Let your children grow their own food
75Gardening is a very good way to get children interested in preparing and eating the fruits and vegetables that they have grown.
Gardening is a therapeutic activity but it is also a great way to introduce children to fruits and vegetables.
Letting your children help in the garden by having their own little fruit and vegetable patch is a very good way to get them interested not only in gardening but also in preparing and eating the fruits and vegetables that they have grown.
When my little ones were younger I always let them collect the garden tomatoes and raspberries. They loved doing that, last summer I could hardly get any raspberries or cherry tomatoes on the table, they would finish the harvest before even coming back to the house! They even started creating their own recipes with tomatoes and all sort of herbs to make summer salads. Growing their own food also grew their interest on how to use their fruits, how to eat them, store them and prepare them.
Taking care of his zucchini plants
Another new development last year was to let them experiment in planting their own seeds. The success was so amazing that even I was surprised to see them collecting their carrots and courgettes and cooking them for their lunch.
Let your children experiment in the garden, give them a little patch of land and let them choose their own seeds. Planning their own vegetable patch, taking care of their baby plants, seeing how a seed transforms into a small plant and then seeing that plant flourish and give fruits is extremely exciting for them. I remember my children would come from school straight to the garden to see how their plants were. They became very responsible about taking care of their vegetable patch and very proud of their fruits. I am hoping to be able to do the same this year.
The happiness of harvesting her first radish
- How to Grow a Vegetable Garden With Kids
Growing vegetables with children is a rewarding experience for both adults and children. Here are some tips for growing vegetables that children will enjoy.
 | Amazon Price: $5.89 List Price: $27.95 |
Children are more apt to eat vegetables if they grow them
Vegetable gardening shows children how to enjoy fresh and wholesome foods straight from the plant or vine.
 | Amazon Price: $7.03 List Price: $12.95 |
 | The Fussy Eaters' Recipe Book: 135 Quick, Tasty and Healthy Recipes that Your Kids Will Actually Eat Amazon Price: $10.67 List Price: $23.00 |
How to get a child to eat: Understanding picky eaters
- How to get a child to eat: Understanding picky eaters
Start understanding why your child doesn't want to eat to be able to put into practice a few tips to get your child to eat healthy meals.
Vegetable Gardening: See how fun it can be to discover nature working
If you don't have a garden this is a Kids' Container Gardening guide
 | 18 projects will teach enthusiastic young gardeners how to create an assortment of container gardens that are simple to make, that are fun to work on, and that make great gifts. Amazon Price: $6.90 List Price: $14.95 |
Fancy a Pizza Patch?
 | "12 spirited, easy-to-implement ideas for theme gardens that parents and kids can grow together. Illustrated throughout by the author's own lyrical watercolors, each garden includes a plan, the planting recipe -- seeds, seedlings, and growing instructions spelled out step-by-step -- and activities. " Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $13.95 |
Growing and cooking carrots
When is time for harvest children will feel a sense of joy and accomplishment about their gardening meaning that they will eat and share their fruits and veg.
Teaching children about nature is as important as teaching them other subjects at school. Having a garden patch my children learnt to be more responsible and also they learnt by their own experience how plants grow and how some of the food we eat eventually arrives at our tables. For example, seeing all the work that goes behind a simple tomato salad made them more respectful towards the dishes served at the table. Now they have seen by themselves how long it takes for a tomato to grow, how delicate they are and how much work they need to do to keep their tomato plants growing healthy. After all that, now they just don’t say “I don’t like it” without trying something. At least now they try, taste and judge before refusing to eat something.
Growing their own vegetables my little ones have discovered not only nature at work but also new foods and flavors. Now they eat many more fruits and vegetables than last year and they are more open to trying new vegetables.
Juicing your vegetables and fruits: Recipes For Kids
- Healthy Nutrition - How To Use Juicing Recipes For Kids
"We are all focused on healthy nutrition, but did you know that you could use juicing recipes for kids to improve their intake of fresh fruits and veggies? This is such an easy way to improve your family nutrition and nutrient intake."
