Sampling the first microfarm harvest

Last night, I tried the first of the microgreens from the microfarm.

I decided to first taste each microgreen individually, which I am told is similar to how teachers have their students sample the microgreens. Plus, I figured that before I took a leap of faith and incorporated them into a salad, I would first see how they tasted by themselves.

Again, I must admit, I was nervous about trying the microgreens. They bear a strong resemblance to grass clippings. Plus, I've never considered eating sunflowers or hybrid popcorn before, so I was completely clueless how there would taste.

First up: Sunflowers. After a slight hesitation, down the hatch it went. I was pleasantly surprised. The sunflowers tasted similar to other salad greens and reminded me of something I might get in a restaurant.

Not too bad!

Next up: Hybrid popcorn. I must admit, I did not like the hybrid popcorn as much as the sunflowers. I thought that something about the texture and almost chewiness of the hybrid popcorn was not appealing. However, that does not mean I will totally give up on it. I plan on incorporating them into a salad. Although I may not like how they taste on their own, they may work well when mixed in a salad with other greens.

So my microfarm journey continues. I'm looking forward to harvesting the carrots since I am told the greens taste just like regular carrots!

Resource: Early Sprouts Gardening Project

The Early Spouts Gardening Project is a program in New Hampshire that is similar to Got Dirt? in Wisconsin.

Early Sprouts has a curriculum set up to encourage preschoolers to try new fruits and vegetables. After planting a garden, the Early Sprouts curriculum first has children explore their vegetables with their five senses. Children are encouraged to smell, taste, touch, listen and look at the chosen vegetable for the week.

Next, the class cooks a recipe together using that vegetable.

Finally, at the end of the week, the teachers send children home with their "Family Recipe Kits," which contain the recipe and ingredients to make the same snack that the children made in the class earlier in the week.

The Early Sprouts website provides more detailed instructions about its program, including guidelines for teachers and sample recipes.

The curriculum discussed appears to provide a consistent method for allowing children to interact with and try new vegetables. It also allows children to connect classroom activities with their home lives.

Check out the Early Sprouts website for an interesting approach to incorporating your school garden into your classroom and the homes of your students.

Activity: Stone Soup

A classic childhood fable is the story of Stone Soup. (A version of the story can be found here and your local library should also have a copy of the book).

In the story, a weary traveler makes stone soup. He simply puts a stone in a pot of boiling water and with the generosity of others, he creates a tasty meal.

This story provides the perfect opportunity to teach children about the value of sharing and teamwork.

A variety of activities can be used in conjunction with this story.

• Have students identify the vegetables mentioned in the story
• Make your own stone soup with vegetables from your garden. (Here is one soup recipe, but any vegetable soup recipe will work just as well). Have students pick fresh vegetables from the garden, having each child contribute one to the soup
• If your school does not have a garden, ask students to bring in food from home to be added to the soup
• Explain that stone soup can only be made with everyone's help. In the same way, a school garden can only succeed when everyone contributes their own special talents by caring for the garden

Enjoy your Stone Soup! Just don't forget to remove the stone before you start eating!