Children’s vegetable gardens have been around for hundreds of years but they have recently experienced a revival. This may be due to people becoming more frugal, environmentally conscious, or family oriented. Whatever your motivation is, you’ll likely find that vegetable gardening is a great way to spend time with your child. To get started, you will need to use quick growing plants for a child’s vegetable garden. Here are a few you might want to consider.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Carrots
Carrots are tuber vegetables which sprout quickly but you can give them a head start by soaking the seeds before planting. If this is done, your child could see sprouts ten days after they are planted. Another great thing about planting carrots is that even picky eaters are more likely to eat something they grew.
You may want to note that fresh carrots taste differently than those purchased in stores. The reason for this is due to the “sitting” time. This applies to carrots as well as other vegetables.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Radishes
To quickly engage your child in gardening, plant radishes. If the conditions are right, you could see sprouts in about ten days. Radishes are typically a cool weather crop and are best grown in the spring or fall months. Although children don’t usually like to eat radishes, their bright color is enough to temp your child to sample the results.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Lettuce
Children like to see quick results. Planting lettuce is one way to ensure that your child doesn’t get disappointed. Several varieties of lettuce can go from planting to plate in a little over a month. Lettuce comes in hundreds of varieties so consider planting several kinds. Each variety has its own taste and texture and makes for an interesting salad. Another great thing about lettuce is that you can teach your kids about edible and in-edible leaves. This is especially important for younger children who tend automatically put things in their mouths.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Pumpkins
Although pumpkins take up a large area in the garden, I suggest that you add them to your child’s garden. There are several reasons for this. Most children are familiar with pumpkins because they are used so much during the fall season. Pumpkins don’t grow as quickly as other vegetables but they do provide a chance for kids to practice their “waiting” skills.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Cherry Tomatoes
These bite-size morsels are perfect for a child’s vegetable garden. Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow so children aren’t likely to become discouraged. The seeds can be started indoors if the weather is cool or planted directly in the ground when the weather is warm. Children find it easy to tell when the tomato is ripe because of the bright red color. Since the tomatoes are small and grow in clusters, little hands can easily pick and manipulate the vegetable.
Child’s Vegetable Garden – Butter Beans
In the Southern U.S., lima beans and butter beans are seen as two different types of beans. Either will work in a child’s vegetable garden. The key is to stick with the bush bean types. I prefer small, green butter beans so I use the Henderson variety.
Planting and growing butter beans is easy for most children. Notice I didn’t include picking or shelling! From my experience, kids tend to pull up the whole plant instead of just pulling off the beans. This means that picking is probably something you will need to do. As far as who should do the shelling, I’ll leave that up to you. 
Kids often enjoy being outside, especially if an adult is there to admire their accomplishments. To nurture your child’s self-esteem and spend more time together, consider creating a garden with your youngster. This project isn’t difficult. The key is to use some of these quick growing plants for a child’s vegetable garden. Now that you know how easy it is, start building fond memories and your child’s self-esteem today.
Extend Your Gardening Activities
So what can you do after the kids’ garden is planted? You extend the fun by bringing the garden indoors with cooking lessons!
For great step-by-step, illustrated, recipes and even more food related activities see our growing list of educational, seasonal cooking lessons on our cooking site. Great for homeschooling lessons or easy family bonding activities.
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