We finally have our garden started, a little late for the very early plants like mizuna and fava beans. My daughter has her garden started too, a pot of peas in her playhouse. She’s interested in having her own garden this year. If your preschooler is also interested in growing a garden, what foods are suitable?
Out of the early crops, I’d pick peas, radishes, and lettuce. All of these can withstand cooler temperatures, so you can plant them in early spring or late winter, depending on your climate. All of them also do well in pots or planter boxes and don’t need deep soil.
Pick a bushy pea rather than a tall, trellis pea, and choose a sugar snap variety. That way, your child can eat the entire pea, pod and all.
Radishes are not something on most preschoolers’ most desired menu, but vegetables often become more palatable to children when they grow them in their own garden. Easter egg radishes are very cute and grow into an array of purples and pinks, just like tiny round Easter eggs. Radishes require very little soil and can even grow in a plastic container that was once used to house spring greens, perfect for those of you in apartments.
I’d also try a lettuce mix or sorrel with a preschooler. Lettuces are very visible when they grow, and they take less time than peas. Sorrel is a perennial herb that looks like lettuce and tastes like lemons. I think it’s lovely, and so does my daughter, but it is an acquired taste. Choose a lettuce variety that describes itself as a cut and come again variety. You can cut off a leaf or two, then come back for more later.
There’s nothing like a bit of gardening to get your child to eat his vegetables!