How to Grow Vegetables With Children

Children can pick up a lifelong interest in gardening by starting on easy vegetables.

Growing vegetables can get children engaged in gardening. Vegetable growing isn't limited to those blessed with outdoor gardens: Many vegetables will grow indoors in containers placed on windowsills. Cress, beans and lettuce are easy to grow outside or indoors and yield quick results.

Things You'll Need

• Three yogurt containers, with a couple of holes poked into the bottom
• Cress, bean and lettuce seeds
• One cup stones or pebbles
• Soil
• Cotton wool
• Watering can

Instructions

1. Clean and dry the yogurt containers. Have the children put a small layer of pebbles or stones into two of the containers, and then instruct the children to fill the pots with soil. Have the children place a moist layer of cotton balls or pads in the bottom of the third container.

2. Place the seeds on a flat surface. Ask the children to take several cress seeds and push them into one of their soil-filled containers. Have them do the same with beans. For cress seeds, they can simply sprinkle the seeds over the cotton balls.

3. Show your gardening buddies how to fill the watering can and allow them to lightly water the plants once they sprout. They can repeat this process daily.

4. Transplant the plants once they outgrow their pots. To transplant, dampen the soil you'll be transplanting into. After the kids have watered the plants in the pots, they should be able to slowly remove the seedlings by the root. Instruct the children to use their fingers to create a hole in the new soil, large enough to hold the seedling. The children can push the soil back in place and add a little more water.

Tips & Warnings

• Water the transplants daily until they are ready to harvest.

• Encourage your children to look at the plants regularly and keep track of how fast the plants are growing.

• Instead of planting the cress in a yogurt container, you can use an empty eggshell with a layer of moist cotton pads to create a cress eggman.

• During warm weather, ensure your plants are topped up with water.

References

• BBC Gardening: Gardening with Children
• The Kids Garden: The Kids Vegetable Garden