I suggest that you look in to Square foot gardening. I have a 3x7 Bed but I will be planting a dozen peppers and 1/2 dozen eggplant in that small space and have done so with great success for three years now. I also use containers for my tomatoes & Cucumbers and around them plant lettuce, carrots & radishes I was also thinking about trying some corn in a container this year.

I would look into square foot gardening as a method with such a small space, it would give him the best bang for the buck. With an 8 by 8, he would have 64 areas to plant different things, which should hold some attention and help him decide what vegetables in the future he would like to grow more.

I am including a link below to the Square foot gardening forum here on Gardenweb.

Also, you might try going to your local library and check if they have a copy of the "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew, my library did and that would be a good reference. Also the offical website for the book is: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

I hope that helps

Dean

Here is a link that might be useful: Square Foot Gardening Forum

Thank you for the suggestions! I copied the post over to that forum and will check into the book!

One suggestion about the berries. They multiply by runners. I wouldnt put them in with the veggies. you will have a mess by the end ogf summer. Make a seperate bed for them or you could use them as an annual boarder plant for your other beds.

Or if he wants the strawberry plants, give him a strawberry pot or get a big hanging basket and let him plant them in it.

You say it will be totally contained I assume you mean fenced in to keep the kritters out. I would section the box off with 2 ft wide paths in a + pattern making 4 3'x3'planting areas. You could then do the sq ft method easily keeping plants you want to pick from the outside along the fence...I would plant maybe some climbing beans, cucumbers and even try a fast ripening melon. 1 3x3 sq would hold a zucchini nicely, another a nice tomato, another maybe a square of corn and the last one divided by carrots and broccoli. (You can plant things such as radish in the left over spaces of the tomato and zucchini until they get too big).

If you want something more permanent you could put in 9 strawberry plants in one of the squares but will either have to buy runnerless ones or cut the runners off each year. You also could plant asparagus but it will take a couple years before you can get anything to eat.

Also just so you know, I have seen deer jump a 6 ft high fence to get into gardens with little effort.

Personally I would plant easy quick veggies this year to see if his interest keeps up with the weeding LOL.

I don't think 1 bean plant will do. I plant at least a hundred for my family of 3. I never actually counted. Maybe I will this year. Sure, I have plenty to can and give away, but even to get enough for a meal all at once you will need at least 20 plants - which can easily be planted in just 4 feet along the fence.

Pickling cukes are fast and tasty for munching.

A couple of points.
1st) In a raised bed whether your using French intensive methods or square foot gardening you can get a lot more yield in small spaces than you could ever imagine getting with row gardening. You will not maximize that yield in the first year as it takes a few years to get the soil built up with compost and worms, but you will be amazed (as I am with my raised beds) with how much you can get out of a small space. So don't underestimate your "little" 8x8.

2nd) I have a 5 year old who loves to come out to the garden with me. There are two things that keep her attention more than anything, looking at and for bugs and worms and eating things right off the plant with dad. So, for both these reasons, organic is the way to go. My daughter loves digging for worms and counting them for me. Your oldest is a bit older, but if you educate him (her) that the worms are an indicator of soil health and fertility and make the connection from worm food (compost) to soil fertility to veggie taste and yield then your kids may be just as interested in the worms as my little one is.

Then there is the eating. In your situation it would be good to keep an eye on when things will be available for harvest to keep the attention throughout the year. We are in zone seven and we go out to the yard every day now (and have been for about two weeks) to pick the early strawberries. If they are interested in radishes, there is another possibility for early harvest. Spinach is another one we can eat throughout the winter and early spring. Soon after that, you could have the peas ready to harvest and then baby carrots and lettuce.

I could go on, but you get my point. You would not need to get a lot of any one thing to give the kids a nearly continuous sense of connection with the garden. With a little panning and some attention to harvest dates for the perennials and days to maturity for the annuals, I think a very interesting garden could be done in your space.

One last point, I grew 16 pole bean plants (on an 8 foot tall tepee last year and while it was not enough to freeze any for winter it was enough to gather the harvest one day, refrigerate it, wait two days, harvest again and have enough for one meal for a family of 5.

Steve

Thanks for all the ideas!

We are all organic in my home; inside and out, and have been for almost 10 years. Nothing better when you have kids!

I've gotten so much help here and on sq ft gardening - thank you! We are in the process of reading about SFG and planning our little plot.