When choosing plants for your children to grow there are some great options that with be fun, without too much work (or expense) on your part. The most important thing to consider is how long it will take for the plant to reach their flowering/fruiting stage. The last thing you want is for your children to lose interest and give up because the plant doesn’t seem to be changing or developing.

Herbs

Herbs are great because kids can instantly recognise that each one has a different smell! This is really exciting and is a great way for them to get involved even with choosing which herbs to buy. They can simply choose their favourite smelling one. Many herbs can be purchased mature enough to use which is fantastic. You can literally take them home, plant them and start enjoying them straight away.

Tomatoes

In many areas tomatoes grow most of the year and can easily be grown in pots or small garden beds.

They are very fast growing and can produce fruit quickly and for many weeks at a time. Plus who doesn’t love a fresh tomato ripened on the vine!

Lettuce

These are a little unsung hero of the garden world. In the right conditions, a lettuce can grow from seed to feed (time to eat it) in 3-4 weeks! These are great plants for kids to see them growing by the day and you’ll love having some fresh lettuce leaves to use in your salad or on your sandwiches.

Mushrooms

If your kids haven’t developed a taste for mushrooms yet this will work a treat! Mushrooms grow really fast and are a totally delicious addition to your vegetable selection. You can buy a mushroom growing kit from the hardware shop and all you need to do is water and watch them grow!

Sprouts

These things are fascinating, so even if the kids don’t get a buzz out of sprouting seeds, you sure will!

You can sprout an amazing variety of seeds for plants with all different flavours and textures. There’s no need to go to the expense of buying any sprout growing hardware when a glass jar and some cloth with do just as good a job.

You can buy sprouting seeds at the health food shop for a couple of dollars a packet. Pop them in your glass jar with some water and let them sit for an hour or so. Then drain off the water (through you cloth) and pop them in a nice dark humid spot and they will start to sprout within 24hrs. Rinse the seeds with water once a day until they are ready to eat. My favourite plants are mung bean sprouts but there are lots of different sprouting seeds to choose from. Enjoy!!!