The Best Plants to Start your First Garden

Most kids are natural gardeners. Kids are curious; they learn by doing, and they love playing in the dirt.

By working the garden, kids can experience the immense satisfaction obtained from caring for their garden and watching it grow.

Gardening is an important life skill, often overlooked in traditional school curriculums. Gardening teaches children so many valuable things, survival skills, and environmental awareness. There are many crops suitable for younger gardeners; we’ve put together a list of 7 easy plants that are fairly easy to grow, and great fun to harvest:
Sunflowers

All children’s gardens should have sunflowers. Only one or two plants are needed since each plant takes up a sizable amount of space. Sunflowers will start sprouting about one week, providing children with a quick opportunity to observe growth.

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Lettuce

Lettuce provides a quick and reliable crop. The plants grow fast and children will be able to observe their garden’s progress at a pace that will keep their attention.

Radishes

Radishes are another garden plant that grows quickly. They germinate in about 3-10 days and their growing season is about 20-30 days. For hot radishes, children can plant them in hot weather; for a milder radish, plant the radishes in cooler weather.

Snow Peas

Snow peas are fun to grow because children can eat them right from the vine. The plant germinates in about 10 days and is fully mature in about 60 days. Sow them in a cooler, shady part of the garden and enjoy watching them grow.

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Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes are a must have for any garden, especially a child’s garden. Cherry tomatoes are extremely easy to grow, and can even be grown in containers.

Strawberries

Strawberries are fun for kids to grow, but difficult to keep garden predators out of. Keep them covered with netting to keep birds and raccoons out.

Pumpkins

Pumpkins are a staple for gardening with kids. Not only is it fun to watch them grow, the kids can have fun carving and decorating them in the fall.

Gardening is great fun and a wonderful learning experience for kids. Children will experience great pride in growing their own food and eating the items they grow. Learning about the nutritional value available in the garden vegetables will help children appreciate a healthy diet and the work that it takes to bring food to the table.