Kids have a natural affinity for everything that the outdoors has to offer. They enjoy exploring the soil, concocting delicious snacks, and engaging in adventures among the trees.
Their curious minds find unparalleled happiness in the process of nurturing and growing their very own produce in a vegetable garden. Setting up a garden for kids is a straightforward process.
Continue reading to discover the steps to create a delightful vegetable garden for children.
Engaging children in the journey from sowing seeds to the joyous occasion of harvesting their bounty is a wonderful experience.
Involving them in every stage of gardening not only presents a wonderful bonding opportunity for parents and their kids but also nurtures the children’s innate curiosity about the natural world.
This hands-on experience fosters a sense of responsibility and achievement in children, boosting their self-confidence.
To spark a child’s gardening enthusiasm, it’s effective to include plants that captivate all their senses, offering visual delight, flavors to savor, scents to enjoy, and textures to feel.
Opting for vegetables is a wise choice for the young gardener. They sprout quickly and provide the satisfaction of tasting the fruits of their labor once harvested.
Creating an enchanting children’s garden requires thoughtful selection of plants. Opt for vegetables that thrive with minimal fuss and spark curiosity and excitement among the young gardeners. Ideal picks include:
- Beets
- Carrots
- Radishes
- Tomatoes
Incorporating snack-friendly options like cherry tomatoes, strawberries, or peas can turn the garden into a delightful snacking corner. Consider adding structures like fences or trellises for climbing veggies, or a cozy nook for children to enjoy their garden-fresh treats.
Plants with intriguing forms, such as eggplants or gourds, add an element of surprise. Gourds, once harvested, offer a canvas for creativity, transforming into birdhouses, canteens, or even musical instruments.
To inject vibrancy and sensory experiences into the garden, intersperse it with aromatic flowers and herbs. Excellent additions include:
- Marigolds
- Nasturtiums
- Mint
- Dill
- Sunflowers
- Zinnias
It’s crucial to steer clear of potentially harmful plants, instilling children the knowledge to distinguish between safe and unsafe to consume varieties. Plants with tactile appeal, such as the velvety lamb’s ear or fluffy cotton, cater to the tactile curiosity of children.
Including auditory elements like water fountains, windmills, or chimes can further enrich the garden’s sensory appeal.
Engage children in every step of the gardening process, from design and plant selection to hands-on activities like soil preparation and watering. Choose a garden location accessible to the child and visible for supervision, ensuring it receives ample sunlight and water.
The garden layout should inspire creativity, moving beyond traditional designs to include container gardens, raised beds, or thematic plots like a pizza garden. Surrounding the area with sunflowers can create a secluded haven for imaginative play.
Equipping the garden with child-friendly tools and dedicated spaces for gardening accessories encourages responsibility and ownership. Offer them appropriately sized implements and creative alternatives like spoons and measuring cups for digging and harvesting.
When gardening with children, embrace these guiding principles:
- Share the garden experience.
- Appreciate that children’s perceptions and interactions with the garden differ from adults—explore the garden from their perspective.
- Be responsive to their explorations, focusing on what captivates them, whether it’s the fascination with insects, the joy of watering, or the thrill of digging.
- Allocate a section of the garden for their creative expression, allowing them to plant as they please.
- Provide their gardening tools and educate them on safety and maintenance practices, emphasizing the importance of wearing gloves and proper tool care.
This approach not only cultivates a love for gardening but also fosters a deeper connection with nature, creativity, and responsibility in children.
Read More About Engaging Kids in Homesteading: 17 Creative Ideas to Spark Their Interest
Selecting Kid-Friendly Vegetables
Embark on an exciting journey to your nearest garden center and enjoy selecting seeds or young plants with your kids. Here’s a guide to kid-friendly plants that will spark their interest:
Floral Delights
Kids are naturally drawn to flowers that dazzle with vibrant hues and enchanting aromas. Engage them in conversations about various flowers that beautify the garden and invite essential pollinators such as bees, contributing significantly to the health of your garden ecosystem.
Consider planting Sunflowers, Cosmos, Zinnias, Marigolds, Swan Plants, and various bulbs like Daffodils and Freesias for a burst of color and life.
Fruits and Vegetables for the Young Gardener
Gardening is a wonderful way to introduce children to the joys of healthy eating, offering them firsthand experiences with different tastes and textures. Cultivate easy-to-eat vegetables and fruits that can be enjoyed straight off the vine.
Start seeds in simple containers or sow directly in the soil. Sprouts, for example, can be easily grown indoors and offer various options.
