Organic Vegetable Play Fort

It’s time to start thinking about spring craft and garden projects. Are you looking for a fun, educational, organic project that will entertain your child and maybe even help you get your picky eaters to love their vegetables? Try this bean plant fort and you’ll have a shady play space as well.

Getting your children involved in growing their own vegetables is a proven way to get picky eaters more engaged at the dinner table. We all struggle to get more vegetables into our children’s diets. With this play fort craft project, your children can watch the vegetables grow, pick them when they are ready, and even play in the shade created by the plant. Vegetables picked that day are fresher and tastier than ones that have been picked weeks before and shipped to the store to sit on the shelf. Also, when you grow your own beans, you control what pesticides are used during the plant’s development.

Kids love playing inside tents and forts. If you are looking for a creative play space to utilize this spring and summer, why not make your own vegetable fort?

Supplies and Directions

1. Start by picking up some garden stakes from your local hardware or home improvement store. They generally come in lengths ranging from three to six feet. Choose your poles based on the size of the fort you wish to create. This project can be adapted to fit even the smallest gardening area and is great for urban, suburban, and country dwellers.
2. Take the poles home and arrange them in a sunny spot in your yard. You will want the stakes to meet at the top in a teepee shape. Secure the poles together with some twine and push the stakes lightly into the soil until they feel stable.
3. Plant a small bean plant at the base of each stake. As the plants begin to grow, encourage them to vine up the garden stakes.

Results

In a few short weeks you will have a shady, organic teepee in which your youngsters can play as well as harvest some vegetables for their dinner plate. Growing, playing in, and picking their own vegetables is a good way to encourage children to try new foods.

Make sure you put your plants in the ground after the last frost of the season in your neck of the woods! Have fun teaching your children about growing and nurturing plants, gardening, and creating green play spaces!