As a kid, I remember growing a bean plant in school. It was 3rd grade and I

vaguely remember the lessons that the teacher was trying to convey…but if you

asked me for details today, I wouldn’t be able to tell you any. Looking back,

this was for a few reasons:

I didn’t connect growing the plant to growing food.

I didn’t see the final product (we didn’t grow the plant to the point where it

produced new beans).

It just wasn’t that cool – it was a bean in a cup with some of that old green

foam they use for floral arrangements

(you know the kind).

For this tutorial, I wanted to put together a guide that solves all three of

those problems for your child…something I would have loved back in third grade!

What Your Child Will Learn

The Growth Cycle of a Plant

From germination, to seedlings, to vegetative growth, all the way to harvest –

this guide shows kids the full lifecycle of a plant.

What Plants Need to Grow

By growing in a hydroponic environment, the “cloak” of using soil is removed –

kids will learn how proper nutrition, water, and light help a plant to thrive.

Where Food REALLY Comes From

No longer will food be something that just magically shows up on their plates.

By growing edible leafy greens, your child will learn exactly what happens

before the food they eat hits their mouths every meal.

P.S. If your

child doesn’t like eating veggies, this is an especially good

project for them…kids seem to “magically” want to eat lettuce and spinach after

they grow it themselves. Funny how that works…

Full materials list and

instructions for a child’s hydroponic experiment here:

http://www.epicgardening.com/hydroponics-for-kids/

UPDATE ON OUR WINTER GARDEN