Kids might not be excited about the bitter crispness of an arugula leaf, but they love a fat, sassy sunflower. Anyone can get frustrated with a row of parsnips that doesn’t germinate, but to keep kids interested in the garden, quick and reliable results are important. 

Kids are still amazed by things we fail to notice or take as commonplace. A Japanese beetle, while a pest to us, is an intricate shape that moves, has iridescent colors, and, depending on the child, can be either awesome or gross. Fat cotyledons on sprouting pumpkins are pretty cool, especially since they weren’t there two days ago. 

With shorter attention spans, children can be kept interested in the garden with seeds that germinate quickly, fast-growing plants that show visible change every couple of days, and veggies and flowers that offer multiple ways to engage. Fun colors, textures, smells, and big, bold shapes are always interesting, and planning a few of those attractions in the garden can be a great way to keep kids entertained and curious. Here are a few starter ideas to get you thinking like a kid again. 

Kid-friendly vegetables for the garden

Zucchini not only make a large, green, bushy plant, but the fruits seem to double in size every day. We usually prefer to harvest them when they are smaller for better flavor, but letting one “escape” to become a giant can be fun for young gardeners. Peeking under the leaves and finding a huge dark green squash where there wasn’t one a few days ago is a great scavenger hunt.

Peas are quick to grow, easy to sprout (especially if presoaked), and double as a favorite kid and adult activity: snacking right in the garden. Choose stringless snap peas or snow peas and grow them on a short trellis so the peas hang right at kid height for picking. Peas do well in cool weather, so they’re the perfect early-season crop, but don't forget a fall crop of peas to show them the garden isn’t a one-season event.

Radishes are fun because they can be a surprise, and they grow quickly. A row of radishes will pop up in just a few days, and grow quickly to become leafy plants. But the fun is in the picking, and they’ll be ready to harvest in 3-4 weeks. Let the kid pull them up, wondering what they’ll find. A bright red radish is always a treat to yank from the soil. Be careful to choose a low-spice variety if they’ll be snacking on them with you. Keeping soil moisture even will help to avoid woody or overly spicy radishes.

A cherry tomato is loaded with kid-sized fruit and perfect for garden snacking. If you’ve got space, plant a couple in the ground and cage or trellis them. The plants will be as tall as the kid in no time, providing a different perspective and a leafy green wall with tasty tomatoes hidden inside.

Pole beans might or might not be tasty to your kids when picked fresh, but the real fun isn’t the eating. Make a tripod out of 2x2 lumber or whatever you have lying around and let them plant a few pole bean seeds at each leg. By midsummer the beans will have climbed all the way up the tripod, and there will be a shady spot underneath to hide in.

Fun flowers and herbs for kids

Sunflower seeds are large enough to be easy to handle, and if they get planted an extra half an inch deep, or a touch too shallow, they’ll still pop up. Once they get their second pair of true leaves, they really take off, rapidly growing taller than the kids and providing a fun experience hiding under leaves. Choose dwarf varieties for easier harvest by children, or taller varieties to make a maze or hidden space. At the end of the season, harvest the seeds with them to see how many more there are now, all coming from the one they planted. 

Zinnias are an easy cut-and-come-again flower, so kids can keep cutting bouquets all summer long. Instead of planting them carefully one by one, sow them a bit more thickly and let them form a hedge of greenery. The flowers will pop up and hang out the side, and if a couple get broken or bent, there are plenty more plants.

Basil germinates quickly in warm soil, grows rapidly, and has very aromatic leaves. The plant is an excellent teaching opportunity for learning about pruning, rooting cuttings, and regrowth for older kids, and the chance to inhale the scent of a freshly picked, bruised basil leaf is great for all ages. Let them pick a few leaves, crush them in their hands, and then smell them. 

A helpful speedy germination trick

Many seeds can be soaked or pre-sprouted to speed up germination, so results come faster. It’s a great help when replacing missing plants in the garden, but also when dealing with garden helpers that are a bit short on patience.

To pre-sprout seeds in a couple of days, you’ll need a few sheets of paper towel and a plastic sandwich bag. Wet the paper towel thoroughly, then wring it out until the sheets are damp but not dripping. Place a few seeds on one half of the towel, then fold the towel over so the seeds are in a wet paper towel envelope of sorts. Put the paper towel with the seeds in the plastic bag and leave it on the counter. In a couple of days, you’ll see the radicle (the new root) poking out of the seed. That’s the cue to plant them. 

You’ll need to take care not to break off the radicle, but the new seeds will pop up from the ground in no time. I’ve had pumpkins and squash push up out of the soil in only two days with this method. 

Ultra-fast wins to keep kids interested

Even a radish takes a month to harvest, and that can be forever in kid world. Plan a small space, or even a few containers, for some quick-to-harvest plants that can be taken right from the garden to the dinner table. Sunflower sprouts, pea shoots, and lettuce for microgreens can all be pre-sprouted and then planted, ready for harvest in only a week or two. They’ll pop up from the soil in a few days, are ready to harvest shortly after that, and can even be grown indoors under a light.

Don’t forget the rest of the experience

Fast-germinating or quick-growing plants are a good start, but kids often have just as much fun helping with the garden tools, marking off rows with string, or looking for worms. A set of child-sized garden tools they can call their own makes a great attention-anchor to sustain interest in the garden. 

Foster ownership by giving them a few plants of their own to care for, whether it's a row, a raised bed, a couple of containers, or a nook visibly separated by a short, cute fence. Invite them to do their watering and weeding when you do to reinforce gardening as a fun way to be where the action is, and let them learn. Keep the time periods short, and try to catch a grasshopper, look under leaves for cucumbers, or pull up an onion every visit to keep it fun.