Mumsnet users discuss getting their children to understand where food comes from with innocent

[JustineBMumsnet]

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Getting your DC’s to learn about and understand where their food comes from, can be a great way to ensure they are engaged with what they are eating...particularly healthier foods such as veggies and fruit. innocent would love to hear about your own growing experiences, and/or any barriers you may face growing your own food at home.

Here is what innocent has to say: “With 9 out of 10 young people not getting their 5-a-day, we’re on a mission to get kids growing and eating their own veg. Growing at home doesn’t have to be complicated. You just need seeds, soil and a windowsill. In such a fast-moving, instant gratification world, growing their own food also teaches kids the value of patience, and gives them an understanding of where their food comes from. More time getting their hands dirty, less time glued to screens.”

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger? Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from? If you do grow your own food, tell us what works and what doesn’t – and your tips and tricks for growing! Do you grow in the garden, or indoors? Or perhaps you would love to grow your own food but you feel you don’t have enough space?

Whatever your experiences and methods comment on the thread below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
Yes, tomoatoes, potatoes, green beans etc. We had apple and pear trees and the garden was riddled with things like nasturtiums and wild garlic.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from?
Yes, I have had veg patches and grown carrots, toms, courgette, herbs, strawberries, quince, rhubarb and apples etc.

Kids are teenagers now and much less interested. Ironically, the child who has never been interested in gardening or cooking eats tonnes of fruit and veg, while the other one, who gets most involved in growing things eats virtually none.

We didn't grow much at home at all as we moved around a great deal.

I always buy local from farms and we grow strawberries and tomatoes with the children. I would like to make some raised beds and eventually grow enough to fully sustain us!

I always talk to my son about where food comes from, and trying to eat seasonally. He is now old enough that I may grow some stuff this year. We have an unused patch of grass which would be ideal for a couple of raised beds. This thread has reminded me about it so thanks!

We did grow lots of things when I was a child, I especially remember loads of runner beans and gooseberries!

We don't currently grow any food only plants that we've planted from seed but I would love to dig out a big vegetable patch and get lots growing, I juts don't know where to start with it all!

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
No, but my mum is a veggie and so veg was on the menu everyday and tbh all of us were pretty good with eating veg as a result.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from? If you do grow your own food, tell us what works and what doesn’t – and your tips and tricks for growing! Do you grow in the garden, or indoors? Or perhaps you would love to grow your own food but you feel you don’t have enough space?
We do not currently grow our own but we do have the room outside and we do think it’s an important life skill BUT we are clueless.

We’ve tried various things over the years, when we didn’t have garden access we grew cress indoors and herbs. We grew potatoes too digging them up with toddlers was like discovering gold. I think pick your own farms are great too if you’re not into gardening.
I think the best way to get kids interested in their food is to get them cooking and help preparing meals if at all possible, that’ll do way more for their health in the long run

my dad helped me grow strawberries and peas when i was little. we also went to pick your own farms and went fishing.

i have just finally got my own allotment, which my children work with me. they are home educated and work on a community farm once a week, i think that an understanding of where food comes from and the effort involved is very important.

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
Yes DM has always had a big veg garden.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from? Yes DP is in charge of the garden

If you do grow your own food, tell us what works and what doesn’t – and your tips and tricks for growing! We try and grow things DD likes to eat raw e.g. carrots, cucumber, beans, radish so she can go and pick her own to wash and eat.

Do you grow in the garden, or indoors? We're lucky to have some raised beds and a greenhouse so can grow a variety.

My grandparents had a big garden when I was little and I loved helping them with it as they grew lots of fruit and veg.

I would help Grandpa pick the runner beans, lay the straw for the strawberries and water the tomato plants etc then I would then help my Grandma in the kitchen preparing it all to eat.

Happy memories!

We moved around a lot when we were kids, but always had a garden and always grew rhubarb, peas and raspberries. Mostly because they were relatively easy. We grow tomatoes with the kids now - mostly because we've an excellent sun spot in the garden and the plants love it!

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
No, we didn't have a garden, although they had plenty of houseplants.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from?
Yes, nothing major - we've tried growing tomatoes, strawberries and herbs. We just use pots on the patio as we have a paved garden. The best tip is to check what kind of environment the plants need and make sure your garden area is suitable for it - no point trying to grow something that needs a lot of sun if you have a shady spot.

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
Yes, a huge variety of fruit and veg - which we’d research recepes for and we also had chickens, ducks and turkeys.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from?
We don’t have the space at the moment other than so chilli indoors - my parents still grow loads and we show my little boy in the garden there

I'm very interested in healthy eating / nutrition so it's regularly a topic of conversation in our house. I think the DC should know where food comes from, how it is cooked, what is costs etc so they are aware. We don't grow our own veg but I do like the idea of it. I think I'm just worried it might be harder than it looks or we might 'fail' which would be disappointing all round!!

The biggest barrier to us growing our own food is the fact I'm crap at growing anything!

I did grow food with my Dad as a child, but he's actually good at this gardening lark and doesn't kill it all before any food has been produced...
MIL is also great at gardening, and so we help her eat her way through the excess she grows!

