Having a garden has some obvious advantages, especially when it comes to growing vegetables or plants. Gardens offer a lot of space and natural conditions for vegetables and plants to grow however there are many that can tolerate the indoors exceptionally well and actually prefer it in the colder weather. It also means if you don’t have a garden your kids can still start growing their own vegetables, herbs or plants indoors!
If you don’t have a garden or have limited space, here are some things kids can grow indoors without a garden.
Microgreens
Microgreens, such as cress, are a really fun, quick and easy thing for kids to grow indoors. Cress can be grown indoors all year round and requires very little maintenance to get started. In the warmer months, cress can start sprouting within just a few days of sowing, which is great for children as they don't need to wait weeks before seeing signs of growth. Being able to see their seeds sprout so quickly can make growing plants particularly exciting for young children.
Cress also contains vitamins and antioxidants, making it a great homegrown veggie to add into kids food such as sandwiches or to sprinkle over pasta.
Our Start a Mini Allotment Kit is a grow your own kit for kids, designed to introduce children to growing their own vegetables. The kit includes cress and basil seeds along with compost seed starters, easy instructions and two simple recipes for kids which they can use their own produce to make. It's a simple way for children to get started with indoor gardening without needing a garden or lots of space.
Spider Plants
Although you can grow spider plants from seed, spider plants are usually grown from a cutting and surprisingly easy. Since spider plants are indoors plants, they do not need a garden at all! Because spider plants are commonly grown as indoor plants, they don't need a garden. Mature spider plants can produce "babies", also known as plantlets, which can be cut from the parent plant and placed in water to encourage them to develop roots. It allows children to experience caring for a living plant, observe how new roots develop and learn about plant reproduction.
Mature spider plants can produce several baby plants at a time. Once these have successfully developed roots and are growing well, children can give them as gifts to friends or family members. This can be a lovely way for children to share something they have grown themselves.
Spider plants can also be grown in small pots so are a great plant for kids to grow if space is limited indoors.
Herbs
Herbs are another simple thing to grow indoors for kids. Even if you do have outdoor space, many herbs can be kept indoors on a sunny kitchen windowsill. Herbs are a great choice for children because they have distinctive scents, allowing them to explore and compare the different smells. Children can also observe the differences in the plants as they grow, including their leaves, colours, textures and shapes.
Herbs are also relatively fast growing as well so children don't need to wait very long to see some sprouts. Growing several different types of herbs allows children to compare how each plant grows, helping them learn about the different characteristics, needs and life cycles of plants.
Our Start Your Own Mini Herb Garden Kit not only includes three different herbs (mint, thyme and oregano) but we have also included additional activities such as a growth tracker and a growing journal. The journal gives children space to add herb leaf rubbings, record which herb sprouted first and design their own plant pot colouring activity. These activities encourage children to observe their plants and document their progress, turning growing herbs into a fun learning experience as well as a gardening activity.
Many herbs can be started indoors throughout the year, meaning children can begin growing regardless of whether they have access to a garden or outdoor space.
Spring Onions
Spring onions can be regrown from the leftover scraps of spring onions bought from the supermarket, making them an inexpensive growing activity for kids. Once all the green parts have been cut off, children can put the white bulb parts (keep about 2-3cm) into water, just enough to cover the roots but not the whole bulb. Children can then put them on a sunny windowsill and watch when the green shoots start coming through. For better growth, once they have grown shoots, pop the bulbs in some compost and then harvest when the shoots have grown enough.
Growing spring onions from scraps is another ideal growing activity for kids as they require very little space and do not need to be outside. It also teaches children responsibility, as the water needs to be changed every few days, while the rapid growth allows them to see the results of their care relatively quickly.
Broad Beans
Although broad beans are best planted outside once they are established, if you have some outdoor space such as a terrace or balcony they can be planted in a pot.
Growing broad beans can be turned into a science experiment for children. By growing them in a jar, such as like in our Grow Your Own Broad Bean Kit, means children can visibly see the stages of growth from the roots to the shoots. Our kit also includes a growth tracker, allowing children to record and monitor when their bean plant first develops roots and shoots.
Growing a broad bean from scratch also gives quite quick results meaning children do not need to wait long to see their beans sprouting.
Growing plants with kids doesn't require a garden
You don't need a large garden or outdoor space to introduce children to gardening. From growing cress and herbs on a windowsill to regrowing spring onions from kitchen scraps, there are plenty of simple ways to grow your own vegetables and plants indoors with kids.
Indoor growing can teach children about plant life cycles, responsibility, sustainability and where food comes from, while also giving them the opportunity to watch something grow from seed or scraps into a living plant.
If you're looking for an easy way to get started, a growing kit for kids can provide everything children need to begin their growing journey with simple instructions and activities designed to make gardening fun and accessible.
Whether you're looking for a kids gardening kit, indoor growing kit or grow your own kit for kids, you don't need a garden to get started.
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