The end of summer is a wonderful time to begin planting vegetables that you're hoping to eat this fall. Many families love incorporating gardening into their daily activities, and it's pretty easy to see why — gardening is a great way to get kids outside and engaged without really requiring too much of them.
If you're hoping to plant your own vegetable garden this year, you're in luck. There are quite a few vegetables that are super easy to grow, even if you have a pair of tiny hands (or several pairs) helping you out.
Here are seven vegetables that you can grow with kids.
Why Gardening Is Good for Kids
Before we dive into the list, let's chat about why gardening is such a great activity for kids in the first place. Growing and nurturing their own plants will introduce kids to responsibility from the jump — making sure plants stay alive isn't too hard, but it does require daily attention.
Gardening also helps kids gain confidence (it feels so good to grow your own food!) and a genuine love for nature and being outside.
Vegetables That Are Easy To Grow
Some vegetables require a pretty high degree of daily care, but others are much more straightforward. If you're gardening with your child, it's likely that they'll want to see results sooner than later. There are plenty of vegetables out there that will do the job!
Beans
Beans are by far one of the easiest plants to grow. You can even plant them in pots, but planting them right in the ground is super easy. If you choose pole beans, you'll want to use string (like twine), posts, or even a trellis to help them as they begin to sprout and grow.
Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are pretty delightful, and they're a great vegetable to grow for kids because you can just pop them off the plant and directly into your mouth! One plant might end up giving you many, many tomatoes for weeks.
Beets
Beets are another vegetable that can be planted directly in the soil. If you experience hot summers, make sure you plant the beets underneath leafier plants (like tomatoes) so they'll be protected from the sun. Once you remove the tomatoes, your beets will still have what they need to really grow.
Lettuce
Lettuce can be grown directly from seeds, and your kids will be delighted by the project because lettuce also sprouts and grows in only a handful of weeks — sometimes as quickly as three. Plus, you can use it in salads and on sandwiches and burgers, which makes it such a great later summer vegetable to enjoy.
Radishes
Radishes are another vegetable that sprouts quickly — sometimes growing as quickly as three to four weeks from planting to harvest. You'll also want to grow your radishes under taller, leafier vegetables if the sun is an issue.
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are pretty easy but will do best if they're grown in a cooler climate. Luckily, they can absolutely be grown in the fall and will be all ready by the time winter rolls around, so if you're set on adding Brussels sprouts to the mix and your summers are too intense, just plan for a fall planting instead.
Carrots
Everyone who is gardening with kids should add carrots to their list, simply for the fact that pulling the vegetable from the earth is a lot of fun. Little kids are often especially enchanted by growing carrots.