We grew potatoes, rhubarb, blackberries and other thjngs 8n our uburban garden. No garden now and the children dont get to grow snyth8ng. Even their school has hardly any land. But we visit lost of urban farms.

When I was a child we were self sufficient, and my parents helped us live really simply, partly because we didn't have the money to do otherwise. As a result I only ate seasonal produce and I've had veg beds put in my current garden so I can grow my own. The girls love digging up parsnips beneath snow, and we go out and plant and weed. I would like to be more organised, and for them to have their own patch. Also, we eat a lot of veg, and as a result our kids love veg, as that is the only snack they've ever had..

We don't grow any food at all apart from blackberries on wild brambles in our garden. However DH is a butcher so they understand very well where their sausages, bacon, chicken drumsticks etc come from.

We had a go at growing peas as a child and regularly collected wild berries especially bilberries- ah happy memories. We haven’t done anything like this with our 2 boys so we really must do- so much fun to be had seeing where fruit and veg come from.

We grow lots for only having a small garden, the main problem at the moment is the weather!

This year we've set potatoes, several types of tomatoes, chilis, courgettes, round carrots, runner beans and a pumpkin. In pots we've got various fruit trees, apple, plum, appricot, cherry, olive, raspberry and now a thornless blackberry too.

Other issues we've had this year are mice eating the fresh shoots and a lack of space on the windowsills.

Our DC love helping with setting, watering and harvesting and we try to involve them as much as possible.

We had lots of fruit trees and bushes when I was a child, I remember spending days and days picking currants and berries. I don't think we ever bought any fruit.

Now we grow a little, tomatoes, strawberries, herbs etc. DD bought some cucumber seeds the other day which she's keen to try.

My grandad grew tomatoes when i was growing up my parents didnt grow anything.
We grew strawberries and courgettes one year when my teens were younger and last year my toddlers grew carrots and tomatoes not that we saw many of them as they ate the tomatoes straight from the plants.
My son in nursery grew potatoes with the rest of his class too.
They enjoyed watching their plants grow and then eating what they had grown.
We need to sort our pots out and pick some seeds to plant this year but the gardens a bit water logged due to the rainy season never ending.

My parents never grew anything that I could remember but my grandparents did. My grandad used to grow potatoes and tomatoes and a range of other things that I can't remember.
I used to grow all sorts before my children came but in our new house we are yet to sort out the garden. I'm sure that as they grow older we will grow more. At the moment we are reduced to a blueberry bush in a pot

This will be my eldest DD’s fourth summer. We have tried, and failed, to grow fruits and vegetables every year of her life. Thank god we live near a great greengrocers or we’d all have scurvy!

Did you ever grow food with your parents when you were younger?
yes I loved it.we grew what we could,from mr potato head cress to little tubs of stuff.it was more prominent I think to grow with grandparents at that time too when it was still their generation who new how to do all that from the war times.it doesn't seem such an important or commonly done thing now.
in our garden with mum we had a whole back fence of rasberri and blackberry canes. and we used to pick them for our conrflakes.also rubarb which dad had on his cereal and we had the fruit for crumbles too.
we didn't always have huge success.but quickly forgotten wed want to do it again the next year
I dreamed of having an allotment. I think there should be more community based veg plots for people.

Do you grow your own fruit and/or veg with your children so they can see where it comes from?
we grow potatos from chitting to bag.
rubarb keeps coming each year now.herbs in pots.we keep tyring and failing with tomotos.and only manage tiny carrots.but we like it.great success with beans every couple of years too.
If you do grow your own food, tell us what works and what doesn’t – and your tips and tricks for growing!keep it exciting.not a chore to do otherwise the very thought of this will turn the kids off.so don't make it you must water but have you watered.to make sure they no its how they grow etc.
plan dishes you might cook with them.make a fun chart to tick of when watered.for things like potatos and and beans use a ruler to measure them.make it part of their routine to look after them.
potatos are great to grow in bags.and French dwarf beans too.those big sacks you can have as many as you like in the yard.
we tend to get our from the garden centre.
buy them their own watering can
feeding help most plants when they've flowered.
tomotos and carrot are so quick to get bug or fly which destroys them so you need to no you can have ur eye on them at all times.
chives are great to grown and parsley and they love going and snipping some for tea.put in salads to they make them more exciting for them to eat.
Do you grow in the garden, or indoors?both some need gorwing indoors on the window sill before planting out after the frost. Or perhaps you would love to grow your own food but you feel you don’t have enough space?i do find this is the biggest issue.there just isn't the space we need or good enough soil in the bed we have.so its bags or nothing.wed love an allotment.
id love to see community growing places.i think it could work so well.

My parents had an amazing veg patch when we were kids, but they had a massive garden. Fresh from the garden corn on the cob is the best! They also had chickens, again, there is nothing like fresh eggs!
We grow potatoes (outside) and herbs (inside), the herbs seem to die and the potatoes were tiny so i'm not sure what were doing wrong! Our garden isn't really big enough for more, though I would love to!