Ten Kid-Friendly Cultivars for your School, Community or Home Garden
By Lynsey Ruml
“I believe that every child in this world needs to have a relationship with the land … to know how to nourish themselves … and to know how to connect with the community around them.”
—Alice Waters
School Gardens are a great way to help students connect with nature by using the outdoors as a classroom and living plants as the subject matter! With so many seed selections to choose from, it’s hard to know which cultivars will be hit with students while also demonstrating hardiness and resilience needed to be handled frequently by little learning hands.
To make the choice easier, we’ve selected 10 hardy and colorful cultivars that are sure to be interesting enough to serve as curriculum in your classroom.
Mexican Sour Gherkin — These fun cucumbers look like mini watermelons and produce fruit in as little as 80 days! Mexican Sour Gherkins are attractive plants with cute flowers and huge yields, ensuring every child in your class gets to taste one. Direct sow after last frost in full sun (offer afternoon shade in hot desert climates) and trellis.
Lemon Queen Sunflower — This florist-approved sunflower has the appearance of a traditional sunflower, but the few seeds it produces are small and best saved for the birds, making it perfect for younger grades and districts with strict food policies. Lemon Queen stands 8-10 feet tall and blooms in about 90 days. This cultivar produces quite a bit of pollen after being cut and is better left in the garden if your kids have allergies or asthma. Direct sow after the last frost. Stake stems in windy climates. This multi-flowered stem annual variety often reseeds itself for us!
Watermelon Radish — These sweet, colorful daikon relatives are always a hit with kids! Bright green and cream on the outside with a contrasting bright pink interior, this sweet radish is as beautiful as it is tasty! Direct sow one month before last frost. Harvest in 50 days. This radish is best grown in the fall, except in climates with cooler springs.
Luffa — This fun plant can be eaten as squash in its early stage, or saved and dried on the vine, then used to make your own loofah sponges! Save your early-emerging fruits for sponges to give them adequate time to mature. Direct sow after the last frost or start seeds eight weeks before and transplant when nighttime temperatures are above 50 degrees. One minor warning — squash leaves and vines can be slightly irritating to delicate skin.
Brad’s Atomic Grape Tomato — An exceptionally colorful, sweet tasting, bite-sized tomato ready 80 days after transplant. This indeterminate plant is a heavy producer and its bright colors make it an automatic favorite in the school garden. Trellis or cage and prune suckers to keep plants at a manageable size while increasing fruit size. This one comes with a disclaimer, too — tomato leaves can irritate delicate skin and the leaves can be a stomach irritant when ingested in high quantities.
Dinosaur Kale — This mammoth-sized kale has a cool name and lasts all winter long in mild climates or with frost protection. It can grow as tall as three feet! Direct sow in early spring or fall several weeks before the first frost, or germinate indoors and transplant in ideal climate and planting conditions. Great for green smoothies!
Atomic Orange Corn — A flint corn that’s ready in 80 days! This hard-shelled variety makes a perfect popcorn after drying, making it a fun variety in both appearance and function. Plant in a square, or around the perimeter of your raised garden to ensure adequate pollination. Be sure to plant at least 20 feet from other corn varieties to avoid cross-pollination!
Gomphrena — This member of the amaranth family has unusually colorful, globe-shaped flowers that last all summer long — even in the hottest climates. This variety is often dried and used in bouquets for texture. Sow 6-8 weeks before last frost and transplant after a couple sets of true leaves develop. Gomphrena can take up to 100 days to flower from seed and is best reserved for long growing seasons and year round school years (or those with participating summer programs). It’s also a perennial in zones 10a and above!
Rosa Bianca Eggplant — A large eggplant with a purple and cream contrast that makes this Italian heirloom a hit with kids! This extremely heat tolerant cultivar looks magical in the garden and can be harvested in as few as 80 days from transplant!
Blauhide Beans — Beautiful purple beans that look like an ornamental plant in your garden! Breathtaking when included in a three-sisters garden, climbing up atomic orange corn and lemon queen sunflower! Soak overnight and direct sow after your last frost. Pods can be eaten when young, but are still tender when mature at 8 inches. Warning — raw beans can be a stomach irritant when ingested in large quantities.
Gardening with children and observing their wonder as the plants and seasons change makes an already-rewarding hobby even more fulfilling. We hope you enjoyed this post and found a few new kid-friendly cultivars to incorporate into your school or home garden!
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