A veggie garden is a great place to teach your youngsters valuable lessons while spending satisfying time together. Gardening is more entertaining than any video game; I have yet to meet a child who didn't get a kick out of playing in the dirt, planting seeds and watching them grow. And finally, there's no better way to get kids to eat veggies than to grow their own.
So where do you start? These 10 ideas just might inspire your gardener-in-training.
Take a field trip. Visit a farmers market or produce aisle and talk about what you see. Explain the life cycle of a veggie, from seed to fruit to dinner table. Have kids taste-test a few varieties, then help them plant the ones they like.
Let them choose. While at a nursery or garden center, ask your kids to pick out a few seeds or plants they want to grow. Also let them select any extras, like trellises or containers. If they're involved at the very beginning, they're more likely to remain interested throughout the growing season.
Give 'em some space. Pint-size gardeners love to have their own little section of a garden. They'll treat this space with extra-special care. Let them make the decisions, from what gets planted to keeping the occasional "pet" weed.
Tools of the trade. On birthdays or other occasions, give your children a colorful garden tool, apron or hat. Make it a game to get dressed up as a gardener when it's time to play outside.
Family history lesson. Use your time outside as an opportunity to tell kids about your family. Was Great-Grandpa a gardener? Did Aunt Nora grow heirloom tomatoes? It's a great way to get them interested in relatives and radishes at the same time.
Theme gardens. Try an alphabet garden, where your kids choose everything from asparagus to zucchini. Or create a garden of miniatures with cherry tomatoes or mini-pumpkins.
Be realistic. You can't expect a 6-year-old to spend an afternoon weeding, so you'll have to perform some of the mundane tasks yourself. When kids do tackle these chores, don't expect perfection—a few jagged rows or a weed here and there won't matter. Remember that kids have short attention spans, so make your garden a fun place where they can see real results.
Let's go crazy. Kids love unusual varieties, so don't be a conformist. Instead, walk on the wild side with yellow tomatoes, white eggplants, purple carrots, brightly colored chard and giant pumpkins.
Teachable moments. Explain how natural vegetable gardening promotes healthy living by providing safe, nutritious, low-cost food for the family. Also point out that growing your own veggies means more exercise, no pesticides and less pollution from delivery trucks.
Continue in the kitchen. Invite your children to help you make dinner by adding cut-up garden produce to a salad or soup, and let them snack on a few as you cook. Don't be surprised if they learn to love veggies.
The bottom line? Kids imitate what they see. If you love to grow things, chances are they'll be enthusiastic, too. And remember that one of the most important things you'll ever grow is a gardener.
10 Best Veggies For Kids To Grow
- Sugar snap peas. Kids love to eat them fresh off the vine.
- Lettuce. Easy to grow and lots of cool color varieties.
- Radishes. Within a month, these fast growers are ready to pick. Just for giggles, try red, white and purple varieties.
- Carrots. Quick-growing carrots are perfect for short attention spans.
- Potatoes. Kids really dig potatoes, which are as much fun to harvest as to eat.
- Green beans. The big seeds are fun and easy to plant.
- Cherry tomatoes. Little hands love to pick these tiny fruits.
- Pumpkins. Plant a smaller variety, like Jack Be Little, for your smaller helpers.
- Sunflowers. These beauties take off without much work, and come in tall or small varieties. Plus, it's fun to harvest the seeds, or leave out the seed heads to attract birds.
- Broccoli. Like many veggies, garden-fresh broccoli tastes sweeter than store-bought.
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Source: Crystal Rennicke, Associate Editor, Birds & Blooms "Grow Veggies for Less"