Small garden want to toddler friendly grow veg

[Pleaseaddcaffine]

I was brought up on a farm and I'm keen on my son knowing where food comes from.
We have a tiny garden bu I'd like to grown basic veg or fruit and maybe sunflowers or dahlia.
What kind of pots and things would be best? We have a small patio and a very small lawned area so pots would be best.
I'm not green fingered so any hard to kill suggestions would be appreciated

I have just bought myself a raised bed. Last year I grew peas, French beans and carrots with good success. You need large deep pots, and good fertiliser, and regular watering. My carrots claimed to be resistant to carrot root fly and I had no trouble - but I do encourage hover flies into the garden so that may have helped keep the pests down.

I also grew some perpetual spinach but it was horrible so it’s proper spinach this year.

Peas and beans are great - you can plant the peas now, and then sow the beans indoors next month until after the frosts have ended (depends where you live). They are fairly indestructible if you can discourage the slugs and snails when they are small plants.

Potatoes can be grown in tall tubs or potato bags.
Strawberries & blueberries grow well in pots.
You could use growbags for tomatoes, & some other veg.
There are also now varieties of usually sprawling veg (courgette etc) that climb instead so can be grown in pots with support. Look out for climbing courgettes, compact or bush beans & peas.
Also you can get mini or patio versions of apples, pears, blackberries, raspberries etc.
Check out plant/seed providers including:
Thompson & Morgan
Sutton's Seeds
Mr Fothergills
Sarah Raven
Kings Seeds
Marshall's

Thanks. We managed corgettes last year, we're a disaster ... The snails had a fab time!
He loves beans so there a good bet in a big pot. I'd love a raised bed for him to help in but not sure I have room realistically

A strawberry planter might be fun

Slugs/snails decimated 3 pumpkin plants last year for us thinking of using Slug Collars this year.

Ohh can u do strawberries in a hanging basket? Or do they just die?

Yes, you can do strawberries in hanging baskets, just keep on top of watering & feeding especially if it gets hot.

You can definitely do strawberries in a hanging basket, but in needs more watering, and maybe water holding crystals. If you have room for a big pot, I'd recommend a raspberry Bush. Once it's established it's really durable, and will come back year after year. We never get a proper harvest but DS loves been able to eat few every time he plays out in the summer. They also don't need as much sun as most other fruit/veg, so more flexibility of were you can fit it in.

Pea pods. Grow up canes that you can tie up to something secure in case a toddler pulls themselves up on them! Runner beans the same. You wouldn’t eat raw though. Nice red flowers.

Nasturtiums (with carrots)They are good companion plants that disguise the smell of carrots so carrot fly don’t notice them. So you get carrots you can eat and also nasturtium flowers you can eat (peppery and delicious). They have nice big seeds for little ones to help plant. They spread well and will seed themselves and grow again next year. Hard to kill. Pretty.

The downside of growing things to pick and eat is that you have to watch dc in future, case poisonous berries or something are picked on a country walk or whatever. But that’s part of learning isn’t it, knowing what not to put in your mouth.

I've googled now. Thinking some runner beans and maybe sweet peas to atrecat the bees?
Maybe a potato planter thing for potatoes. Are the bag ones easier?
A pot for some rooty veg eg carrots n beets and another pot for a climbing squash type item as they look impressive. Do these need to be deep?
Ithen strawberries in hanging baskets.

Stupid question do u néed to water everything daily??

I loved eating nestursions as a child in salads

In the spring/summer you may need to water everyday (sometimes twice) if it's hot - do this first thing in the morning or early evening, & water the base of the plants not over the top. You need to make sure the pots don't dry out as the plants can't draw water from surrounding soil.
We find potato bags easier as they fold down to store, but you could use big tubs & just repurpose them once you've harvested the potatoes, for spring bulbs or something.

Oh & if you grow sweet peas make sure your little one doesn't try to eat them.
Tbh if you grow all of that you'll attract plenty of bees & other pollinators anyway.
Maybe put up some bee hotels too - that attract solitary bees to lay eggs & it's great for kids to watch them building up the holes. We get both masonry & leaf-cutter bees in ours.

Have a 4 year old and a paved yard I’ve stuffed with pots and bags.

This year were doing:
Potatoes
Carrots
Kale
Courgettes
Chard
Strawberries
Raspberries
Nasturtiums
Various herbs

Plus easygoing flowers and plants like foxglove, stocks, ferns, wildflowers mixes etc.