Beans come in exciting colors and sizes, perfect for capturing a child’s imagination. Talk about the necessity of support for climbing varieties and involve them in building structures like a ‘bean tepee’—a fun summer project that doubles as a secret play area.
Constructing a Bean Tepee
Create a spacious tepee using bamboo or stakes, ensuring an entrance for kids to access. Surround it with green or runner beans to climb the structure, creating a lush hideaway.
Peas are a fantastic choice for young gardeners, offering varieties that climb or bush, including sweet snow or sugar snap peas that are delicious whole.
Salad greens like mesclun mix, spinach, rocket, or kale are fast and simple to grow, teaching children the sustainable practice of harvesting outer leaves to encourage continued growth. Regular planting ensures a steady supply of fresh greens.
Directly sow carrots and radishes for an exciting harvest adventure. Cherry tomatoes, such as Tom Thumb or Sweet 100, are perfect for snacking or adding to lunchboxes, while strawberries become a favorite for their sweetness and health benefits.
Digging for potatoes can become a cherished family activity, planting in late spring for a festive harvest.
This guide to gardening with children enriches their connection with nature and instills valuable lessons in healthy eating and environmental stewardship.
Top 16 Easy-to-Grow Plants for Young Gardeners
Introducing the art of gardening to youngsters opens the door to a crucial life lesson often bypassed in traditional educational settings. This hands-on activity is a perfect platform to instill a sense of environmental consciousness, inviting kids to delve into the natural world’s mysteries.
Engaging children in the joys of growing vegetables can be an incredibly rewarding experience. From a tender age, our kids took to gardening enthusiastically, and it was a joy to observe their confidence and self-worth bloom alongside their successful plantings.
While numerous plants are fit for young green thumbs, we’ve identified a “Top 16” list that promises ease of cultivation, quick growth cycles, and the excitement of harvest.
However, the adventure doesn’t have to end with these suggestions. Encourage your children to unleash their creativity and venture into unexplored territories of gardening, fostering a spirit of innovation and exploration.
Sunflower
Incorporating sunflowers into a child’s garden is an essential yet space-conscious decision; a couple of plants are sufficient due to their expansive growth.
These radiant blooms begin their journey from seed to sprout within a week, transforming into a modest seedling by the fortnight, and reaching a stature of 2 feet within a month. By the two-month mark, they unfurl their buds to display a plethora of seed kernels.
Opt for the ‘confectionery’ variety, cultivated specifically for consumption, to ensure a bountiful harvest. As the late summer sun works its magic, the seeds, laden with protein and iron, naturally dry and can be roasted to create a nutritious snack.
Remember to set aside a handful of seeds to sow the following summer, ensuring a continuous cycle of growth and enjoyment.
Lettuce/mescluns
Leafy vegetables offer an excellent opportunity for young gardeners to witness rapid growth, sparking an early interest in fresh, healthy salads.
Lettuce thrives in partial sunlight and requires consistently damp soil, particularly in the initial fortnight after planting.
Expect sprouting between seven to ten days, with a full growth cycle lasting 40 to 50 days. Depending on your gardening strategy, you can opt for either ‘head’ lettuce, needing 8 inches of space, or ‘leaf’ lettuce, which requires half that space and reaches harvest readiness in about 30 to 35 days.
Introducing a Baby Greens Mix to your child’s gardening project is a fantastic way to engage their curiosity and skill, suitable for container and raised bed cultivation.
This assortment, featuring spinach, kale, chard, arugula, and more, presents a kaleidoscope of colors, textures, and tastes, all while providing essential nutrients.
Begin planting these greens in cooler temperatures and keep sowing until the onset of warm weather, which can cause the plants to bolt and become bitter. Encourage your kids to gently snip the leaves with scissors for a fresh salad mix as they grow to size.
No worries if the greens grow too large before they’re picked—the mature leaves are equally delicious and nutritious.
Radishes
Is there anything more delightful than hunting for Easter eggs? Imagine the joy of unearthing vibrant radishes in pink, purple, red, and white hues instead.
Although radishes might not initially appeal to the taste buds of young ones, the allure of these beautifully hued, gently flavored spheres increases significantly once they’ve experienced the thrill of harvesting them directly from the earth.
Easter egg radishes, known for their crunchy texture and subtle taste, are ready for picking weeks after being planted directly into the soil.
Radishes are a dream crop for budding gardeners due to their rapid germination period of 3-10 days and a brief cultivation cycle of 20-30 days.
They thrive when spaced 4-6 inches apart. Planting in cooler temperatures is key for radishes with a gentler flavor, whereas warmer conditions will spice things up.
