Some kids like broccoli!
“Mom, can I munch on this onion?”
You get the picture. Some veggies just aren’t ideal crops for a kid’s first garden. Children love to graze, and you’ll want to encourage them to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Although there will be exceptions for some kids who really love broccoli or spinach, for first-timers, have a look at our Top 10 Veggies for Kids to Grow.
To help maintain your child’s enthusiasm for the “stuff” that grows out of her garden, here’s a list of edibles that you might want to OMIT from your kid’s first garden:
- Asparagus – can take 2-3 years before produces a strong, harvest-able crop
- Cabbage – not munchable, often susceptible to cabbage worms
- Cauliflower – high maintenance (blanching), often susceptible to cabbage worms
- Eggplant – slimy
- Hot peppers – some have oils on the outer layer that can irritate the skin
- Okra – fuzzy, spiky, slimy
- Onions and garlic – yuck, Mom!
- Spinach – can be chalky, though we’ve enjoyed good varieties
- Turnips – best to stick to radishes
- Zucchini – thorny/prickly, though can equip the neighborhood with baseball bats
For specific projects like pizza gardens where the objective is to harvest ingredients that go into making a finished meal, some ingredients in the list above would not apply.
