First Starters and Kitchen Sprouts

Oh, it is nice to think that Spring is near enough to plant seeds! We haven't gotten the bulk of our seeds in yet, but Kaia got started with the seeds for her garden. She planted basil, ornamental corn, and snake gourd. These are the seeds she picked out at the store, so I think she may need to start some pole beans as well and go for the classic corn, bean, and squash trio. Perfect for her little garden bed.

 My Mum gave us these neat peat pots, or "dirt cakes" as they're known around here, for Kaia to use. She had a lot of fun with them. She poured on the water and sat and watched them expand. Then she carefully opened up the tops.

 She pushed the seeds down into the soil and tucked them into their beds. I love watching her little hands work in the dirt. She placed their lids on and we set them up on a shelf.

 We'd used all the peat pots we had and I wasn't ready yet to get the rest of the seeds started. I still needed to make a place to put them all. Kaia wasn't done with planting, though, so I got out the "Kitchen Cropper" we got a little while back and hadn't tried yet. She spread alfalfa seeds on all three of the trays. I wasn't sure we'd be able to eat all the sprouts she was starting before they went bad, but there was no stopping her. ;) I figured they may make a nice treat for the chicks if we had a surplus.

 This was great, actually. Kaia always wants to water the plants every day and has a hard time understanding why she can't, but the sprouting seeds need to be watered twice (!) a day. She love love loved doing so, and watching the water drip down, fill each tray, and drip to the next.

 A handful of days later, the sprouts were ready to eat and you know what? I did not need to worry about a surplus. I barely got any sprouts, and Papa didn't get any at all. Every time I turned around Miss Kaia had the lid off and was cramming sprouts in her mouth. They were gone the next day! I guess we'll be starting some more.

She has patiently checked her seeds every day and finally the basil and corn are sprouting for her, she is so excited! We're still waiting on those snake gourds, though. She's ready to plant more. I've rearranged the living room and have a table in front of the windows just waiting for the seedlings. I better get those flats ready, stat!