For little ones reluctant to try radishes in their natural state, roasting them with a sprinkle of salt and a dab of butter could enhance their natural sweetness.
Alternatively, blending them raw with butter in a food processor to create a radish-infused spread for bread might just be the trick to soften their sharpness. This makes for a delightful snack and introduces a novel way to enjoy this versatile vegetable.
Snow peas & Sugar Snap Peas
Is nothing more delightful than watching children munch on fresh garden produce straight from the vine? Snow peas offer a fast and rewarding gardening project, perfect for eager young gardeners.
These plants sprout in about 10 days and reach maturity around the 60-day mark. They thrive in cooler climates and semi-shady spots, requiring seeds to be planted at a density of roughly 1 inch apart.
What makes snow peas a favorite among families is their fully edible pods, eliminating the need for a trellis due to their compact, dwarf size.
Sugar snap peas add an exciting twist to any kids’ garden, blending the best of both worlds between crunchy snow peas and sweet garden peas, which typically have inedible pods.
Opting for stringless varieties ensures a safer snacking experience for little ones, avoiding any potential hazards with strings. These peas are versatile, great for eating raw or cooked, and can be planted directly in the garden as the season turns to spring.
To add an element of play, consider using creative structures for trellising, like repurposing a swing set side or constructing a teepee with the dual purpose of support and a fun hideout for children.
Cherry tomatoes
Garden-fresh tomatoes stand out as a favorite among adults and children, with their unparalleled taste surpassing that of their supermarket counterparts.
Particularly enchanting for the younger crowd are cherry tomatoes, whose abundance and ease of harvest can captivate any child’s curiosity. It’s almost irresistible for kids not to snack on them directly off the vine during a leisurely garden stroll.
For those looking to cultivate their own, consider opting for sweet, robust varieties like the golden-hued Sun Sugar or the vibrant Super Sweet 100.
Note that these varieties often thrive best in raised beds rather than containers and require support through staking or caging to manage their sprawling vines.
Cherry tomatoes are undeniably one of the most engaging growing crops, rivaling strawberries in their appeal to children. For optimal growth, ensure they bask in plenty of sunlight and start with seedlings to accelerate the process.
Each plant should be accompanied by a 2-foot stake for support, with the vines loosely tied as they ascend. Incorporating generous amounts of compost into the soil and watering at the base to keep the foliage dry will promote healthier growth.
Expect a growing season ranging from 50 to 75 days. Moreover, for those with limited space, cherry tomatoes are also well-suited for container gardening.
Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are a delightful choice for budding gardeners, offering a quick and vibrant burst of color to any garden space.
These blossoms come to life with fiery orange, yellow, and red hues roughly 50 days following seed sowing, thriving under the sun’s warmth in less fertile, arid soils.
Opting for compact varieties of nasturtiums can make a significant difference for those looking to embellish their garden beds. Besides their visual appeal, these flowers are renowned for their resilience against pests, almost guaranteeing a fruitful bloom.
Adding to their charm, nasturtiums’ petals are a culinary treat, providing a splash of color and a peppery taste to any garden-fresh salad.
Bush beans
Turning to bush beans, these plants are a perfect match for young garden enthusiasts thanks to their straightforward care requirements and bountiful yields. They begin to sprout within 4 to 8 days of planting and reach maturity in about 40 to 65 days.
It’s wise to plant a new batch every few weeks to ensure a steady supply of beans. For ease of harvesting, especially by little hands, it’s beneficial to choose varieties labeled as “low bush.”
These plants should be planted with a spacing of about 4 inches apart in a spot that enjoys full sunlight.
While they need regular watering, it’s important to water the soil directly to keep the foliage dry, and they grow quite well without needing support structures like poles or trellises.
Carrots
Carrots always capture the imagination of young gardeners, and the Parisian variety is particularly appealing for little hands eager to pluck their bounty from the earth.
This heirloom variety is celebrated for its sweet taste and compact, round shape, making it an ideal choice for those challenging gardening spots with clay or rocky soil.
Additionally, its diminutive size is perfect for pot planting. Ensuring adequate hydration will see these little gems thrive, much to the delight of young cultivators.
Directly sowing carrot seeds into cool soil begins this gardening adventure. Patience is key, as carrot seeds are known for their leisurely germination process.
Expect to see maturity around the 60-day mark. To facilitate their growth, ensure the soil is loose and devoid of stones that could obstruct their path downward.
Regular watering is essential, as is thinning the seedlings to about every 3 inches apart to prevent overcrowded conditions that favor lush tops over substantial roots.
