My children are picky eaters. You know the five basic food groups? Well,  my son pretends there are only three groups, and doesn't eat any meat or vegetables. It drives me crazy, but I frequently take deep breaths and remind myself that my daughter went through similar phases and is a great eater now.

I have noticed the kids are much more inclined to eat food they cook themselves, so how about vegetables they help grow?

Wall-E and Sesame Street have been very helpful in teaching my kids about how sunshine and water make plants grow (think Jack and the Beanstalk, don't know how we're going to be able to match that standard!) With the arrival of warm weather, I decided to start a container garden on the balcony of our Hoboken condo.

I don't know what I am doing when it comes to gardening. Fortunately, my mother is an avid gardener, so I shamelessly fall back on her expertise when I have gardening questions. She recommended Miracle Gro potting soil and plants that would grow well in shallow window boxes (tomatoes are out, which is unfortunate because I stocked up last year on seed packets). She advised I purchase seedlings instead of starting plants from seed since that approach is much easier.

Armed with advice, I went to the Home Depot near the Holland Tunnel and bought a bunch of railing window boxes, basil seeds (they were sold out of seedlings), and seedlings for French lavender and enough non-toxic flowers for two window boxes (begonias and impatiens). I want to try harvesting the lavender to dry for sachets, and to see flowers on my terrace until late fall.

From the moment we pulled into the Home Depot second floor outdoor nursery, the kids were more excited than I have ever seen them. I save their favorite parts of shopping trips for last as a bribe to get them to move along, so we headed downstairs first to choose window boxes and universal railing hangers before buying the plants. The kids were enthusiastic participants, each coming away with their own set of begonias (different colors so we could tell them apart).

We let the plants acclimate for a day on the balcony before planting them. The kids "helped" by watering; I hope the plants don't die from excessive moisture. My baby son kept trying to dig in the planter of basil seeds, so I had to rescue it by putting it at the far end of the balcony where it's not immediately accessible. Tiny basil seedlings popped up a few days ago; it was just as exciting as it was when I was a kid to see the tiny new crumpled growth spring up from the soil.

My urban toddlers have had a good introduction to learning where their food comes from. I hope this leads to a lifetime of healthy eating.

To read more about what makes Kathy Zucker tick, check out her blog at http://hobokenmomcondo.com/momblog and follow her at http://twitter.com/zhobokenmom