By Sara
Can gardening with your kids help them to get excited about eating veggies? As anyone who has kids can attest, getting them to eat their vegetables can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. So what’s a parent to do? What are some ways to encourage kids to eat healthy plant-based foods?
Kids like to be involved in decisions that impact them. So why not give them a small plot of the garden to care for themselves? Learning to tend a garden is a skill that will serve them throughout their lifetime.
Preparation for Veggie Gardens:
Start off with some easy to grow vegetables, and start some seeds indoors first before transplanting them outdoors. Some ideal choices for beginners include: lettuces, kale, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, pumpkins, potatoes, carrots, zucchini and strawberries. And it just so happens that some of the veggies most kiddos enjoy are: asparagus, bell peppers, winter squash, beets, cabbage, kale, summer squash, and peas. As you can see, there is a lot of overlap on those lists. This makes gardening with your kids easy and nutritionally beneficial.
So pick up some seeds (or starters if you prefer) and lets get to gardening with our kiddos!
“Some of the veggies most kiddos enjoy are: asparagus, bell peppers, winter squash, beets, cabbage, kale, summer squash, and peas”
Getting Started with Gardening:
Show your child how to start the seeds in a peat moss container or compostable egg carton. Put in some soil and have your child plant the seeds and add some more soil over the tops. Place the seed starters in a sunny location. Let him or her water the seeds every couple of days, and check on the seeds daily.
Once the seedlings have grown large enough to transplant, and the temperatures outside are warm enough for the plants to withstand the elements, teach your child how to transplant the seedlings. Review how much space to leave between each plant, and how deep the holes should be.
Tending the Garden with your Kiddos:
Once planted, they will need a good watering and a nice thick layer of mulch on top to prevent weeds and to help them retain moisture. Teach your children why you are doing these things so that they understand the importance of each step to their garden.
Then they just need sunshine and some water every few days. Show your child to weed the garden area to keep the nutrients for the plants. Make sure to supervise so that the vegetables don’t get accidentally pulled out while gardening with your kids!
Enjoying the Fruits of Labor:
Once the plants start bearing fruits or veggies, take your child out to harvest a snack. Pick the foods, and give then a quick rinse with the hose, then pop them right into your mouth for a treat!
Or if they are growing the makings for a salad, once they know how, you can send them out to pick the ingredients for that evening’s salad: the lettuce, and some tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs. Then with supervision, help them to cut them up and assemble the salad.
Likewise, when preparing dinner you can have your child go out to harvest some peas, zucchini, or even some strawberries. Learning what each plant looks like as it grows is also a good skill for kids in the future.
Then with supervision, help them to cut or otherwise prep the vegetables, and learn how to prepare some easy dishes. By letting them help, and be as active in the process as possible, they will come to enjoy their successes in the garden.
Culinary talents aside, this is something that can grow with your children, giving them more responsibilities the older they get. As they get older, you can have them grow more of a variety of foods, as well as encouraging their advancement in the kitchen. Then, once they are college-bound, you will know they have the kitchen skills to thrive while away from home. Great job Momma!