Opting for smaller varieties like these not only simplifies the growing process but also adds an element of fun to the harvest and subsequent enjoyment of these crunchy, nutritious snacks.
Potatoes
Cultivating potatoes turns gardening into an exciting quest for hidden gems beneath the soil.
Engaging children in growing potatoes, particularly the vibrant purple varieties, not only adds a dash of color to their garden adventures but also serves as a perfect opportunity to diversify their diet with more colorful vegetables.
Begin by slicing seed potatoes, ensuring each piece has at least one ‘eye’. Plant these slices around 3 feet apart in your garden bed, burying them about 5 inches below the surface.
As green shoots emerge, gradually mound the soil around the bases to support growth, continuing until the plant flowers. For those opting for container gardening, select a tall container and add soil incrementally as the plant stretches upwards.
Regular watering is essential throughout this process. The harvesting phase arrives as the foliage starts to wilt and brown, signaling it’s time to unearth your potatoes. They can be harvested in one go or left in the soil longer until needed.
Potatoes are remarkably forgiving in the garden, with red and white varieties thriving under similar conditions. The red types, however, tend to reach maturity sooner, often becoming a preferred choice among young gardeners.
When preparing your seed potatoes for planting, cut them into pieces with at least two eyes each. Space these in rows, about 12-15 inches apart, with the eyes facing skyward.
Keep adding soil around the stem as the plant grows to encourage healthy underground development. The right time for harvest is when the plant’s top portion succumbs and lays down, revealing the ready-to-eat potatoes below.
Pumpkin
Incorporating pumpkins into a child’s garden adds a touch of magic and excitement, especially when space allows for their sprawling vines. To get started, form a modest mound of soil and create three indentations to house a single seed each.
These seeds quickly spring to life, usually within a week, unfurling vine leaves stretching across the earth. To ensure a bountiful harvest, it’s wise to limit the plant to three pumpkins by removing any new flowers that emerge.
Pumpkins require a growing period of 80 to 120 days before they’re ready for harvest, indicated by a firm exterior and a hollow sound when given a gentle tap.
Harvesting should be approached with care, preferably with an adult managing the shears. Not only are the seeds a tasty snack when dried, but the flesh is perfect for pie-making, and of course, the pumpkin offers a classic canvas for carving.
Strawberries
Strawberries effortlessly capture the hearts of young gardeners, not only for their delightful taste but also for their perennial nature, ensuring a bountiful return each year. These plants naturally expand to fill their designated spaces, offering a lush bounty.
Opt for everbearing strawberry varieties to enjoy a continuous harvest throughout the growing season. For an adventurous twist, consider planting pineberry strawberries, an exotic white strain with a unique pineapple flavor.
The allure of strawberries for children is undeniable, yet securing a plentiful harvest often involves challenges due to local wildlife. Everbearing varieties are a strategic choice, offering smaller fruits that persistently produce throughout the summer.
Protecting these plants with netting becomes essential to ward off birds and raccoons, though it’s important to remember that managing the netting can be tricky, especially for young ones.
The occasional dilemma of freeing entangled birds underscores the need for vigilance and care in safeguarding these cherished plants.
Okra
Okra presents an intriguing option for young gardeners, serving dual roles as a vibrant flower and a nutritious vegetable.
Its large, stunning blooms are not only a feast for the eyes during daylight hours but are also edible, offering a unique tasting experience for those adventurous enough to try.
The growth rate of okra is notably swift, providing children with the daily excitement of observing rapid changes in size and the continuous opportunity for harvesting.
For those seeking to introduce a burst of color into their garden, consider cultivating a red variety or intermingling green and red okra plants for a visually striking display.
Corn
This crop is quite demanding, requiring an abundance of nutrients from compost or fertilizer, alongside ample space to thrive. A common saying goes, if the stalks aren’t reaching “knee-high by the 4th of July,” expect modestly sized ears of corn.
In our attempts, we’ve battled with crows targeting the young sprouts, and often, the stalks didn’t achieve the height necessary for a bountiful harvest.
Other crops for our children
- Green Onions
These are straightforward to cultivate but lack the wow factor to truly captivate the kids’ interest.
- Zucchini
This vegetable grows quickly and can reach impressive sizes, sparking some interest. However, the real challenge lies in finding creative recipes that make zucchini appealing to children.
- Watermelon
Cultivating watermelon is somewhat akin to growing pumpkins, requiring space and care to achieve the desired size and sweetness.
Our attempts yielded smaller and less sweet fruits than hoped, leading us to allocate our garden space more towards pumpkins, which tend to be more rewarding.
