How to Grow a Vegetable Garden With Kids

Harvesting Potatoes

Vegetable gardening with children is a rewarding experience for both adults and children. Here are some tips for growing vegetables that children will enjoy.

Things You'll Need

• vegetable garden
• child or children

Instructions

1. Children enjoy planting seeds, so get them involved right from the start. Let them help you plant the seeds. These are some of the more interesting things to plant for children.

2. 

   Pumpkins - They like to see pumpkins grow. They will learn that pumpkins start out green and turn orange as they ripen.

3. Zucchini - Children can experience eating a zucchini flower. They will learn about male and female flowers and fertilization.

4. 

   Pole Green Beans are fun because the vines climb up taller than them. They will enjoy hunting for and picking the green beans.

5. 

   Carrots - Children enjoy picking carrots out of the dirt to discover how big they got.

6. 

   Potatoes - A favorite activity in the fall is to dig in the dirt to find as many potatoes as you can. Children get excited each time they find a new potato in the ground.

7. Cucumbers - If you want to try something new and have the space, you can grow a cucumber tunnel. Setup the frame of the tunnel the way you want and let the cucumbers climb on the structure to cover it.

8. Sunflower House - This isn't technically a traditional part of a vegetable garden, but it is fun for kids. Plant rows of sunflowers, preferably the taller varieties so that they form a square or rectangle with an opening. Morning glories or other vines can be grown and can be trained to cross over the top.

9. Three Sisters Garden - Grow a traditional Native American style garden with corn, squash and beans. See the link below to find out about how to grow a three sisters garden.

10. Let children walk around and splash in a small mud puddle! They will love it and you can just hose them down afterwards. Try to keep the mud playing to a small corner of your garden so they don't ruin any plants. Supervise the kids so they don't get into trouble.

11. Involve your children in every step of the gardening process from planting seeds, to caring for the plants, to harvesting your vegetables. Your children might even be tempted to eat their vegetables if they grow them themselves.

Tips & Warnings

• Create a special spot in the garden that is just theirs. Let them do whatever they want in their spot. Encourage them to take care of their plants.

Resources

• Three Sisters Garden
• Sunflower House
• Cucumber Tunnel