It’s fun to plant with children and now with school starting, why not use growing food as an innovative science project? For parents working at home and also doubling as teachers, it’s more important than ever to find easy ways to engage children in fun learning activities.
In the San Francisco Bay Area there are many microclimates where we can grow crops all year long and save money on grocery bills and trips to the store. In this article you will find many links to pages that will give you inspiration and ideas on how to use this technology at home with your family. The copy is from the Juice Plus Tower Garden website.
And here is a short video about how it works.
Tower Garden is famous for allowing homeowners to grow fresh, healthy plants from the comfort of their kitchen, balcony, or anywhere else with an outlet and four square feet of space and using 90% less water than traditional gardens.
Over 7,500 classrooms in 49 states across the country agree that Tower Garden is an incredible learning tool. Nationwide, teachers use their gardens to educate and inspire healthy living as well as to provide students with nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits. And like the classroom teachers have been doing, you can access the free lesson plans you can use with your children now and over the coming school year.
- Nutrition made easy.
Habits start at a young age, and it goes without saying that the food we eat has a big impact on our physical and cognitive abilities. Teaching your kids about the benefits of a nutrient-rich, well-balanced diet is easy with Tower Garden because you’re able to plant, grow, and enjoy the same crops you and your children will harvest.
Leafy greens such as spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce are easy to grow and packed with vitamins and minerals. By sharing nutritional facts about the foods you grow, your kids will better understand the role these veggies play in their growth and development.
- STEM learning at home.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics? Check. Tower Garden utilizes aeroponic technology – the process of growing plants in a mist environment without soil. In fact, NASA has been experimenting with aeroponic technology for almost 30 years and believes it has the potential to help astronauts grow their own food in outer space.
You can easily teach your kids one of the key benchmarks for a more sustainable life using only what you need — nothing more and nothing less. The features of Tower Garden work together seamlessly to produce more crops using less water and provide a quick lesson in efficiency for your future grower.
- Get some help in the kitchen!
Introducing your children to the joys of cooking at a young age creates quality time in the kitchen while providing valuable benefits in the process — like a boost in confidence and getting them used to trying new and different veggies.
Bring the produce aisle to your kitchen and demonstrate a few basics — like how to properly pick and prepare produce as well as how to cut herbs and sauté greens. If you’re in need of some kitchen inspiration, the Tower Garden cookbook contains some recipes using the fresh produce your family will harvest from the tower garden.
- Horticulture has evolved.
Did you know that 1 in 3 American households grow their own food? And now during the current shelter in place environment, gardening is America’s new favorite hobby and thanks to Tower Garden, it’s easier than ever to educate your children on how to properly germinate seeds, plant seedlings, maintain a garden, and harvest crops. If you need guidance teaching any of these methods, our YouTube page is full of helpful content.
These skills not only will make them more effective gardeners, they’ll also help your kids appreciate the time and effort that goes into a successful yield. They say there’s nothing like seeing the fruits of your labor, and we tend to agree!
Need more ideas?
We provide an accredited curriculum for teachers to follow using Tower Garden. So if you’re interested in using your vertical garden to home school your kids about math, advanced science, writing, and urban gardening, check out our collection of lesson plans.
You may have wanted to grow your own fresh, healthy food for a while now. But something is stopping you. Maybe your growing season isn’t long enough. Or maybe your outdoor space doesn’t get enough sunlight. Or maybe you don’t even have outdoor space.
Indoor gardening could be your solution. Tower Garden has introduced a new smaller version that is so easy to use inside the home for people who may only have a balcony or small patio rather than a large back yard. It’s called the HOME Tower Garden and only takes up 2 feet of space.
Here is a link to free lesson plans from preschool through high school .
If you are interested in saving money on produce, in creating a sustainable garden, and giving your family the cleanest, best tasting produce, as well as engaging the students in your family, consider growing tower garden veggies. Because there is no soil and no digging, no weeding and no bending, growing is now easier that it ever was in a traditional dirt garden. Check the links below and email your questions.
Submitted by Gwen O’Neill.
Gwen O’Neill has been a gardener for over 40 years and has always been a passionate cook. Her own health challenges led her to experiencing a variety of healing modalities. After finding that her health improved with eating more whole food and improving her nutrition using a real, whole food based supplement called Juice Plus, she committed to sharing this experience with others. The aeroponic Tower Garden by Juice Plus makes it easy to grow produce right outside your kitchen door.
Juice Plus real food!
facebook.com/gwenoneillstowergarden
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