You don’t have to start out big-or even outside-to get kids growing their own food! Check out these 4 easy ways to get started!
I have been so moved by the excitement my kids have felt about growing our own food. They each have taken great interest, love doing the garden chores and it makes me more than a little bit proud. And for little, it has renewed his interest in vegetables. It’s no secret that growing foods piques kiddos’ curiosity.
Here’s what we have going this year! Little helped plant them all (hence some overzealous seeding that will need to be thinned and can be eaten on salads or happily snapped up by the chickens), and loves walking the gardens and watering the seedlings and plants.
And while we have several beds this year, we didn’t start out that way. In fact, we started out on a tiny apartment balcony growing peppers, herbs and tomatoes in pots.
If you want to start out small like we did? There are lots of things that grow really well in pots on an apartment terrace or just on your deck if that suits you! And growing in pots is a great way to get kids involved in tending to what they’ve grown, as beds can be intimidating! Check out great vegetables to grow in pots here, and here!
And if you are planting/growing challenged, or simply aren’t interested in digging in the dirt and battling daddy long legs in the garden, there is even an answer for you. Grow little sprouts, microgreens and lettuces in your kitchen. You can use everything from egg shells and egg cartons to yogurt containers. Sprouts don’t even really require dirt! This is a good article to get you started! Added bonus: You can do this all year round!
If you DO want to get out and get it in the yard, but don’t think you have enough space, start thinking about “square foot” gardening. It’s simple and has simple formulas for each type of food you want to grow (1 tomato plant per square foot, 16 carrots, etc.) You’d be surprised what can grow in just 3 square feet!
Want something easy to maintain? Try a 3 sisters garden! Corn, pole beans and squash! They grow well together because the beans use the corn as a pole, while also providing nitrogen to the corn and squash (or melons) grow along the edges. Other than keeping deer from eating your squash blossoms before they become squash, it’s fantastically easy to maintain. You can read more about that here!
Growing your own food is an awesome way to start conversations with kiddos about healthy foods!
Ginger Bakos is a Meal Planning and Food Budget Wizard who writes the blog Dinosaurs Are NOT Food. She is committed to helping moms feed their families well and within their budget, believing that everyone can, and deserves, to eat well! Her greatest passion is freeing moms and kiddos from the “kid food” cycle and guiding them to a healthful and positive relationship with real food. She converted her very own 3 year old Master of All Things Bread and Cheese to a beet and broccoli lover, and she knows you can make it happen in your house, too.