FAMILY GARDENING: EASY VEGETABLES KIDS CAN GROW
Gardening is an activity the whole family can enjoy together. Learning to grow your own food provides great opportunities for family bonding, lessons in science and math, and an adventure of flavors. But before you load up on seeds, make sure you've got a few old standbys that are easy to grow for a kid-friendly vegetable garden.
When you're choosing plants to grow with kids, it's important to pick varieties that grow quickly and easily so they can stand up to occasional forgotten watering or less-than-ideal soil. The best way to keep kids interested in gardening is to make it easy to be successful so that your young growers can finish with a positive outcome.
Here are five plants that will grow happily here in Indianapolis that offer tons of flavor, color, and fun for the youngsters in your life.
1. CHERRY TOMATOES
Cherry tomatoes are popular with kids because they're the perfect size for snacking! The best thing about cherry tomatoes is that most varieties are indeterminate, so you don't have to worry about pruning out any suckers. On hot days, tomatoes can drink quite a bit of water, so make sure they are getting watered daily. Potted cherry tomatoes may need to be watered even more frequently to make it through our Indiana summers. There's an exciting variety of cherry tomatoes available in a rainbow of colors like purple, yellow, and orange.
2. CHOCOLATE MINT
Chocolate Mint (or any other kind of mint) is an easy-growing herb that is very forgiving for the beginner gardener. You may want to contain it in a pot since it is prone to spreading quickly. The rich green leaves of chocolate mint smell and taste great, and you can use it to infuse hot cocoas, garnish baked treats, or brew into a relaxing, caffeine-free tea. Mint plants are also an easy way to make water more appealing for kids. Have kids toss a handful of leaves in a water bottle or pitcher, shake it around with some ice cubes to muddle the mint, and then add water. During the heat of summer, mint in a pot may need to be watered every day, but it can tolerate a relatively forgetful gardener. If it's starting to look wilted and dry, give it a drink, and it'll bounce back within a few hours.
3. RAINBOW CARROTS
Carrots are certainly tasty and easy to grow. But a colorful rainbow of carrots is even more fun! Carrots can also be grown in a pot but will require much more frequent watering. Carrots have teeny-tiny seeds, so make sure the seed gets spread out when planting. If carrots grow too close together, they'll stay pretty small. It's best to thin the seedlings out a bit, removing seedlings in between to give other plants more room to grow.
4. SUGAR SNAP PEAS
Peas are a familiar favorite with kids and are also pretty easy to grow. Because the seeds are quite large, they are easy for little hands to plant. Sugar Snap peas are another easy garden snack that they can eat right off the vine! Snap peas can be eaten shell and all, and are full of sweet flavor and healthy nutrition. Peas also grow super fast once they come up, so kids can track how much they've grown each day. Peas do need a lattice or wire to climb to support them.
5. PURPLE BEANS
Most beans are easy to grow, can take quite a bit of neglect, and will still shoot up. They grow surprisingly fast, calling to mind the story of Jack and the Beanstalk! Purple beans are particularly popular with kids. Not only are they tasty right off the vine, but they're as close as you can get to real "magic beans," changing from rich dark purple to bright green when cooked. Purple beans are technically bush beans so they don't need anything to climb—great for preventing unwanted encounters with evil giants!
Get the whole family in on the gardening fun this summer with some of these easy-to-grow and super-tasty veggies. Kids will enjoy watching the progress of these easy-to-grow plants, and even picky eaters might change their tune when they can grow their own harvest! Contact our garden center for curbside pick-up; we'll load your vehicle with everything you need to start a family garden.