4 tips for getting kids to grow their own

4 tips for getting kids to grow their own

When Kiki was a baby we had an allotment for a year or so. Having grown up with parents who grew a lot of our own fruit and veg, it was great to be able to do the same again and the kids loved seeing the whole cycle from seed to plant to food on our plate. Unfortunately, we had to give it up, due to lack of time and moving further away from it. In our last house, we still had quite a bit of space and had a few veg beds where we grew potatoes, corn, peas, beans, courgettes, tomatoes, and strawberries.  Children love being a part of the whole process, and it’s a great way to teach them about where our food comes from, as well as instilling the importance of healthy eating.

My garden now isn’t very big, but we grew salad, tomatoes, and strawberries this year, and I have plans to grow much more next year. It’s easy to get your kids involved and I’m certain they will love it! If you’ve never grown your own before, here are my top tips for involving your kiddos.

1. Keep it simple

It’s easiest to have a dedicated area for growing veg. Perhaps use a bed alongside the lawn, or you could build a couple of raised beds that are straightforward for the kiddos to look after – little arms can reach into them easily for planting, weeding and harvesting. If you have a little more space, then you could consider a polytunnel – I’d love one or two to grow in {one day!}

2. Make it fun

Keep it interesting and grow some fun varieties of veg –  how about growing some Beetroot ‘Chioggia’, that are are pink and stripy when they are cut open,  some Tomato ‘Pear Drops’,  purple carrots,  Pink Fir Apple potatoes are amazingly knobbly and weird shaped or even some edible flowers such as nasturtiums.

3.  Choose quick growing crops

Pick a few varieties of veg that don’t take too long to grow to keep kids interest. Salad leaves will be ready in a couple of weeks from sowing, radishes only take a few weeks to be harvested and early potatoes and peas don’t’ require too much waiting time either.

4. Eat what you’ve grown.

Veg fresh from the garden tastes so much better than anything you’ll buy in a supermarket – and it’s a great way to encourage kids to try veg they might otherwise avoid. Kids will love harvesting veg from the garden ready for dinner – digging for potatoes, searching for ripe tomatoes and picking the tastiest looking peas.

I’m about to plan out next years garden, I wasn’t very organised this time last year hence my lack of much home grown produce this time, and I have to admit I’ve really missed having a veg patch to tend. I’m excited too to get Vega involved – he’s loved picking strawberries and tomatoes this year so much {and eating them!}

 

This is a collaborative post

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