If you have a spare area in your garden, why not transform it into a fruit and vegetable growing patch? Growing your own produce is a fun and easy way to encourage the whole family to spend more time outside, instead of cooped up in the house.
Regardless of the age of your children, for any family member from two to a hundred, the prospect of growing your own fruits and vegetables is an exciting one.
For children, the prospect of being able to grow their own food is also incredibly intriguing. Plus, it is also an excellent way to teach them about the importance of healthy food and nutrition.
For everything you need to know about growing fruit and vegetables, have a read of this handy guide:
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Buy a fruit and veggie growing book
If you have never grown your own produce before, then you might be feeling a little over your head with everything. Invest in a good fruit and vegetable growing book and use it to help you perfect your food growing skills.
You could also look out for a child-friendly fruit and vegetable growing book for your child. This may help to keep them focused and would give them a better understanding of what is involved in growing your own produce.
Take your children’s attention span into account
Most children have short attention spans and get bored quickly. So it is important to choose seeds that are easy to sow, germinate quickly and produce a fruit or vegetable within a small time frame.
Even if you just choose one or two quick-growing fruits or vegetables and then various other ones, this should be enough to keep your little one interested.
Ask your child what they would like to grow
Growing fruit and vegetables with your child is likely to encourage them to want to try everything you grow – this is a fantastic way to get fussy eaters to try new flavours.
To encourage them to try the things you grow, allow you child to choose what you grow. If, for example, your child wants to grow pears, look for a different variety of pears that they haven’t tried before, like a Concorde Pear tree. This will encourage your child to try something new and learn about the different varieties of each fruit.
If there is a certain fruit or vegetable that your child refuses to eat, grow it and see whether that will encourage your little one to give it a try.
Make growing fruit and vegetables fun
To keep your child interested in growing your own produce, ensure that you make fruit and vegetable growing fun and enjoyable.
Try growing unusual fruits and vegetables, and encourage your child to document their growth in a notebook. Measure each vegetable and see if your child’s produce can beat the world records for the widest of longest fruit or vegetable. It might be unlikely, but it will make growing your own produce, much more fun and enjoyable.