Junior green thumbs: 8 fab things your preschooler can plant and grow today
Any time of year is the perfect time to head to your local nursery and make some gorgeous green plans with your child!
The gardening bug is one you really do want your kid to get, not only because it connects them to nature but also because spending time outside has health-boosting properties too! Growing their own might even have them eating their veggies with relish.
If you don’t have a garden or balcony, then that’s okay. You can grow things inside too.
(Just note that kids and potting mix don’t go together, so heed the safety warnings and get the grown-ups to do that bit!)
1. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums grow very quickly from seeds and produce lots of pretty edible flowers. The perfect preschool plant buddy, in our opinion. You can grow these in pots on a balcony or in a courtyard, or plant them directly into garden beds.
2. Salad greens
Plant salad green seedlings into containers — think all kinds of lettuce and rocket — and your kiddo can harvest them as you need them for dinner. You can also start these from seed, if you’re keen to teach your child more about the plant life cycle.
3. Kale
If your family loves kale chips or the odd green smoothie, you could DIY your own kale in a container or in a garden bed. There are lots of varieties in the seedling section of all good local nurseries.
4. Herbs
Herbs are easy to grow on a window ledge, in containers or straight into a garden bed. Start by sowing seeds or grab more established seedlings or fully-fledged plants from your favourite plant retailer.
5. Sweet peas
You can sow sweet pea seeds now and be rewarded with a pretty and fragrant blooms. These guys are pretty slow growing, providing a lesson in patience for little ones. Also? They’ll love picking them and arranging them in a vase for the dinner table.
6. Radishes
Radishes are quick to grow making them a brilliant garden choice for kids. Choose a mild variety to encourage your kiddo to eat their crop! You can grow radishes in pots inside if you keep them in a cool, light spot.
7. Carrots
Hooray for carrots! There are lots of different varieties, with the round or globe carrots perfect for pots while the more traditional types excellent for garden beds or deep pots. You could even try growing some of the round varieties of carrots in pots inside, if you don’t have a garden.
8. Cosmos
Cosmos are a beautiful cut flower. Kids will love them for their bee and butterfly attracting powers. There are very tall varieties which work well in garden beds. The dwarf varieties are great for pots.
