Gardening with kids is a fantastic spring and summer activity that encourages families to spend time together outside. Is this your first time starting a garden with your kids? Let’s look at some fun and EASY plants to grow with kids!
Edible vs. Ornamental Plants
Flowers play a vital role in a healthy garden by attracting beneficial insects that help with pollination and even help control the bad pests. Plus, flowers add gorgeous pops of color to your garden area. My favorite flowers to plant for my edible garden are calendula (pot marigold), snapdragon, borage, chamomile, and lavender. Check out this list of edible flowers you can grow!
Choosing Fruits and Veggies for Your Garden
The first question to ask yourself when deciding what to grow with your kids is…
What do you like to eat?
There’s no point in growing something no one is that crazy about. There are so many plants to choose from that it doesn’t make sense to plant something that makes your stomach churn.
Radishes are a great example. They’re often the top of the list for easy plants for kids to grow. The seeds sprout quickly, they’re ready to harvest quickly, and come in many fun colors that delight children. If you or your kids like radishes, make sure to add these to your list!
If radishes make you gag, then feel free to skip them. We still grow them but we give most of them away. Perhaps one day, my kids will like them, but it’s a hard no for now.
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Skip the Waiting Game
Kids will quickly loose interest in their garden if the time until harvest takes too long. It’s hard to have patience as a gardener – especially for kids! Here are three ways to speed up the garden for kids…
- Use a combination of directly sown seeds and transplants. The transplants will give you a head start. Seeds will give your kids the delight of seeing the seedlings pop through the soil.
- Choose plants that have a short germination rate.
- Choose plants that have a short “days to harvest”.
You can find this info on seed packets or on any seed company’s website. Some nursery plants have this info on nursery tags. Days to Harvest can vary a lot from one variety to another.
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Keep Kids Engaged with Succession Planting
Succession planting is when you plant seeds (or transplants) at intervals such as every two weeks. Roots veggies are easy to succession plant. For example, sow a small area of carrots. Come back every 2 weeks to sow another small area of carrots. This will extend your harvest and keep the kids engaged with planting and picking garden fresh goodies longer!
Related Post: How to Grow Lots of Melons (Fun Kid Activity!)
Fun to Harvest Plants for Kids to Grow
Yes, there are some plants that are just plain fun to harvest! Have you ever seen a little kid’s face when they pull a carrot out of the ground? The look of wonder is just the best!
Colorful radishes are delightful because kids love to see the different colored tops poking out of the soil. Give Easter Egg radishes a try!
Did you know that the broccoli crown is a collection of immature flowers? Once your kids harvest the main head, side shoots will grow. Towards the end of the season, let a few of those turn into flowers. You can sprinkle them on salads or just snack on them in the garden. Plus, bees love broccoli flowers!
Sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes are so easy for kids to harvest. Most of ours don’t even make it into the house. The kids and their friends just snack on them as they’re playing.
If you live in an area with hot summers, try growing luffa! Yes, did you know luffa sponges actually come from a plant? Many people think they come from the sea like sea sponges. They look like giant cucumbers and dry into sponges. Plus, the flowers are just gorgeous and bring lots of bees to help pollinate your garden.
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Easy Plants to Grow with Kids
Here are some of our favorite kid-friendly plants!
- carrots
- radishes
- kohlrabi
- tomatoes – especially cherry and grape varieties
- sugar snap peas
- green beans
- broccoli – Be sure to let one flower at the end of the season for a fun edible flower snack!
- luffa
- herbs – rosemary, calendula, dill, thyme, chamomile, basil My kids love to snack on lemon basil while out in the yard playing!
Gardening with kids doesn’t have to be intimidating! There are many easy to grow and fun to harvest plants that will keep them heading out to the garden to plant, harvest, and explore.
[…] Invite them to help you plan what to plant in the garden AND actually use their ideas. Check out some easy plants that are fun for kids to grow! […]