what would be an easy vegetable or fruit to grow?

[klpmommy]

I live in Michigan. I am notorious for killing plants. :shifty I want to plant something that the kids can help with- something simple that they would enjoy,like pumpkins. But I don't know if that is easy or if it is too late in the season (although it is still cool enough to wear jackets most days). Ideas? The *most* important thing is easy. :shifty

[Myrtle]

I think tomatoes are the easiest. You can grow them in a bucket on the back porch even. And they produce sooo many tomatoes that even if you don't have a great plant, you still get plenty. Maybe cherry tomatoes for the kids. Dd likes to eat them straight off the vine.

Pumpkins might be fun, but I don't know anything about them. :shrug

[TuneMyHeart]

Tomatoes!

[greendelight]

Tomatoes!


:yes

[mamaKristin]

Well, I've always been a black thumb, and I grew a garden last year. Neglect isn't all bad, garden-wise. :)

I grew (and I'm more north of you) tomatoes, peas, pumpkins, strawberries, peppers, sunflowers and zucchini last year. Everything but the peas and sunflowers were from seedlings though, and that helped a lot with the speed of growth. I would have done better with an extra 2 or 3 weeks of growing season though. I planted the first week of June, and harvested everything early September before our first frost. Zucchini is fun because it grows SO fast - you can see it grow daily! Sunflowers were fun too, from a 'let's see how tall they are and how tall you are' perspective. And picking strawberries each morning and eating them was really fun too.

[gentlemommy]

:popcorn I really want to plant some fruits/veggies too but I have no idea what I'm doing.

[Psyche]

Pole beans.

[Aisling]

beans, zucchini, cabbage, eggplant. :yes

[klpmommy]

Well, I've always been a black thumb, and I grew a garden last year. Neglect isn't all bad, garden-wise. :)

I grew (and I'm more north of you) tomatoes, peas, pumpkins, strawberries, peppers, sunflowers and zucchini last year. Everything but the peas and sunflowers were from seedlings though, and that helped a lot with the speed of growth. I would have done better with an extra 2 or 3 weeks of growing season though. I planted the first week of June, and harvested everything early September before our first frost. Zucchini is fun because it grows SO fast - you can see it grow daily! Sunflowers were fun too, from a 'let's see how tall they are and how tall you are' perspective. And picking strawberries each morning and eating them was really fun too.


that sounds like fun!! Dh & I like tomatoes, the kids & I like strawberries, I like peppers & zucchini. The kids would love pumpkins. Sunflowers are my favorite flower. And waiting another week would be great so I could plan..... :think But regardless, the consensus seems to be tomatoes & I can do that!!! :ty

[TuneMyHeart]

Oh, sunflowers are easy too, and I bet your kids would love seeing how tall they get. :)

[klpmommy]

We had sunflower weeds in TX- they were great!! They were so much taller than me. Fun!!! Now I just need to pick a place to plant stuff & convince dh to let me try. He knows quite well my black thumb. :bag So if I start small it should be good. :yes

[Mrs. Potatohead]

Herbs! I just planted basil (it grows like CRAZY), rosemary, dill, sage, thyme, oregano, and mint. Basil always does the best for me by far. Also, I just planted bell peppers. I find those to be really easy as well. I typically have a black thumb, but my former neighbor had a HUGE garden and helped me out for several years. This year we have no bed, so I'm doing all of these in containers with the hope of putting in a real garden next year...and getting my former neighbor to help me get it going! ;)

[mamaKristin]

I killed my basil last year, I almost cried. :(

I had no idea that strawberries were perennials - I already have flowers on them! It really wasn't that hard to do a garden I found. I just picked what I wanted, planned where things might go, and dug the seedlings in. Some watering with Miracle Gro, and that was about all I did aside from picking some weeds. Oh, and a tip for tomatoes (as I discovered last year) they often grow really well, so go with the bigger spacing between plants that is recommended. I ended up with tomatoes packed too close together, and tomatoes I couldn't get to. Oh, and if you get tomatoes, buy cages for them when you see them. Otherwise, you won't be able to find them, and your tomatoes will lean all over the place. :doh

[Macky]

If it's not too late, my vote is for peas. What kid doesn't like peas? Easy peasy and fun to shell, if you don't have too many. ;)

If you want to do pumpkins, the large male and female flowers will give opportunity to talk about fertilization. Sprout pumpkin or sunflower seeds in wet paper towel so the kids can see the roots and sprouts bursting from the swollen seed. :)

[IslandHome]

would second the cherry tomato idea- mine have always gone mad even when I've paid them no attention.

Peas / Beans would be fun too. They can be planted from seed and are really nice raw (DS thinks raw peas in a pod is a real treat.. ;) )

[Hermana Linda]

Radishes are nice in that they sprout in 4 days and you can eat them after only 1 month. They are easy, but if you give them too much water, they get way too much greens. :shifty

[tempus vernum]

You asked if its too late to plant - as your neighbor (WI), I can say I am planting my entire garden TOMORROW. I could have put in our frost resistant stuff and maybe started some other things early but every has been sick for a week now so . . . . and honestly, I am going a tad earlier than I should on melons and winter squash but I am still getting them in tomorrow anyways ;)

[klpmommy]

I think dh & I are going to plan a spot this weekend to plant a small garden or to make a pot garden on the deck.....and then over the course of the next week the kids & I (translate: me doing the gardening, E capturing all worms for our vermi-compost & P entertaining S) can do the planting.

Thanks so much!! I am hoping I can do this successfully!!

[CJ]

Tomatoes are my first choice every year. For awhile, when I was having babies every other Spring, I would at least get DH to pick up some tomato seedlings at Home Depot and put them in the ground. In my opinion, homegrown tomatoes are SOOO worth it--can't be beat by store-bought. And they're easy to grow.

[mom2threegirls]

I'd say peas but I'm here in WA where tomatoes don't get the heat they love and they're harder ;). Basil is kind of a pain here too :shrug. Peas are fun for kids. Sunflowers are fun too!

[CJ]

Some fun things to plant with tomatoes are basil, peppers (although I find them more tempermental) and marigolds (natural pest control)--the miniature kind are best. You can make spaghetti sauce or pizza with your harvest!