Children will love planting and caring for the special, kid-friendly plants in this 4 x 4-foot kids vegetable garden plan. The mix features kid-sized vegetables—small-fruited peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes—and herbs that attract caterpillars, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as adventurous children, with their flowers and fragrance.
For excellent results, fill your bed with premium quality raised bed soil, such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Raised Bed Mix—which is just the right weight and texture for raised bed growing—and feed plants with Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Raised Bed Plant Nutrition Granules to ensure they get all the nutrition they need. Also, be sure to plant young Bonnie Plants® to get all the benefits that come from plants grown by a company that has been helping home gardeners for over 100 years. If you want to expand your garden, place two 4 x 4 beds symmetrical on either side of a 3 to 4-foot path, wide enough for you and your tools. Try an Easy Summer Garden or Sweet & Spicy Pepper Garden for the second bed.
Planting the 4 x 4 – foot Bed
Take inspiration from these planting options. The plan allows for some interpretation depending on your taste. These plants are pictured small to make the illustration simpler, but your bed will be spilling over as the plants grow! Following spacing on the plant labels, adding a few more plants than we have pictured if the spacing allows.
Area 1: Lettuce, Pineapple Sage, and Mint
Mint is easy and tastes and smells fresh—plant it in a pot, then plant the pot. You can replace the mint with a fourth lettuce plant if desired.
- 3-4 leaf lettuce (choose Buttercrunch, Romaine, or Red Sails)
- 1 mint (optional, in sunken pot)
- 1 Pineapple sage
Area 2: Parsley or Dill
Choose from the following:
- 4 parsley (choose Italian or Curled)
- 4 Fernleaf dill
Area 3: Tomatoes, Peppers, or Eggplant
This design provides enough space for two taller plants in cages. Choose two from the following:
- 1 Yummy Snacking Pepper
- 1 Hansel or Gretel Eggplant
- 1 Cherry Tomato (such as Husky Cherry Red, Sun Sugar, or Sweet Cherry)
Choose either tomatoes or tomatillos. You must have two tomatillo plants for cross-pollination.
- 2 large red tomatoes (such as Celebrity or Amelia, with cage or trellis)
- 2 Tomatillos (with cage or trellis)