All manageable in big pots if you don’t over plant

We had the ground nesting bees... Not sure what there real name is.. One year which was cool.
Love a bumble bee too.
Potato bags sound more sensible. I've found the outside tap in the garage so I need to get a hosepipe

I grew peas in flower pots, the cheap terracotta ones from B&Q, about 6 inches high. Made a wigwam out of bamboo sticks, tied the together at the top and wait for them to come up, kids loved it especially harvesting, sitting in the garden picking the pods and eating the peas

Tomatoes are easy and grow well in large pots or grow bags but do choose a bush variety as cordons get very tall.

Check out this website
verticalveg.org.uk/
They have a Facebook group too. It's really inspiring

Depending on how much sun you get, tomatoes are a great option. Second @pandora206 suggestion, we've planted a few 'red profusion' tumbling variety tomatoes for pots in the summer, which we'll be mixing with geraniums and basil as companion plants.

(As well as all the other stuff) we found spinach and rocket an absolute doddle and very hardy in pots.

The little round carrots like Paris Market Atlas are easier to grow in pots than normal carrots that need a lot of space and depth to develop.

Self supporting dwarf peas and beans are best for pots and you don't need canes (a bit of a safety hazard with a toddler). Varieties like Tom Thumb, Kelvedon Wonder (peas) and Hestia (beans).

You can also get micro tomato plants, some which will grow in a 9cm pot (Micro Tom) but there a lots of small bush varieties. I would chose a blight resistant variety. Dwarf courgettes (Eight Ball), aubergines (Ophelia) and cauliflowers (Igloo) are good in pots too. Dix Huit radishes are ready to crop in only 18 days.

Cut and come again salad leaves are always useful. Lambs lettuce is also good to grow in pots. If you have any peas left without room to grow them, you can cram them into a pot to eat as pea shoots.

You can also get compact/dwarf/trailing varieties of redcurrants, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries, to go with your strawberries.

If you buy potted herbs in the supermarket, you can divide them up into multiple pots.

Don't forget to sow your seeds in succession (ie one pot of peas, then another pot 2 weeks later) so you get multiple crops.

We did potatoes fairly successfully in the bag planters last year. Peas are great (rarely get into the kitchen) and carrots were a hit too. Runner beans too rampant really. Beetroot if your child likes it

Update I've purchased a watering can and a hosepipe and 5 big pot/tub things and tub compost. So they are now filled with compost and the hosepipe is in... Little one is obsessed with it and watering.
He wants to grow crunchy carrots and red flowers apparnetly. I think runner beans have orange/red flowers from memory... So that may work and I got some red sunflower seeds.

Im going to get some potatoe bags too as a few people seem to recommend hem.
Can u just use potatoes from cooking that are old or do u have to buy seed ones?

Technically, yes you can grow potatoes from old potatoes you've bought in the supermarket but generally it's better to buy & use 'seed potatoes' from either a garden centre or seed supplier - though I got some this week from Aldi.
You then need to 'chit' them - place them in a window (egg boxes are great for this) until shoots start to appear then put some soil in your bag/tub; put in your chitted potatoes, more soil - enough to cover, & then leave them for a few weeks. Once you get green shoots appearing add more soil to cover, repeat until you fill the bag/tub then let the shoots grow. They will become green & bushy & will flower. In late summer/early autumn, the greenery will die back & then you can either root around in the bag or tip it out & let your little one find the hidden 'gold'. It's great fun.

One year we grew sweet corn in a big pot (those giant tubs with handles that you can use for toys) and then used the corn stems to support climbing cucumbers. It worked a treat.

I'd recommend loganberries instead of raspberries: similar hardiness but no thorns.
For hanging baskets or anywhere likely to dry out occasionally get alpine strawberries. They are tiny but really sweet and delicious and the fruit keeps coming daily for weeks. Great for kids.
Chives are a great' nibble in the garden' plant.
I envy you. When they are like little sponges, absorbing experiences and learning from anything. Enjoy!

Ohhh yes I love alpine strawberries, really good idea. Can u just buy these from a garden centre?
Bit random but I've seen fence pots that sit on the top of the fence panel. Are these any good or better with just hanging baskets?
I'd be worried if they were heavy they would damage the fence.

I suspect the vast majority of my crop will perish from my lack of green thumbs or toddler drowning with his new red watering can!