Hi All,
I am novice gardener and only have planted shrubs, climbers etc but would like to grow some fruit or vegetables with my 3 year old daughter. Can anyone suggest easy ones to start with and can I plant a small plant to start with rather than seeds as I was very unscuceesful last year with my sunflower seeds and none grew. I planted first from seed in a tray indoors then transferred to the ground but they did not last at all they seemed too fragile.
Many thanks
I think you would have better luck starting sunflower seeds in the ground. Just be sure your soil is warm. Sunflowers I planted in the ground here in the Chicago area two weeks ago are already about one inch high. Be sure to keep them moist, especially at their early stages of growth. You will get the best results with fresh seeds for this year. My radishes and lettuce also came up. Tomatoes seem to be easy for me to grow from seed under lights. Giving them a moderate amount of heat seems to help them get to germinate. I find that too much or too little heat doesn't work. I just set up my cold frame for tomatoes, as the night time temperatures here are still in the forties, so I am moving mine from the house to the frame to acclimate them.
Fruits like apples and pears take a few years, but are quicker to fruit on dwarf rootstocks. You might try some berries like raspberries or strawberries, but they can take about a year to give fruit. Be sure to put them in a sunny spot for best production.
Sherwin
People always suggest radishes but few kids like to eat them and if they get too big (easily done) nobody else does either. Also a bunch of leaves (and hidden root) isn't so interesting. A fruit tree, or a plant that produces a recognisable common "fruit" will probably take too long to maintain interest.
If you have a sunny spot try beans (green or string beans not broad beans). The seed is big and you can clearly see it shoot and they almost grow as you watch them, then within a few weeks you have a whole plant with all the interesting bits (stem, leaf, flower and fruit) right there, you can tell her simple stories about them and what they do. I know you wanted to start with a plant but starting with seeds makes a much better story, you can even let some pods mature and produce seeds. This is true magic! Trust me these are easy to grow.
You only need a few and they are typically pretty hardy plants. You could put them in a pot if there is no suitable spot in the ground. If you have the climbing sort a trellis for a small number is easily made from odds and ends, or get the bush sort. You never know she might grow up eating her greens without complaint!
David
"Richard Elsmore" wrote in message
It would be good to have a sort of progressive garden, where something interesting is happening all the time. Choose things that sprout quickly (beans, peas), things that can be sampled almost as soon as they come up (lettuce, spinach), things that grow more when you pick them (herbs), and things that will produce continuously for a long time after they mature (beans, tomatoes, cucumbers). That should hold her interest for months.
--S.
: :Hi All, : :I am novice gardener and only have planted shrubs, climbers etc but :would like to grow some fruit or vegetables with my 3 year old :daughter. Can anyone suggest easy ones to start with and can I plant a :small plant to start with rather than seeds as I was very unscuceesful :last year with my sunflower seeds and none grew. I planted first from :seed in a tray indoors then transferred to the ground but they did not :last at all they seemed too fragile. : :Many thanks
Tomatoes are pretty easy and immensely satisfying. Buy a plant or maybe better a set of 6 cells and plant 18" apart in fertile soil. Tomatoes are deep rooted, so the deeper you work in some compost the better. They aren't terribly fussy and I've had very good luck with them. The tomatoes are green as they grow and then start turning pink and then red and are ready to eat. It should delite a 3 year old.
You can try pumpkins, too. Any squash, really. The plants looks similar as well as the beautiful big yellow blossoms, but the fruits differ widely among squash. Beautiful very fast growing plants, and watching the fruits grow is wonderful. With squash, if you have snails and slugs you will want to control them. Try Sluggo, which is non-toxic but does a good job. Squash do well from seeds. In my experience, it takes around
10-14 days for the seedlings to appear. Good luck.Dan
Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net
sorry for coming in at the wrong level here, i can't find the original post.
but to the original poster have a look at our hay bale garden technique if you can source spent mushroom compost from the farm the kids can simply and easily well fairly easily with some help from mum &/or dad have a garden they can plant into right away, kids like to see quick rewards.
On Wed, 20 May 2009 18:06:21 -0700, Dan Musicant ( snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net) wrote: snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,
len & bev
-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."
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