5 Easy Vegetables To Grow At Home

We all know that eating your vegetables is a good great thing for your health. Passing on that knowledge to your children is a must but getting the little ones to eat all of their broccoli, sorry, we mean “little trees” isn’t always the easiest task, is it? Things would be a whole lot easier if we didn’t have to spend time trying to hide all of those wonderful vegetables in the family meals *let the peas have their moment to shine on the dinner plate*

BUT!

Knowing where your food comes from and what it takes to help your food grow might do the trick in getting little Jack to finish up his plate of yummy veggies!

We’ve compiled a list of 5 Easy Vegetables To Grow At Home! Before you start panicking about not having an allotment / garden / or even a massive balcony, relax, moms and dads, these clever veggie-growing hacks will have everybody asking for “more vegetaaaaaaables pleeeease”!

1. You say Tomaaaaatoe, I say Tomato!

Is there anything better than a plump, red, juicy tomato? Well, yes, there is – a homegrown tomato! With just a little bit of water and a lot of sun, you could be adding an “expert urban tomato grower” to your CV.

Whether you have a large garden, a small patch of land or simply have enough room on your balcony to house a few pots, we have a few easy tips for planting, growing and eventually, harvesting your very own homegrown tomatoes! We promise the salad is going to taste even better than it did before!

Easy tomato-growing tips for a balcony veggie (pot) patch:

1. Pick a good spot on your balcony where potential plants will receive at least 6 hours of sunlight (tomatoes love sunshine!)
2. Choose the right pot (depending on the variety of tomatoes you will be growing) and be sure that the pot offers enough drainage, as tomato plants also require a good amount of water.
3. Use good quality potting soil, and add tomato seedlings into the soil- this is important as you want your seedlings to develop into healthy plants or vines. Your local nursery will be able to offer you some good advice.
4. Be sure to add support to your pots for the vines to develop: this can be done in the form of a trellis or tomato tutour (we love that name!).
5. Cover the soil well after planting, water regularly and FEED YOUR PLANTS! Again, all information will be available from your local nursery.

For more top tomato planting tips, simply click here.

2. Grow spring onions from root off-cuts

<p>Growing your very own yummy spring onions couldn’t be simpler! No need for fancy pots or rakes or getting covered in garden soil. Oh no, growing some nutritious and healthy spring onions for mom’s next pot of soup or veggie stir-fry is as easy as 1,2,3! *take a look at this super delicious <a href=”https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/chicken-spring-onion-stir-fry/f5081298-acb7-4207-b9c4-783818c161a2″><span>chicken and spring onion stir-fry recipe</span></a>!*</p><p>For veggies such as spring onions, leeks, lemongrass or even fennel bulbs, growing them in your very own kitchen couldn’t be simpler.</p><p><strong><em>Follow these easy steps for easy kitchen veggies:</em></strong></p><ol>

<li aria-level=”1″>Cut off the end with the tiny roots (about 10cm in length).</li>

<li aria-level=”1″>Place the off-cut, root-end down in a few centimetres of freshwater (enough to cover the roots but not the tops).</li>

<li aria-level=”1″>Keep the water fresh by changing regularly and place the container in direct sunlight. After just a few days, new shoots will appear. Just cut what you need and allow it to carry on growing.</li>

</ol><p>For more tips on how to grow spring onions, as well as other veggies from off-cuts, <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtmyE12e8LI” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”><span>click here</span></a> for a nifty Youtube tutorial!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><span style=”font-size: 20px;”><strong>3. Pick a peck of pickled peppers</strong></span>

Peter Piper Picked A Peck Of Pickled Peppers! Ok, now repeat that five times (kidding!).

Peppers are packed with loads of vitamins and nutrients that are good for growing little bodies and keeping mom and dad super healthy too! Add peppers as crispy strips in a salad, chuck into homemade sauces or pop into lunchboxes for a crunchy, healthy dipping snack – we love peppers *This includes chilli too, for the moms and dads who like a bit of heat!*.

Peppers are another super easy vegetable to grow from kitchen scraps. Simply collect the seeds after use and:

1. Plant them in potting soil.
2. Ensure they are in direct sunlight.
3. Provide enough water and watch the little plants grow!

Peppers of all varieties grow relatively fast and easily, so you’ll be enjoying these rainbow colours in your food in no time! Speaking of rainbow peppers – how cute are these rainbow and cloud no-bake pepper pizza ideas?!

4. Herbs, Herbs, Herbs

Nothing adds flavour to a meal faster than including some fresh herbs! A favourite of ours (we’re sure yours too) is fresh basil! So fragrant, so green (a little tale of superheroes eating all of their greens wouldn’t hurt!).

Basil is one of the easiest herbs to re-grow with minimal effort. We see loads of yummy pots of homemade tomato sauce flavoured with all of the basil! Simply follow these easy steps:

1. Take a stem about 10cm in length.
2. Place the stem in a glass of water with the leaves well above the waterline.
3. Leave the glass in a bright area (but not in direct sunlight).
4. New roots should begin to form in a few days, and once visible and a few centimetres long, transplant the plant into pots with potting soil and snip as required.

Get small off-cuts of plywood, get the kids to paint with black chalkboard paint, glue a wooden ice-cream stick to the back, and you have easy little herb tags for your pots! You can also take a look at the basil growing process here.

5. Salad days

If your little ones can’t get enough of deliciously crispy, crunchy salad leaves and would also love to help prepare salads for the family lunch or dinner, then we’re pretty sure they’ll be super keen to help grow all of the yummy lettuce too!

That’s right, lettuce is super easy to re-grow, all that’s required is to:

1. Place the lettuce bulb/core in a bowl with a little water in the bottom. Keep the bowl in a sunny spot and mist the leaves with water every few days.
2. Within one to two weeks, new roots will form, along with new leaves.
3. All that’s left to do is to transplant your new lettuce plants into some soil and water regularly.

For more on lettuce growing, simply click here!

There really is no better way to learn about a topic than practising what you have learnt. So once your little ones are planting pro’s they will be able to put some of their newly acquired knowledge to the test when visiting Wonderdal and The Wonder Garden, as well as The Health Kitchen!

The Wonder Garden and Health Kitchen forms part of our Seven Interactive Learning Zones and teaches little adventurers all about:

• Plant growth and processes
• Photosynthesis and biodiversity
• Different types of vegetables and fruits
• Nutrition
• Good dietary habits
• Different types of food for growth energy and health
• Food groups and vitamins

And loads more!

All with the help of the Amuki (the quirky, shimmering, friendly inhabitants of the Wonderdal Edutainment Centre). We’re pretty sure the little adventurers will feel proud as punch as to how much they already know and how much more there is for them to learn.

Happy Vegetable Growing! X 

If you’re looking for activities for the whole family, take a look at our survival guide for parents, it’s jam-packed with crafts, arts and some of the best places to visit in Cape Town and surrounds. Click the button below 👇 to get your copy now.