Harvesting Cherries
Getting the tomatoes for dinner
 | Amazon Price: $4.99 List Price: $12.95 |
Other Resources on Gardening with children
- Parents Who Garden With Kids Have Children Who Grow Up Great!
Gardening with your children is a wonderful activity for busy parents. There is so much your children will learn from the step-by-step activity of planning, planting, and harvesting a garden. - Why You Should Grow A Vegetable Garden With Your Toddler
"I can't help, but be thankful that I took the time this year to plant a garden with my toddler. It has taught her so much! Now we can eat the fresh vegetables together." - Children can grow vegetables too
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (5)
- Funny
- Awesome (3)
- Beautiful (3)
- Interesting (2)
one2get2no: hi, yes that is a great idea and a fantastic way to share an outdoor activity with your son. I started growing cherry tomatoes and now we are growing lettuces, courgettes, aubergines, pumpkins, all sorts of herbs, carrots... etc. The only "disaster" was our spinachs, they never came out :-( we'll try again this year!
This is a great hub, Princessa! Now, if you could combine growing their own food and juicing the veggies, it will be the best of recipes! These are all wonderful ways to get kids to see veggies in a different light! We need to be creative.
rsusan: Yes, that is really good. My little ones really like creating their own smoothies with the fruits of their harvest -when they don't eat them before they get to the kitchen!
I remember when I was a little girl my mom used to make lots of juices for us (yes, I was a picky eater) and that was the only way I could have both fruits and vegetables everyday. My favourite one was one made with strawberries, bananas, papaya and beetroot; it was delicious!
Sounds yummy, Princessa. Wish we had a juicer when I was growing up. I totally detested veggies! Can't believe that now, but that's the way it was. I think juicing would have helped. Your kids are lucky to learn healthy habits in this way.
This is a great idea for encouraging children to eat vegetables and fruits, Princessa. Growing their own food would be be very interesting for children and give them a sense of accomplishment - and freshly picked food tastes the best!
rsusan: Yes, I believe that my little ones are lucky to be able to see how fruits and vegetables grow. They are becoming more and more adventurous to cook and eat their fruits and veg now that they are involved in producing them.
Alicia: That's right, garden vegs are super tasty. We got so used to our own tomatoes that now when we buy tomatoes we find them really tasteless. Home grown tomatoes are so delicious that you don't need any dressing to eat them raw. The same goes for other homegrown fruits and vegs.
Growing your own food also teaches your children to eat seasonally which I find a very good thing.
Loved this hub because it has gotten me even more excited for when planting season begins. My daughter loves to help me, and I encourage her to enjoy harvesting the food we grow straight from the garden, as I did when I was her age. :0) Can't wait to do this again.
Also look forward to my daughter eating more salads because it was food she helped grow and harvest. :0) She was more likely to snack on kale and swiss chard this summer than ever before.
Enjoyed the layout of this hub, and voted UP on everything but funny.
Seafarer Mama: Thanks for the votes. Getting your children to grow their own fruits and veg is fantastic for introducing them to new foods usually difficult to eat for them (ie. vegetables).
At the start I found that little vegs like cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, green beans and radishes were the easiest ones to grow and the more tempting for the children to eat.
Good luck with your garden!
Great pics! Loved how you organized this. We started a family garden last year but didn't have much luck. Plan to do it again this year. Voted up!
kelleyward don't give up with your family garden; it is worth every minute of work you put in it. We've had somze "failures" too like the spinachs that never came or the melons that only developed up to cherry tomatoes size and then just decided to die... But even failures were good as the children realized that growing their own fruits and veg was not as easy as they thought and it required work, dedication and of course a good amount of good luck ;-)
I belong to a farmer's family. I have been gardening from the time I was a child. I know gardening can be fun and recreational activities for children.
I enjoyed reading your views.
Vinaya: Thanks for reading and comenting. I grew up mostly in the city and never did any gardening at all. I've only discovered the joys of gardening a few years ago, so in a way growing our own food is a discovery trip not only for my little ones but also for me. We are learning toguether what works and what doesn't.
one2get2no Level 4 Commenter 3 months ago
Superb hub Princessa. I grow my own fruit and vegetables every summer and show my son how to do it. Vote up!