Our world is in a state of making some critical decisions. Think very simply, like a child, about the next statement; Do not think in terms of fuel or heating or environment -- We are using far more stored energy than we are regenerating for our future genera
tions.
An easy example of this is the bag of lettuce or spinach leaves that you buy from the store for a healthy salad on your dinner table. If we think of energy as calories burned, how many calories does it take for the store to keep the lettuce cool before you buy it? How many calories of energy were consumed for someone to stock it, transport it, bag it, and grow it? Calories were expended creating the advertising on the package, for the computers to inventory it and develop the packaging. The list goes on ... That is a tremendous amount of calories expended to make available the one salad you have for dinner.
What is truly exciting is that there is an easy solution for nearly everyone -- and you can spark you child’s imagination at the same time! Most people have a window in their home and throw away empty plastic containers. Have your child grow your dinner ( or part of it anyway). If you do this you will not only help stimulate imagination and satisfy curiosity but you and your children will become part of the solution; It takes far fewer total energy calories to grow some leaf lettuce in your window than it does to buy it from the store.
Many stores are still displaying last year’s seeds that you can purchase for pennies right now and even during planting season seeds are rather inexpensive. If you reuse the bottom of a plastic milk or cottage cheese container ( most containers you throw away will work ) you are helping to recycle wasted resources. Help your young one look up information on the Internet about the plant; What it looks like, how long it takes to grow, and how to care for it. Also have him or her draw a picture on the container of what the plant will look like when it is grown and what the word for the plant is. This is an excellent way to help them explore their natural world.
You will need a container, seeds, a small bag of potting soil, a spoon, and the ability to give your child a big hug of encouragement when they are done. You might also try to explain to them that their future dinner will take a little watering along the way and a watchful eye to know when harvest time has arrived. You may also want to explain that once you cut off the leaves, they will continue to grow back again and again for even more tasty meals!
Further Reading:
Grow a Quick Crop of Lettuce Indoors, by Barbra Pleasant: Mother Earth News
How-To Project: Planting a Child-Friendly Garden, by National Gardening Association Editors
Growing Indoor Plants with Success, by Bodie V. Pennisi: University of Georgia; College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Copyright Rodney A. Crater 2011
