Beginner Gardening with Kids: What to Plant
In 2015, we moved into our rental house and were surprised to find it had a garden. A little 2x12 foot space for us to do as we wished. I gathered up my 18-month-old daughter and made our way to Home Depot. That first year we planted a patch of carrots, 4 zucchini plants, 2 rhubarb plants, and a handful of arugula seeds.
To my surprise, the zucchini quickly took over everything, the rhubarb was crowded, and our arugula started flowering. I didn’t even know that arugula could flower! I was a baby gardener with my baby girl and had no idea what I was doing.
We grew up in that little garden, my daughter and I. We learned a little more each year until we moved into our new home with a huge garden bed pre-built in the middle of the yard. We started a family tradition of planting the majority of our garden on Mother’s Day (the soonest possible date for our zone 5a frost).
As the years have gone on, I’ve learned what has worked for my kids to plant on their own. Maybe you’re starting your own garden this year and want to know what to plant? Hopefully, this list inspires you. The best part about gardening is that you can create as much or as little space as you need. Do you only have room for one or two pots on a patio? Pick a couple of things from these categories! Are you trying to fill acreage? Plant it all!
Quick Growing: Quickly growing fruits and vegetables are always a hit. Growing a garden is a lesson in patience, but sometimes that can feel frustrating! For quick growing plants we like:
Carrots
Beets
Radishes
Zucchini
Cosmos
Cut and come back: There’s a mix of thankfulness and sadness when you’ve grown something and it’s finished. Having things you can cut and come back to makes gardening with kids even more exciting. We love:
Chard
Rhubarb (perennial)
Zinnias
Mint (mint should be contained in its own space or it will take over everything)
Show Stoppers: It’s a firm belief of mine that every garden needs a show stopper or two. Something to inspire and delight your child. Every year we always plant a couple of mammoth sunflowers. Their entire purpose it to grow as large as they possibly can and then become food for the birds. It’s the best.
Things they love to eat: Growing food you love to eat is a wonderful lesson for kids. Do your children have a favorite vegetable? Try growing that! We have tomatoes every year that are always eaten straight off the vine! We also love growing peas for garden snacking as well.
We’ve learned so much since our first garden 8 years ago. Every year we make a little more space and grow a few more things. It’s truly a joy to spend this time growing and gardening with my children.
