Gardening, and planting your own vegetables is a lovely activity to do with your children.
It’s also a great way to get kids engaged in what they eat. It’s fun, tasty and (can be) truly organic. It’s also not overly difficult (our favourite kind of activity!) and outside, so any mess can be left at the back door. Here are some easy starting points for planting vegetables with children.
You can plant in anything too so you don’t need loads of equipment.
You’ll need…
- A container of any kind – hunt around your garden for old pots not used anymore
- Soil/fertiliser – available at most supermarkets or garden centres
- Stones (for drainage) – get some from your garden
- Plant food – just like us, they need to eat to grow
And some really simple instructions:
- Put stones at bottom of container to help with drainage
- Add soil
- Add seeds
- Water
- Feed weekly (or when you remember)
Here is a handy guide to get you started…
Carrots
When to sow: April
When ready: September
How to tend: Use sandy soil (add sand to pots)
Space needed: 20cm between seeds
Depth of soil: ½ cm
Peas
When to sow: March/April
When ready: June/July
How to tend: Use loam soil
Space needed: 5-10cm between seeds
Depth of soil: 6cm
Potatoes
When to sow: March/April (sow in a grow bag and invest in some canes)
When ready: 3–4 months after sowing
How to tend: Lots of manure!
Space needed: 25cm between seeds
Depth of soil: 10cm
Tomatoes
When to sow: March/April (sow in a grow bag and invest in some canes)
When ready: July/August
How to tend: Sun, ideally a green house!
Space needed: 30-40cm
Depth of soil: 1cm
Strawberries
When to sow: April/May (get plants from garden centre) – put straw under fruit to stop rotting before it ripens
When ready: June/July/August
How to tend: Well drained soil and sunlight
Space needed: 10cm
Depth of soil: 8cm
Simply harvest when ready. It’s a doddl – give it a go!
You’ll find some delicious veggie recipes on our doddl Parent Hub too.
If you feel inspired then why not try creating your own children’s garden. It can be as small as a couple of pots on a windowsill. Or as big as you have space for!
