a peek inside the fishbowl

Every year for the past three (possibly four), years one of the girls has brought home a bean plant from kindergarten. First Emma, then Sarah. It makes sense. Teachers want to show kids how seeds grow. Beans are good seeds to show growth. But for some reason our bean plants have never fared well once we got them home. I always plant them. For the last couple years I’ve been sticking the beans in a planter, and each one has grown into this awkward spindly thing that produces a few sad leaves and that’s about it. This year I planted it in the soil amid some Morning Glory. I hope it fares a little better.

A great seed for starting with kids is that of the Nasturtium. I’ve seen them at every garden centre and at Loblaws. The variety I bought will eventually have red flowers (we’ve had yellow and orange too) and is a little more compact. It is perfect for patio-sized containers.

The beauty of this particular plant is that they’re not just easy to start indoors, but the flowers are edible. They’re sharp and mildly peppery and look really pretty on a salad, but for some reason ours get pinched right at the source and hardly ever make it to the dinner table.

Plant lots.

Nasturtiums are very easy to start at home. Just put a paper towel in a drinking glass, and drop in five or six seeds. Keep them covered with a puddle of water. Within a couple of weeks they’ll sprout and grow. Don’t let them dry out. When they get to this stage (see pic below) they’re more than ready to plant. They seem to transplant well too. We started a few too many seeds and now we have them growing all over the place. I’m looking forward a good crop.