Happy, Healthy Kids is a new column to promote fun and interesting activities which result in... Happy, Healthy Kids.
This week we are looking into the fun hobby of growing an indoor garden. It is often impractical to have an outdoor garden. Rather than going without fresh fruits and vegetables, grab the kids and begin your journey into indoor gardening.
I asked several children today what they would like to grow indoors and the results were: strawberries, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and cherry tomatoes.
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After a trip to the garden center, I left with three kits. It can be a bit messy to use a bag of fertilizer while doing indoor planting and there are many choices. If you are a beginner you may be excited to find special kits for growing strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and more.
When I first went to the garden center the plan was to purchase soil and seeds and use empty milk jugs to begin the indoor garden. However, when I looked further into the pre-made kits, I knew it was the way I wanted to go.
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The strawberry kit contained a hanging pot, 4 slot container, a small block of dried soil and seeds. The kids will have fun putting the soil block into a bucket and adding 50 ounces of water and watching the soil expand for ten minutes.
The soil is then ready for planting. The seeds must germinate for a few weeks and then be transplanted to the hanging pot provided. Everything you need is in one box. The kids can read the directions, carefully watch over their new seedlings and learn about the plant lifecycle. You can literally spend months using the strawberry plants as learning tools.
The strawberry plant is supposed to produce fruit for about three years and the entire kit was just $7.
I also purchased a cute little tomato plant kit for $1. I want to try it and compare it to the full blown $7 tomato kit. The tiny greenhouse simply came with dried soil which you mix with 1/4 cup water and then plant the seeds provided. Put the plastic lid on top and watch it grow.
Take pictures along the way and enjoy making new memories with the kids. The indoor gardens can provide a fun and healthy way to watch your kids fall in love with healthy foods.