
