Parenting Tips: Kids' Garden Boxes

I know that some of you are well into spring and beyond already, but here in Maine it is still too early to plant outdoors.  So this is a good time for us to start kids with planting seeds for future outdoor gardens.  If you don't have room for a garden, how about a container garden or a window box or deck container garden?  Kids often are more excited by planting this that they can harvest to eat, rather than cut for flower arrangements.  So... with a little help from some friends... below is a list of a few kid-friendly possibilities with their time frames, pros, and cons.  Try it!  Even the responsibility for a single window box with some lettuce or radishes is a great way to start kids and give them some ownership in the process of daily watering, weeding, tending etc. The pride of harvest is huge!

Radishes
Germinate in 3-10 days, and have a very short growing season of 20-30 days.

Lettuce  

Another fast crop that gives kids fast results, and it’s also a good way to interest kids in salads.

Snow peas

They take about 10 days to germinate and mature in about 60 days. They are also fun for kids to eat right off the vine.

Cherry tomatoes These may be the most fun crop for kids, aside from strawberries. Great for nibbling and for salads.

Nasturtiums
These flowers are easy to grow and they bloom about 50 days after the seeds are planted, with orange, yellow and red flowers. The flowers are also edible, and can be used to add color to a fresh garden salad. Kids sometimes think it is a fun kind of wild and crazy that certain flowers are edible.  

Bush beans
Fast, easy, high yield and, because they do not grow tall, they are easy for kids to harvest. Bush beans germinate in 4-8 days, and mature in 40-65 days.

Image credits:  breckenridgemountainrealty.com, thisnext.com, kiddiegardens.com