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Looking for an eco-friendly project to do as a family? Put kids in charge of tracking the vegetables’ progress as they grow, then try a few new recipes with your harvest!
Remove the white bulbs of the green onions, keeping the roots intact. Stand them in a small jar with just enough water to submerge the roots (do not submerge the bulbs). Place your jar in a window sill, changing the water about once a week. Green shoots should sprout from the bulbs after a few days.
Recipe: Asparagus and Shiitake Stir-Fry
Don’t throw out your pepper seeds! Plant them in potting soil in medium-sized containers and place them in a spot with lots of sunlight. Peppers and chilies do even better in hot weather, so they’ll thrive as the summer goes on. Kids can be on the lookout for colors to change from green to purple, yellow, red, and orange.
Recipe: Sheet-Pan Chicken Thighs with Sweet Peppers
Pierce the bottom of a large plastic container with a few holes, then fill two-thirds with potting mix. Add a few halved cherry tomatoes, cut-sides up, then cover with a thin layer of potting mix. After about three weeks, transfer the stems to larger pots or your garden, watering every few days. Once they’re ripe, kids can harvest the tomatoes for salads and snacks.
Recipe: Marinated Tomato Salad
Pierce a large radish on either side with toothpicks, then suspend root-side down in a tall glass of water so just the root end is submerged. Fine white hairs should start to grow down into the glass. Radishes will grow quickly once transferred to a container with potting soil—a great choice for kids who want to see big results fast.
Recipe: Sautéed Radishes with Sugar Snap Peas
Trim all but the top leaves from thicker stems of basil and mint. Trim the stem ends, then submerge the ends in a few inches of water in a tall glass or water bottle. The herbs are ready to plant in containers when they sprout lots of fine roots. Basil and mint leaves are tender and mild so kids can enjoy plucking and eating them right off the plant.
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