How to Grow a Kid Who Loves to Garden
Do you remember the first time you grew something?
That specific moment when you checked on a seed you had pushed into the dirt days before, and there it was. Something alive. Something you made happen.
Look at the faces in that photo above. That is exactly the moment.
Anna Marhefke has built her work around recreating that moment for kids. As Programs and Outreach Manager for the Minnesota Horticultural Society, she runs Garden in a Box, delivering complete raised-bed garden kits to schools and community organizations across the state.
That work takes her into gardens all summer, kneeling alongside kids who are leaning in close, eyes wide, completely surprised by what growing things actually feels like.
Summer is here. It’s a perfect time to give a kid that moment.
Q: What surprises kids most when they start gardening?
Anna: I think the biggest thing I hear from kids, or from the leaders of the sites who share what the kids say, is how they just can’t believe that the things they see at the grocery store actually come out of dirt in the ground. That disconnection is so common and almost normal nowadays, especially for kids. They all of a sudden just see food on their plate served to them.
And then I would say the other thing is how good vegetables taste fresh from the garden. I’ve heard so many stories of schools where at the beginning of the garden season, kids are saying “ew, I hate veggies.” By the end, they can’t keep the tomatoes on the vine because the kids are pulling them and snacking on them during recess. Or they’re eating kale and killing the kale plant because they’re eating leaf by leaf as they go to the bus.
That moment, a kid tasting a sun-warmed cherry tomato straight off the vine and realizing it tastes like candy, is exactly what Anna is working toward. And she says you don’t need a big program or a big yard to get there.
Q: What makes a kid suddenly care about a garden?
Anna: I think things that grow very quickly, so they can see that change happening. One of my favorites is actually radishes. They grow so quickly, and some of the most inspiring stories are where a kid can actually plant the seed in the ground and then see it turn into something and pull it out of the ground. Radishes are kind of an underrated vegetable. You plant them from these tiny seeds and then you pluck them out of the ground, and there are so many beautiful varieties.
Tomatoes are also really good for kids to see grow, even if you’re starting with a transplant, because most kids recognize what a tomato looks like and can connect it to something they love, like ketchup or pizza sauce. Herbs are great too. Even a chive or a basil in a pot is really simple. And sunflowers. They’re maybe not the fastest growing, but they get huge and bright, and I always loved that as a kid.
Q: What if you’re working with just a container, a deck planter or a pot?
Anna: I would definitely recommend marigolds. Getting a little four-pack and putting those around will help deter rabbits and deer, and gives you a fighting chance with squirrels, at least. And definitely cherry tomatoes. They ripen faster, they’re sweeter, and they’re fun to watch ripen in different stages on the vine. And then I’d add basil. Tomatoes and basil grow really well together, and suddenly you can make pizza sauce, pasta sauce, a fresh caprese, or pesto. Those are really the three things: tomato, basil, and marigolds. And that’s probably all you could plant in an 18-inch pot.
I’ll admit, Anna’s trio sounds familiar. Right now on my patio, I’m watching my own baby tomatoes do exactly what she describes, growing a little more every single day. There’s something almost addictive about checking on them each morning. Imagine that feeling through a child’s eyes.
Q: Are kids more drawn to flowers and pollinators, or vegetables?
Anna: Honestly, it’s kind of a mix. Flowers are a really great way to make the garden interesting for kids to look at, especially at the beginning of the season, because they don’t know what a tomato plant looks like yet. They maybe know what a tomato looks like, but they don’t recognize the plants. As the season goes on, kids tend to get more comfortable around the vegetables because they can identify them and know what’s going to happen. But when I go out and do site visits in the summer, kids love to talk about the bees and the butterflies and the birds and the squirrels. Most kids, when they first talk about the garden, they’re talking about the critters and things buzzing around. So I always recommend groups to have a good mix of flowers and vegetables.
Q: What mistakes do adults make when introducing kids to gardening?
Anna: I think most adults really want a kid’s gardening experience to be absolutely perfect and that they fall in love with gardening. So I always tell groups: leave space for kids to mess up. I’ve heard of so many groups where a kid gets so excited about a ripe tomato that they rip the whole plant up and bring it to their teacher to show. And it’s really easy as an adult to say “oh my gosh, that’s horrible, you messed up the garden.” But I think that’s a teaching moment.
The garden is kind of the one place that kids aren’t really told no. Yes, you can get dirty. Yes, you can be curious. Yes, you can do this. So really leave space, not only in the garden for mistakes, but also in your planning. This plant might get ripped up. They might pull these beautiful flowers off. And that’s okay. Mistakes will happen in the garden and not everything is successful.
And I always say, especially if you’re working with a very little one, sometimes just leaving them with a pot full of dirt they want to play in is great. Many school gardens leave one bed empty just for that. Then get the hose ready.
Q: If you could only recommend one plant for a first-time kid gardener, what would it be?
Anna: A cherry tomato. I think they almost taste like candy sometimes, and kids are not used to eating a vegetable that is so sweet but also kind of savory. Go to your local nursery and bring your kids along. Ask them: do you want the orange ones or the purple ones or the red ones? My mom always did that with me. We’d always pick one thing we’d never grown before, just to try it. Nine out of ten times it never worked, but it was always fun.
So I’d always say: ask your kid what they want to grow. What should we try to grow together this year? Because sometimes they have just the silliest answers. One year I said I want to grow broccoli, so we tried one broccoli plant and it wasn’t successful, but it was still fun to try.
Want to go bigger next year?
If this summer sparks something in your young gardener, the Minnesota Horticultural Society has two programs worth knowing about for 2027.
Minnesota Green connects community gardens, church groups, and neighborhood organizations with donated seeds, plants, and garden supplies from nurseries and growers across the state. Registration opens in January.
Garden in a Box delivers complete raised-bed garden kits to schools, 4-H groups, churches, and community organizations throughout Minnesota. Each kit includes circular beds three feet in diameter, soil, compost, plants, seeds, organic fertilizer, tomato cages, and educational materials. Applications open in November and close in January, with acceptances announced in late February or early March. An interest list is available on the Minnesota Horticultural Society’s website now so your group will be notified when applications open.
So get outside, get dirty, and ask your kid the most important question of the summer: what do you want to grow?
Diana Pierce
#bloomwithme
Anna Marhefke is the Programs and Outreach Manager for the Minnesota Horticultural Society. Photos courtesy Minnesota Horticultural Society except where noted.
I love the shout out for "Garden in a Box." At Union Gospel Mission, we were awarded a grant for the Garden in a Box for our women and children's program. They were so nervous to garden. And it has been a unifier and delighter for our moms and kids. We are so excited for this year's growing season. That is such a great program. We hope to expand it next yet with a grant to our men's campus.
What a great idea! Not only connects them with foods that they might already like, as well as those they know little about, but gets them out into the fresh air, potentially some exercise (when removing a weed or two), and shows them a tangible result from their work in the form of the edible food. We need more of these programs nationwide.