How To Plant An Indoor Vegetable Garden With Your Kids

Staying mentally healthy is just as important as staying physically healthy for both parents and kids especially during this time of worldwide quarantine. 

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As our weather transitions from winter to spring it might seem as though the days are more wet and gloomy than sunny which can have a big impact on your mental health. Spending some time outside in nature, at a safe distance from other people, can provide you with a big positive mental boost but what do you do when day after day it it is cold and rainy? 

How about bring a little of the outdoors inside! Let me show you what we are doing at our house as a way to bring nature inside in the form of an indoor vegetable garden.

Since it is difficult to get gardening supplies right now due to the Corona virus we have had to make due with what we have around the house and in some cases we had to get creative! I didn't have time to get seeds or soil before the quarantine and now in our area those departments in our local stores are closed. 

Instead I had to gather up the supplies we had on hand to get the kids started on making their indoor garden:

Plant An Indoor Garden - Fun Activity To Do With Kids This Spring

Supplies:
empty cardboard egg carton or milk carton
disposable foil pan
potting soil - we used some from an outside planter box
vegetable seeds

It might be hard to get seeds this time of year due to the circumstances but I'm going to bet that some of the produce you have in the refrigerator will provide some seeds for your indoor garden! 

While making dinner the other night I cut open a red pepper and took a few of the seeds and put them into a small pot that had soil in it. Guess what! The little seed germinated and we now have a small itty bitty pepper plant growing in the kitchen. 

Using seeds from vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers that you have on hand can be such a fun activity for you and your kids. 

*Just a note when using seeds that are kind of slimy after you cut open a cucumber or tomato it is best to rinse off the seeds and set them on a paper towel to dry for a few days. This will prevent them from molding. Tomato seeds are hard to cultivate but it is fun to give it a try!

We have a small plot of land fenced off in our backyard for our vegetable garden so this year I'm hoping that the seeds we start growing indoors will eventually be planted in our outside garden once the threat of frost is past.

If you are looking for some quick germinating seeds try planing lettuce! We have been keeping track of the seeds we planted to see what ones start coming up first. The lettuce was the winner in our mini indoor foil pan garden! 

The kids LOVE seeing the growth in their mini garden and it seems that each morning when they get up and check their plants there is something new happening. I'm sure when we finally get to plant these baby plants outside the kids will have so much pride in their efforts knowing they cultivated these little plants from seed to fully producing vegetable plants!

Don't worry if you don't have any lettuce seeds. You can still grow lettuce inside! Don't throw away the leftover end of a head of romaine lettuce. Instead fill a small container or glass half full with water and put the end of the romaine lettuce in it. In a few days you will begin to see some exciting changed as new growth appears. 

Gardening is such a therapeutic activity, good for all who get their hands in the dirt and spend time planting seeds. 

It is also a great activity you can do with your kids that is full of opportunities to teach subjects like science, math and reading. If you find yourself suddenly a homeschool parent gardening with your children is an aswesome and effective way to start your homeschooling journey even if it is a short one due to the nationwide quarantine. 

For more great gardening ideas please check out these other posts!

1. DIY Mini-Greenhouse Tutorial

2. Rock Your Garden With A Painted Brick Paver