Grow Your Own Carrot Greens
Since spring has sprung, and everyone is starting to tend to their gardens and getting reacquainted with nature, we decided it was the right time to do a little indoor plant experiment.
When a friend of mine mentioned that she heard that carrot greens grew from your discarded carrot tops, I was skeptical but thought it was a worth a try. She was right! They do. Carrot greens are edible and an excellent source of vitamins. They can be added to salads, soups, eggs, etc.
It’s very fun for the kids to watch them grow, and they’ll start sprouting in just a couple days. What’s really cool is that the carrots shoot little white roots out to absorb the water. This can definitely be added to a variety of lessons, and it is incredibly easy.
All you need to do is:
1. Gather a shallow dish and some carrot tops.
2. Add about an inch of water to to the dish. (You want enough so that the carrots are halfway covered.)
3. Place the carrot tops into the water, cut side down.
4. Set the dish in a windowsill that gets plenty of sun.
5. Check back every day and document the growth.
Enjoy!
You can also plant those tops in the ground (or a planter at least 1 ft. deep) to grow your own carrots and nibble on the greens while the carrots are growing!
If you grow potatoes (just put potato chunks with an ‘eye’ in the ground or large pot), you can also eat the leaves of the potato plant – and they make LOTS of yummy leaves!