Cultivating a Green Thumb in Youngsters
- Assign Individual Gardening Spaces
Allocating a specific gardening space for each child, whether through elevated plots, pots, or sections of earth, is crucial.
Opt for compact areas for the little ones, and position these plots where they’re most likely to thrive—ensuring prime soil and sunlight. This strategy is a foundation for their gardening triumphs.
- Transform the Sandbox into a Garden
For children who’ve outgrown their sandboxes, repurposing these areas into gardening beds is a fantastic way to maintain their connection and responsibility towards a new project.
It’s essential to choose a location with ample sunlight and to ensure the soil is free from obstructions like tree roots. Relocating the sandbox might be necessary to meet these conditions.
- Invest in Quality Gardening Tools
Avoiding flimsy, plastic gardening tools is advisable as they often break and cause frustration. Sourcing durable tools suitable for small hands, including modifying the handles of larger tools for easier use, acknowledges the significance of their gardening efforts.
- Involve Them from Start to Finish
Incorporating children in every phase of gardening—from planting to harvest—reinforces the idea that their contributions are meaningful beyond mere play.
They must see their efforts come full circle, taking pride in tending to their plants and eventually enjoying the fruits of their labor at the dining table.
- Begin with Seeds
Starting with seeds rather than pre-grown plants offers a richer learning experience. Watching seeds sprout and grow under their care is a rewarding process that educates them on the lifecycle of plants. Seeds may require initial indoor growth before moving to the garden.
- Offer Subtle Assistance
Tailoring your involvement based on the child’s age and capabilities is key. Performing less desirable tasks discreetly can keep their gardening experience positive without diminishing their sense of ownership over their garden bed.
- Create a Scarecrow for Engagement
Should interest wane or tasks become mundane, assembling a scarecrow can revive enthusiasm. This creative outlet not only enhances the garden’s aesthetics but also underscores the value of their contributions.
- Highlight Their Achievements
Emphasizing the children’s gardening successes during “garden tours” or sharing photos of their harvest with family members is a powerful incentive for their continued interest and dedication to gardening projects.
A Hands-on Lesson for Youngsters
Immersing your kids in gardening activities carves out unforgettable moments and equips them with invaluable skills.
Here’s how to transform your garden into a vibrant classroom:
- Involve your children in preparing the garden plots, offering them a hands-on lesson on the importance of soil preparation. Discuss the benefits of enriching the soil with compost and various soil mixtures to nourish the plants. Hand them a spade and a little patch of earth to call their own for digging.
- The magic of seeing a seed sprout into a flourishing plant captivates children’s curiosity. Explain the timing for planting different seeds and the necessity of using a special seed-starting mix that provides all the essentials for germination.
- When planting seeds indoors, use a Seed Mix and ensure the soil is moist but not soggy. The general guideline is to bury the seed to a depth equivalent to its size. For minuscule seeds like those of lettuce or carrots, scatter them in a row, lightly cover with the mix, and water gently. Highlight that seeds need only warmth and moisture to grow. For outdoor sowing, enlighten your children on why some seeds are planted in specific locations, such as the need for more space or sunlight.
- Encourage your kids to assist in mulching plants, providing them with a small rake and explaining the significance of mulch in safeguarding the soil and vegetation against the weather.
- Kids often enjoy watering plants, which allows them to witness their garden’s growth daily. Teach them about the variations in watering needs across different seasons, emphasizing conservation using a watering can.
- While weeding might not be the most entertaining activity, it’s crucial for maintaining a healthy garden. It’s an opportune moment to teach older children the difference between desirable plants and weeds, underscoring the importance of eliminating competition for resources.
- Introducing your children to composting is a great lesson in sustainable living. Whether it’s collecting kitchen scraps or garden debris for the compost pile or worm farm, it’s a chance for them to understand the composting process and the ecosystem, including worms and insects.
- Harvesting peas, beans, and tomatoes is perfect for little fingers, though you might need to watch them to ensure fruits like berries make it into your basket! Shelling peas together offers a wonderful opportunity for bonding and sharing stories of garden adventures.
- After experiencing the disappointment of pest damage, children can become enthusiastic helpers in pest management. Regularly inspect the garden together, teaching them to spot pests hidden under leaves or on stems. Introduce natural deterrents, such as crushed shells or bark, explaining how the rough texture keeps slugs and snails at bay.
By engaging children in these gardening tasks, you’re not just cultivating plants, but nurturing a sense of responsibility, curiosity, and a love for nature in your young gardeners.
