Easy Plants for Kids to Grow

Update a garden with recycled and kid-friendly features. By reusing free pallets, Georgia teacher Shawna McGrath created a raised bed to grow radishes and lettuce. The produce can be planted and picked by kids without damaging the rows.

Photo: Photo by Lori Johnston

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The Criteria for Plant Selection

In order to get kids to enjoy gardening, a few considerations should be made when selecting plants. They should germinate quickly to keep those short attention spans occupied, produce a crop quickly and require minimum maintenance other than watering and feeding. Luckily, there are many plants that fit these criteria.

'Sugar Snap' pea is an All-America Selections winner for outstanding flavor and performance in the garden. The vines grow to 6 feet, so they'll need support. Sow more seeds every 7 to 10 days to keep your harvest coming in.

Photo: Image courtesy of W. Altee Burpee & Co.

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Snap Peas

Snap peas are a quick-growing early crop. It's fun for kids to eat these sweet pods right off the vine. They germinate in 10 days are ready to eat in less than 2 months.

One of my favorites this year : Sunflower, Del Sol Hybrid

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Sunflowers

These sunny flowers are a must for a child's garden. The seeds germinate in a week and the large varieties will be taller that your child by the end of the summer. Image courtesy of Bren Haas

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Radishes

Radishes are super fast growers. They are harvestable in less than a month! Kids love to see the little red globes popping out of the soil.

Photo: Photo courtesy of the National Garden Bureau

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Marigolds

These hardy little flowers can take rough handling and still keep going. They are perfect for very young gardeners.

Photo: Photo by Virginia Willis

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Cherry Tomatoes

These tomatoes are round, bright and sweet; a perfect combination for kids. Cherry tomatoes are prolific growers, so they will keep kids interested through out the growing season.

Photo: Courtesy of Johnny's Selected Seeds

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Pumpkins

These are by far the most beloved squash for children. Although they are not fast growing, they are definitely interesting for kids to watch over its entire growing season. Pumpkins will have them eagerly awaiting fall!

Photo: Johnny’s Selected Seeds

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Carrots

If your child doesn't like carrots, I bet he or she will after they grow their own. Kids love to harvest carrots. Carrots tend to have a longer growing season, so try some of the smaller varieties like 'Babette' or 'Romeo'.

Known for their deep red, almost burgundy colored skins, Dark Red Norland potatoes can be enjoyed early as baby-sized delights or you can let them grow into big, oblong potatoes that have a sweet, delicate flavor and are great in potato salads or boiled.

Photo: Image courtesy of www.reneesgarden.com

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Potatoes

Kids love potatoes! This is a fun one to plant because you use the "eyes" of an existing potato. Come harvest time, your kids will be amazed at the amount of new potatoes that came from the seed potato.

Photo: All-AmericaSelections.org

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Green Beans

Green beans (the bush variety) are fast growing and have high yields. Because they do not grow tall, they are easy for kids to harvest. Kids also love the "snap" of the beans.

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Lettuce

Lettuces are quick and reliable crops to give the child fast results. Try growing a mesclun mix; they can be harvested in less than a month. This is a great way to get your kids to eat salads.

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Snapdragon

Snapdragon adds bright pops of color to your child's garden. The blooms are sturdy and it's fun for children to pinch to make the "mouth" open and close. Plus, it's a fun name!

$Stewart uses miniature gherkin cucumbers for garnishes. Try her Gherkintini: Muddle 1.5 ounces of gin with sour gherkin cucumbers. Add ½ ounce of dry vermouth, shake over ice, strain into a martini glass and garnish with a miniature gherkin cucumber. $

Photo: Image courtesy of Amy Stewart

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Cucumbers

Cucumbers are fast and reliable growers. They are easy to harvest and really do not require special attention once they are established. When its time for picking, your kids will have a great time hunting through the plant's lush leaves for cucumbers.

Photo: Debbie Wolfe

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Zucchini

This popular summer squash is a known super-producer. Although somewhat prone to a few pests, zucchini is easy to grow. Once they get going, they don't need much. You and your kids will have a blast making a batch of zucchini bread after the harvest!