Create a garden for children to grow their own fruit and vegetables
It really is easy to plan and create a garden for kids to grow stuff. All you need is a bit of space and soil
It really is that easy, almost everything you need to know is on the seed packet.
And these tips are for mums and dads who are gardening novices and want to give Children the opportunity to grow fruit and veg in their own garden.
How to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables
It's a fact! Kids who grow their own fruit and vegetables are more likely to eat and enjoy it, in early and later life
Encourage children to grow fruit and vegetable in their own garden.
Yes, research shows that kids brought up in gardening families keep on gardening in one way or another in later life. Studies also shows that kids who are encouraged to grow fruit and vegetables in their own garden are more likely to eat and enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables, not just in early life, but later in life too, with the benefit to health that brings.
I want to encourage my children to grow their own, but I'm not a gardener, my children think carrots come from Waitrose.
It's not just you, growing our own is not the norm anymore. We are more prosperous, fresh fruit and vegetables are readily available, as is fast food. Work takes up a lot of our time, but our doctors are seeing more and more overweight mums and dads with fat children who just don't know or care where a carrot comes from.
How can I introduce my kids to gardening and growing their own fruit and veg.
What can those of us who are just not into full-time gardening do, to introduce our kids to growing their own and at least give them an option to keep on gardening, or not in later life.
It's simpler than it sounds to give your child his or her own small garden, a kid's garden can be simply a raised bed or even a hay bale, or in larger gardens, an area can be fenced of, or marked out in some other way. Whether it is a container or plot, it's a good idea to encourage a sense of ownership from the start, by agreeing where to position the bed or plot and to make it clear it's your child's garden, to plant, to grow, to make mistakes, to always care for and very importantly to reap the harvest.
You don't need to be pretentious Alan Titmarsh, all the growing stuff is on the back of the seed packets
After you have worked out where the children's garden plot will be its time for the interesting bit, planting, sowing and growing.
You really don't need to be an expert gardener, all the information you need is on the back of the seed packet, in fact your children will find the whole thing more interesting if they think and feel you are learning with them. You might end up enjoying the gardening thing too! You can find some basic growing your own tips here.
To begin it is best to sow and plant simple quick growing plants.
Fruit, vegetables and flowers that can be touched and eaten are important too, to speed things up plants like strawberries can be purchased already in flower. Snapdragons that open when pinched can be easily grown from seed or bought as bedding plants.
Herbs, like basil and parsley, are easy to grow and can be tasted as well as smelt, lamb's ears with its soft, fuzzy leaves is great to touch. I have listed sensory plants here. I have listed the ten easiest vegetables to grow in a child's garden lower down this page,
If you are not a preachy expert gardener with lists of confusing Latin plant names, children will be more likely to enjoy gardening and learning to grow fruit and vegetables with you.
You really don't need to be an expert gardener to help and encourage kids to grow stuff in there own garden, your children will enjoy the whole thing more, learning together, let them show you how to do it. Let them make mistakes, {plants do die if they are not watered}, let them enjoy harvesting and eating the garden produce.
10 easy to grow vegetables for your children's garden.
It is easy to grow most vegetables, and it is a good ideal when starting off a kids vegetable garden to start off with the ones that are the easiest to grow. A successful crop at the first attempt will encourage you and your kids to keep on gardening.
This is a list of easy to grow vegetables for a children's garden, they can also be grown indoors in containers, and can be planted or sown directly in the ground and will grow in most types of soil.
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Cress. The easiest vegetable to grow, can be sown in soil but just as successful grown indoors on damp kitchen towel or blotting paper.
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Lettuce can be grown in containers or in the kids garden. Sowing guide on the seed packet.
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Radishes prefer a damp or colder climate so sow seeds outside or indoors away from heat, let the kids thin them out giving enough space for the bulbs to develop.
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Swiss Chard will grow in almost any soil type and both the leaf and stem can be eaten.
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Green Beans. The bush types wont need staking, runner beans will because they grow upwards yielding more beans in the same space.
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Carrots. Growing carrots is easy providing the soil is loose enough to allow them to grow deep.
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Potatoes are easy to grow providing they are banked up and kept watered. They can be grown in plastic buckets inside or outside. Seed potatoes can be purchased from most gardeners and hardware shops who will advice on the best potatoes for the season.
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Spinach prefers cooler climates so is best planted in early spring or autumn, read the seed packet for best time of year for sowing.
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Onions. Onion sets rather than seeds are easier for children to handle and plant.
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Beetroot is one of the easiest vegetables to grow and can be planted as soon as the frost is over and just requires damp ground to germinate.
8 easy to grow fruit for a children's garden
Fruits, the kids will find easy to grow and love to eat.
If space is limited, these fruit will also do well in containers. You can even grow strawberries in hanging baskets.
All of these fruits are available now to plant or sow seed.
Strawberries.
You and your kids will love the fresh, juicy flavour of strawberries picked straight from the garden. Strawberries can be planted straight into
the ground. Or if space is limited they can be grown in containers, hanging baskets and window boxes, Need a bit of simple care so ask the grower or read the label for growing
tips.
Raspberries.
Autumn fruiting raspberries will provide continuity of soft fruit at just about the time the kids have picked the last strawberries. Raspberries
are self supporting (wont need sticks/canes) so you can plant them in containers or in clumps in your garden. They're simple to maintain just cut the canes to ground level each February and let
them start all over again.
Blueberries.
Blueberries need a bit of extra soil preparation. All they need is an acid (ericaceous) soil, which you can buy in your local
garden centre or amazon So are best grown in containers. They actually make a very attractive patio plant, producing scented flowers in spring, fiery coloured autumn foliage
and lovely fresh blueberries in late summer, Apart from the special soil they are low maintenance, fruiting after about 3 years. The kids can bake you a good old
American blueberry pie.
Figs.
Need to be grown against a hot, sunny south/west facing wall or fence, so unless the children's patch of garden happens to be next to a sun
catching wall or fence, Figs are best grown in containers on a patio or sunny part of the main garden.The taste of freshly picked, sun-warmed figs is well worth the extra bit of
hassle
.
Gooseberries.
Perfect for a children's garden, planted in the garden or if space is limited, gooseberries are versatile enough to be planted in containers. Leave the
berries on the bush to ripen and sweeten for the kids to eat them straight from the bush they also make a nice crumble.
Apple tree.
Might seem a bit ambitious, but these days there is an apple tree to suit
all types, shapes and sizes of gardens and once established won't (apart from some
pruning) need much maintenance. There are also dwarf Apple tree varieties that can be grown in a container on the patio. Better still, for
children to get the complete growing experience, let them sow an apple seed. To be sure the tree will thrive in our British weather use a
seed from an English grown apple..
Blackberries.
How about the kids foraging for hedgerow fruit in there own bit of garden. Blackberries will grow almost
anywhere and won't need much attention. Could be used to hide an old fence or grow over the side
of the man-cave!. Use them with the apples for the kids to bake a Apple and Blackberry pie.
Blackcurrants.
The kids can make there own Ribena.
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KIDS GARDENING GLOVES AND APRONS: Cute cotton kids gardening gloves and
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heads and wooden handles, more durable than plastic. Safe for kids playing.
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