To make it easy I would keep it simple. If they like growing tomatoes then they can be slowly introduced to more sophisticated growing. Like growing from seed. Radish seed is a great place to start. Many never tasted them and some won’t like them. But when you grow it yourself you will probably eat them. Direct sow come up quickly mature in as little as 22 days instant gratification. Some take longer so check for quick maturing radishes like Cherry Belle.
Ok back to tomatoes Home Depot or Lowe’s will have all supplies and plants too. Selection will be low but prices will be decent.
I mention radishes for ease of growing I would really start there for kids. In a month they will produce food. Once hooked they will thrive trying the more difficult stuff. Tomatoes are fairly easy to grow but does require a lot of details to get fruit. Those stores do deliver too. Mostly via mail. Pick up or mail.
Selection of plants should probably be picked up or shopped for at store.
They may need acclimation too. Like I said a lot of details to get tomatoes. They die quite easily. It’s been decades since I bought plants. I grow from seed. One needs lights. Radishes would be a lot simpler to get great results.
Sungold is an easy recommendation for a super sweet orange tropical fruit flavored cherry… Black Cherry is another. Camp Joy is a very good red cherry. Dr. Carolyn Pink is my go-to sweet pink tomato. Galina’s Yellow Cherry is the best yellow I’ve grown.
I suppose the kids won’t care what kind of cherry tomato as long as it grows and fruits! That is good as
I see Home Depot got mentioned in some of above advise.
I have a Home Depot near me. One year they had some great looking tomato plants labeled ‘Golden
Jubilee’. I grew it a lot in my youth and love that variety. I bought 2 plants and took them home. Only to find out later in the year they were paste tomatoes with fruit born in clusters! Bummer.
Last time I ever get suckered into buying tomato plants at Home Depot.
I went back to growing my own from seed after that disappointing encounter. Perhaps Not fault of Home Depot. Either the supplier was not reputable on variety they were shipping or someone put the wrong tags in the wrong tomato plants. I will never know but so done with Home Depot for vegetable plants.
Super happy with my chocolate cherry tomatoes last year. I know so many love Sun Sugar but I did not care for it after growing it.
Makes a lot of sense. At this point I just want them to grow SOMETHING that produces results so they get more interested. I remember they wanted to grow tomatoes but had no idea what to get or how to do it but I really like your radish idea too.
I also mostly grow from seed so was thinking about what would be super easy for them.
One reason I was thinking tomatoes is because if you plant it properly, it’s a big and pretty plant and you don’t need to worry about pill bugs eating the seedlings that are germinating, etc.
But I really like the radish idea too. Will get them some seeds!
Another vote for Sungold. If I could only grow one cherry tomato, this is it. If I ever don’t grow this tomato, my wife considers it grounds for divorce.
I’m in Danbury. We’re about a month ahead of normal, so you got time. ease the little forced labor conscripts, i mean, the kids into it.
I live one hour west of Hartford. I recommend both Sungold and Sun Sugar; both are very vigorous growers and producers, and fairly disease resistant. They taste great too.
Black cherry is very flavorful, but is disease susceptible (tomatoes themselves rot) and didn’t do well for me.
My wife and kids have also basically said that. This year I will have 2-4 Sungold plants along with my obsession, I mean interest, around trying new varieties
Apart from the variety, there is the issue of care. Gardening is very personal, so opinions will vary. Here’s my 2 cents.
With kids, you want to make it as simple and as fun as possible. You want to minimize the work. You want to maximize the eating pleasure. To these ends, I recommend that you mulch the ground with a thick layer of wood chips. That will suppress weeds, eliminating the need to weed, which is the worst chore in gardening. It will also reduce the need to water, eliminating the 2nd worst chore. Finally, with good mulch you can avoid staking, which can be a pain when growing tomatoes. Just let the plants sprawl all over the ground. Kids can pick the tomatoes off the wood chips and eat them without washing.
When my daughter (now 37) was a child, we would go out into the garden every evening after work to pick “bellies” (berries). Depending on the season, it could be strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or grapes. But for much of the late summer, it was cherry tomatoes. Enjoy!
