Kids VS vegies!

Do you remember when you were younger and your parents would try to get you to eat your vegies?

Trying to get younger children to enjoy or even eat vegetables is a difficult challenge for most parents, but what if there was a way to not only get your kids to eat their vegetables, but to also be more involved in the growing process. Inturn getting them off the couch and into the fresh air, even getting to spend more time outdoors with them.

My mother sparked my interest not only in gardening but also in vegetables by spending the time out in the gardens with me and explaining the concepts to me. When I was old enough to sow my own seeds mum made sure to buy fast growing vegetables, that in some cases were sweet enough for me to eat but in all cases were ‘pretty’ or unusual colours, even strange shapes. It defiantly worked for me. I still remember watching my first crop of carrots grow, pulling them from the ground and discovering that they were purple, not orange. I instantly fell in love with the idea that not everything will turn out how you imagine it too, and most the time the unexpected is a lot more entertaining.

If your  young ones are rather impatient try fast growing vegetables such as Radish, or buy the vegetables as seedlings so they  will develop into a crop ready to harvest in a shorter amount of time , for example an established Roma Tomato seedling (I know technically tomato is a fruit!).

If you are looking for something to keep them entertained and interested, try the variety of colours nature has to offer them.  Alternative colours of carrots, corn, beans and even rainbow chard are available.

So when your kids are a little older and more hands on, try to plant different textured vegetables like the ‘Chicago Warted Hubbard squash’ , ‘Jack Be Little pumpkins’,  the ‘New Guinea bean’ or my favourite the spaghetti squash.

Even if the kids don’t like the flavour of the vegetables the first time around it is a wonderful leaning experience.