If you’re planning on getting some kids into the garden this season, there are some vegetable varieties out there with some seriously fun names. Varieties that have silly or even just familiar names are more exciting for kids to plant and can be great conversation starters, too.

“Why do you think they chose this name for this melon?”

“What would you have named it?”

“If you created a variety, what vegetable would it be and what name would it have?”

All of the silly veggies below just happen to be heirloom varieties—which, of course, means that when you and your kids harvest the crop, you can save your own seeds for next year. Collecting and storing seed is the next natural progression from growing their own vegetable plants. Now you and your kids can have your own “seed bank” and give it a silly name.

• ‘Tigger’ melons—This melon is a gorgeous bright yellow with fire-red zig-zag stripes.
• ‘Green Zebra’ tomatoes—Not just a cool name, but one of the chef’s favorites.
• ‘Sleeping Beauty’ sweet melon—Small vines, perfect for small gardens. Lots of little, sweet, cream-colored melons.
• ‘Jack Be Little’ pumpkins—The tiniest pumpkins for the tiniest hands. Darling and decorative.
• ‘Dragon Tongue’ beans—It doesn’t get any better than planting a dragon’s tongue in the garden.
• ‘Painted Pony’ beans—This bush bean looks just like a pinto or paint pony.
• ‘Dragon’ carrot—This is an awesome purple carrot with a sweet-spicy flavor.
• ‘Thumbelina’ carrot—A stubby but very sweet carrot that’s terrific for heavy soils (like clay).
• ‘Casper’ eggplant—Pure white like everyone’s favorite ghost.
• ‘Tom Thumb’ peas—Its name comes from its habit. This is a very compact little plant that’s perfect for containers.
• ‘Cinderella’ pumpkin—It’s carriage-shaped and deep orange-red. Very romantic.
• ‘Chocolate Beauty’ bell peppers—I’m not sure anyone can resist the word “chocolate” attached to anything. Too bad it doesn’t taste like the real thing.
• ‘Black Beauty’ zucchini—Yup. Just like the horse.
• ‘Moon & Stars’ watermelon—Lives up to its name. This melon had a large yellow “moon” on its flesh along with dots of “stars” just like the solar system.
• ‘Black-Seeded Ice Cream” watermelon—Pink-fleshed and super-duper sweet.

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