There are many colorful and easy-to-grow vegetables for kids to try in their own garden. Here are a few that thrive in the Pacific Northwest:
'Graffiti' cauliflower 'Bright Lights' Swiss chard 'Buttercrunch' lettuce 'Purple Haze' carrots 'Patty Pan' summer squash 'Beef Steak' tomatoes Sugar Snap peas Pole beans of any sort Cherry tomatoes
Children love to bring Mom a big bouquet of flowers, and it's even more fun when they grow their own and can harvest from their own garden. Here are old-fashioned favorites:
Having a large vegetable garden is more enjoyable when the entire family is part of the process. But what if the kids are less than enthusiastic about the activity?
Fighting with them to help takes much of the fun out of the project, and often discourages them from being involved. There are ways to make the most mundane garden chores more kid-friendly and create a passion for growing with the youngsters.
Plant the Seed
Children are walking sponges when it comes to new information, particularly when they learn through hands-on experience. Include the opportunity to play in the dirt and you have a winning combination.
There isn’t a child who isn’t fascinated with planting seeds. The allure of poking a desiccated speck of ‘something’ into the moist dirt then watching it emerge through the black soil holds a certain fascination. Invite the kids to plant at any point in the summer. Lettuce and other greens sown in August will grow rapidly enough to harvest before a killing freeze, or protect them with a cold frame to enjoy fresh salads until Thanksgiving.
Give the kids a small space in the garden where they can plant. Help them plan the area and teach them how to plant the seeds properly, but give them a bit of latitude if they’re not doing it perfectly. Remember, this a kid’s garden. Help with watering and weeding, but allow the kids to do much of it on their own, in their own style. This way, when they drag family and friends over to see their garden, they’re proud to say they’ve done the work themselves.
You can also take a few hours to construct a simple cold frame together, and place it over the bed without the glass or plastic top when the seeds are first planted. After the weather turns cold, remind the kids it’s time to put the lid down at night giving them additional responsibility. They’ll be delighted when the rest of the garden is finished, but theirs is still green and bright!
Kid Friendly Features
If kids are too young to take on the responsibility themselves, there are still ways to make the garden a fun place for the smaller tikes. Plant a vine-covered teepee as a garden centered fort where they can play while you work, or create special places just for play.
One of the simplest ways to make a teepee frame is with bamboo poles, securing them at the top with twine. Then plant a suitable flower or vegetable to grow over the entire structure. Sweet peas make an adorable and fragrant cover, particularly for older children who can understand not to eat the pods after the flowers bloom. But edible peas and beans, including the Scarlet Runner Bean that has brilliant orange-red blossoms, also make excellent choices.
Sunflowers and kids are a natural combination. Plant a group of these towering, sunny giants in a tight circle to create a natural place to hide. For the largest sunflowers, plant the seeds approximately a foot apart providing an opening in the center large enough for the youngster to sit cross-legged. For a more elaborate hiding place, plant a second row of the bushier sunflower variety a couple of feet in front of the main one creating a sunflower palace!
Cheerful Chores
Gardens do require a certain level of work that must be done for it to produce its best. But ‘chores’ and ‘tedious’ don’t have to go together. Give kids a set of tasks they can do without much supervision, but with plenty of reward.
Even adults accidentally pull tiny vegetables instead of weeds, so don’t expect kids to know what brand new lettuce looks like. Let them pull the big weeds that are easily identified. Make sure the area is damp to make weeding easy, and then let them go at it! There’s a deep sense of satisfaction when the big ones are gone, and it feels good to look back and see how much is accomplished. If there are a couple of kids, make it a contest by giving each one of them a row and see who can pull the weeds the fastest.
What makes any garden chore more fun is having the proper tools. Give kids gloves that fit (If they want them - some prefer to feel the dirt.) and their own tools to use. Paint the handles to personalize them, and make sure each child has his/her own to avoid arguments with siblings. It also teaches kids how to keep track of their tools, which is something many gardeners find challenging.
The garden is an excellent classroom to teach children about the relationship of good bugs and bad bugs. Show them how the lady beetles feed on aphids, or how the effort of the hardworking earthworm keeps the soil from being compacted around the plants’ roots by burrowing through the dirt while searching for food. Or send them into the garden with a salt shaker in the evening to take care of the slugs.
One of the best lessons in a home garden is teaching the children how their food is grown. Teach them when vegetables and fruits are ripe, and make it a habit for them to pick dinner in the backyard. There’s a tremendous amount of pleasure “providing” for the family, and many kids are more likely to try a vegetable they grew themselves. Plus, it’s hard to beat fresh picked vegetables for flavor!
Most importantly, don’t take gardening too seriously. Think of it more like a playground. If it’s a fun place to be, it might be harder to keep the kids away than coaxing them to help out.
