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Here’s a list of 25 of the best fruit, vegetable and herb plants to grow with kids in the garden this year.
Best fruit and vegetables to grow with kids
We had great fun growing vegetables last year and we also planted lots of other seeds.
Our herbs grew really well and our spinach and I loved that my daughter could pick the chard herself and eat it within minutes for her lunch.
This year we’re using our super-cheap but brilliant mini greenhouse to start the seedlings and grow our herbs and vegetable plants.
My friends have raved about how good mini-greenhouses are for years, so I thought it was time to invest. I know you’re here to find out about the best fruit and vegetables to grow with kids, so I’ve just added some information on the greenhouse at the bottom of this post.
Best fruit and vegetables to grow with kids
We don’t have the best garden for growing, it’s not huge, it is east facing and the soil is typically horrible London clay, which is so hard to dig when it’s wet.
But there are loads of fruit and veg which are super easy to grow with little fingers … impatient for exciting results … even in poor conditions like ours.
This is the list of 25 fruit, vegetable and herb plants that we’re planning on growing complete with the start months for sewing in and outside, planting out and harvesting
To best satisfy the interests and tastes of small gardeners we’ve gone for a mixture of:
- Speedy growers like radishes and lettuces
- Some dramatic plants e.g. sunflowers, zucchini and Jerusalem artichokes
- Bulbs and tubers as well as seeds
- Stuff even fussy eaters will eat whole like snap peas and french beans
- Plus spinach, chard, kale and cabbage that can be blended into sauces
- Yummy berries of course
- And some lovely smelly herbs which we can use in everything from cooking and teas to play dough and herb crowns
25 best fruit and vegetables to grow with kids
Plant | Sow In | Sow Out | Plant Out | Harvest |
Beetroot | Mar | Jun | ||
Blackberries | Jan | Jun | ||
Blueberries | Nov | Jun | ||
Broad beans | Mar | Jun | ||
Broccoli | Mar | Apr | Jun | |
Cabbage | Feb | May | Jul | |
Chives | Feb | May | May | Aug |
French beans | Apr | May | Jun | |
Garlic | Nov | Jul | ||
Jerusalem artichoke | Mar | Dec | ||
Lemon balm | Feb | Apr | Jul | |
Lettuce | Feb | Mar | Jun | |
Kale | Mar | Jun | ||
Mint (Grow in containers) | Mar | Jun | ||
Onions | Sep | Jun | ||
Potatoes | Feb | Apr | Jul | |
Radishes … only takes a few weeks to grow | Mar | Mar | ||
Sage … harvest the second year | May | Jul | ||
Snap peas | Mar | Jun | ||
Spinach | Mar | May | ||
Spring onions | Feb | Aug | ||
Strawberries … might not fruit from seed 1st year | Mar | Jun | ||
Sunflowers | May | Aug | ||
Swiss chard | Feb | Mar | ||
Zucchini/courgettes | May | Jun | Jul |
When you’re gardening with kids, I do think it’s worth getting them some gloves, they provide protection against cuts and stings AND make cleaning their nails easier.
Plus it is worth buying kids some hand tools of their own. My tools were definitely too heavy for my 4-year-old to use comfortably.
MINI GREENHOUSE – BRILLIANT FOR SMALL SPACES
We have a four-tier greenhouse like this one by Woodside. It has a weather-resistant cover to protect our seeds and plants from rain, frost and the cold and keep garden pests at bay.
Why this greenhouse is so great:
- VERSATILE – great for small pot plants and growing herbs and vegetables
- SPACE SAVING – Ideal for gardens with limited space and balconies. The dimensions are height: 160cm x width: 70cm x depth: 50cm.
- WEATHER RESISTANT – 135GSM PE woven cover to protect plants and vegetables from the rain, cold, frost and pests.
- EASY ACCESS – Roll up zip panel door is for easy access and ensures that your plants get plenty of ventilation and fresh air.
- STRESS-FREE ASSEMBLY – Simple push together system for stress-free and easy to assemble/dismantle in no time.
It gets lots of great reviews from happy customers on Amazon, the greenhouse is easy to assemble and sturdy. You can read all the five-star reviews here.
The main issue that seems to crop up in customer reviews is that the greenhouse needs to be tethered or weighed down on windy days. We have added bricks into the bottom of our greenhouse, which is working fine for windy days.
The other thing you’ll need to bear in mind before buying is that it will need replacement covers, but these are easily available.
Take a look at the Woodside four-tier greenhouse to see if it is just what you need.
I really hope you’ve found this post useful, you might also like my post on planting seeds with kids.
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Luci is the founder of Mums Make Lists (Est. 2011). Over the last decade or so, she has used her experience as a mum to create useful guides to organising family life. During that time, she has found the most joy in creating lists of ideas and inspiration to make it easier for busy parents to plan and host kids’ parties and find great gifts. Read more.
Hellies Corner
Saturday 1st of March 2014
I find from one year to the next different things do well, last year was hopeless for a lot of things, despite the warm Summer, the cold Spiring really set things back. Sunflowers are always great for kids, as long as the sheep don't start eating them through the fence... bad neighbours!!
Carrie
Saturday 1st of March 2014
My daughter loves picking things to grow in our garden. Most of it she loves to eat as well. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday!!
Alice Emma Thompson
Friday 28th of February 2014
Oh me too! I have filled out little greenhouse already :-)
Mammasaurus
Friday 28th of February 2014
We've not grown anything for the past couple of years but next year for sure! Thanks for joining in x
Alice Emma Thompson
Friday 28th of February 2014
It's just so nice eating stuff fresh from the garden - thanks so much for hosting :-)
76 sunflowers
Thursday 27th of February 2014
Love these ideas. Quite fancy giving kale a whirl this year as we've been using it loads lately.
Alice Emma Thompson
Friday 28th of February 2014
Us too! I really want to try making kale crisps.