10 Plants That Are Easy For Kids To Grow

May 6, 2020

Gardening has many positive benefits, but one great one is that it teaches children new skills! Gardening with your kids not only gives them new skills, but lets them have fun, and develop self-confidence tending to plants and growing their own food. Most children love to play in the dirt and be outdoors anyways!

Here are 10 plants that are easy for kids to grow:

Snap Peas

Snap peas are a quick growing, early crop. It is also fun for kids to eat right off the vine. These can be started and germinate within 10 days and are ready to eat in less than 2 months.

Sunflowers

Plant the seeds directly into the ground, and they can grow up to 15 feet! Many types of sunflowers also produce edible seeds you can enjoy with the kids and share with the birds. Bees also love sunflowers so you will get lots of happy visitors to your garden with these bold, sunny-faced flowers!

Marigolds

Marigolds are sturdy annual flowers. They are also heat and drought tolerant, can be rough handled and are a natural insect repellent. These plants are easy for kids to grow – and even parents!

Cherry Tomatoes

Many tomatoes have long vines that require support, but cherry tomatoes are bred to grow well in compact smaller spaces! They grow perfectly in pots and continue to produce fruit all summer long. Great to keep kids engaged with growing produce.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins take up a lot of space! We recommend if you have a backyard garden to plant these as they require about 6 square feet of space. Pumpkins are fun to grow because they come in every size and colour. You can eat them, carve them, roast the seeds and so much more! Pumpkins will keep your kids excited right up to Halloween!

Lettuce

Lettuces are quick and reliable, and can encourage your kids to eat their greens! It is always fun to eat what you grow.

Carrots

Carrots sometimes need a little extra care at the beginning of the germination time, but when kids pull them out of the ground, the excitement never fails!

Zucchini

A favourite summer squash that is known to produce lots of edible goodness! Kids will have a blast making zucchini bread after harvest.

Radishes

Radishes are super-fast growers and can be harvested in less than a month in some cases! Kids will love to pull the red vegetable out of the ground, and don’t forget to save the tops to make a radish leaf pesto!

Mint

Fast-growing mint is fun and rewarding. It can be grown on a windowsill, in a container outside or the ground. I highly recommend keeping mint in a container as it spreads and takes over! It tastes great in teas, warm or iced, and adds freshness to desserts and savoury dishes!

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What plants are your kids excited to plant?

Zoey Jones

Zoey is the social media and content coordinator at SPUD. When she is not at work you can find her making a mess in the kitchen, sipping on coffee and playing board games.