A couple of months ago, I adopted a lovely little tree for my desk from the MSL giveaway table. The tag tells me it's a Chamaecyparis lawsoniana "Ellwoodii." I'm convinced it's part alien or actually made of plastic since I haven't killed it yet. I'm not generally a forgetful sort, but I always have trouble remembering to water my plants. The tag also tells me that this little guy is capable of growing up to 15 feet tall. Bring it, tiny plastic alien plant!
In honor of Earth Day, I've decided to make a conscious effort to not pass my curse on to my son, who thinks everything is beautiful and gets sad when bugs die. Luckily for us, there are a number of kits on the market that encourage kids to grow plants with fun containers and seeds that spout quickly and are easy to maintain.
The boy-child was attracted to the simple, colorful pots in the Indoor Gardening Kit and Planting Kit from eco-friendly Green Toys. The former also includes a planter tray and a trowel. Both include soil disks and organic seeds. The indoor kit features sunflower, basil, and zinnia plants, which are were chosen for their hardy, easy-to-grow qualities. All plastic in the company's toys and pots is made from recycled milk jugs.
I have to admit I was skeptical when I took these kits home, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the plants began to sprout the following week. They're now thriving nicely and will soon be big enough to transplant to our backyard. The boy-child has been dutiful about watering them and is especially protective of the basil, as someone made the mistake of telling him that we should put it in our spaghetti. The three-pot kit retails for $19.99. The single planting kit, with sunflower seeds, is $5.99. Both can be found at www.greentoys.com. Click below for a gallery of us readying a pot for planting.
1 Comes with sunflower seeds, a disk of soil, and either a green or blue pot made from recycled plastic. Planting kit, $5.99, by Green Toys; shop.greentoys.com.
2 The sunflower kit contents, fresh out of the package.
3 The kiddo adds a cup of warm water to the soil disk.
4 After 30 minutes, the soil gets moist and fluffy.
5 Ready to add the sunflower seeds!
6 Our sunflower plants just one week later!
7 Here are the basil, zinnia, and sunflower plants we grew from the Indoor Gardening Kit. As you can see, they're doing very well! My son likes that they're his to care for, and has done a great job watering and looking after them. $19.99; shop.greentoys.com
Miracle-Gro has a line especially for kids with a soil mix that changes color to a lighter brown once the plant needs watering. The containers are adorable and include terrariums, greenhouses, and pots that can be joined together and rearranged in different configurations. I love the plant-marking sticks and little extras like charts to keep track of your plants' growth.
The instructions for the Miracle-Gro Kids range are also very simple. Your progeny fills little cups with pre-measured packets of soil, adds 3 tablespoons of water, then the seeds. You can choose from a veggie mix, which can include cucumber, eggplant, sweet pepper, and tomato, or a flower garden that can include marigold, zinnia, or sunflower. Prices start at $1 for single-variety mini greenhouses. The larger kits retail for $12.99.
1 My personal favorite from the Miracle-Gro Kids line: this mini greenhouse comes with either veggie or flower seeds. Everything is clearly labeled and easy for kids to grasp. Greenhouse, $12.99, by Miracle-Gro
2 This adorable terrarium is another fun Miracle-Gro Kids product. It comes with either veggie or flower seeds. This particular kit will yield cucumber, eggplant, tomato, and sweet pepper. Fun! Terrarium, $12.99, by Miracle-Gro
3 This colorful kit comes with four containers filled with Miracle-Gro soil mix, seeds, plant-marking stakes, and helpful little extras like a growth chart and planting sticks. ModPots, $12.99 per set, by Miracle-Gro
4 These individual kits make good starter sets if you aren't ready for a larger greenhouse or terrarium. Only $1 each!
Japanese company Sheishin Tougei launched the Eggling a number of years ago—essentially an "egg" with soil and seeds that you keep watered and voilà! You have a plant growing out of, um, an egg. You can choose from basil, mint, thyme, chrysanthemum, phlox, petunia, lavender, cactus, red pepper, and wild strawberry. Their containers have expanded to include the Nyokki, a kind of egg-pet-creature with rye grass for hair, and Taterpots, which look like little anthropomorphic spuds with basil, mint, or oregano sprouts. Check out eggling.com for where-to-buy info.
1 Wee ceramic eggs filled with soil make adorable starter planters. Eggling, about $8.49, eggling.com for stores.
2 Those of you who prefer your eggs with faces and feet can get one of these guys. Nyokki Grass Pets, about $10.98 each, eggling.com for stores.
3 And if you'd rather not have your herbs growing out of an egg at all, but rather, a potato, you're also in luck. Taterpot, about $11.99, eggling.com for stores.
As with anything planted in a small container, keep in mind that anything your black thumb hasn't murdered will need to be eventually transplanted outdoors or into a bigger pot.
Happy Earth Day, everyone!
From: Mini Greenhouse | 4/23/11 at 3:15 pm
The Miracle grow colour changing soil is absolutely fantastic and really grabs my kids attention encouraging them to carte for the plants!
From: Daily Trading System | 5/26/11 at 2:29 am
My son really enjoys the miracle grow colour changing soil..it's really fun to do..
From: My Black Thumb Skips a Generation! - Living in the Family Room Blog - Martha Stewart | 6/17/11 at 12:43 pm
[...] in April on Earth Day, I talked about some planting kits my five-year-old and I were growing and planning on starting. At the time, our [...]
From: Jen | 7/26/11 at 10:04 am
My favorite plant to share my love of nature and the earth is the TickleMe Plant. I am sure Martha Stewart loves how the leaves fold and even the branches droop when tickled!