Growing Inside Salad

Salad greens in a grocery store sack is pretty common these days but if you're like me, a person who doesn't get much kick out of chewing on a leaf, home grown sprouts are a delight. I can plop them under a tomato slice with a dollop of mayo and a basil leaf - okay some leaves I like - on home made grain bread and nothing tastes better. There is something utterly fresh about sprouts and there is great truth in that, because they are still growing as you eat them. What could be fresher? Plants grow and grow and grow. It's their raison d'etre. Parents should take a break from carting their kids and the expensive dream equipment off to some canned game involving a round object, and be sensible, stay home, have fun with your kids and show them something useful. Like survival knowledge. Take growing sprouts, for example. Growing what we eat is a pleasurable therapy we need in this complex world. A pocket full of seeds is sustenance that  in small amounts, will make, in a few days, a crunchy salad go-with or a sandwich additive or just a spicy munch. I grow them in a corner of my kitchen sink. I have to admit that I bought some 4 inch trays with tiny holes for drainage and use two of these small items: one holds the seeds and drains into the bottom one that drains down the drain. No fuss. I give the top layer a shot of water in the mornings, and voila in four days, out the sprouts come. I rinse off the little husks that actually, you can simply leave on because they are edible, too. I use radish and alfalfa seed but there are others available that will add to the mix and allow you to design your own tasty salads. While one batch is growing, I am using the other. My small container makes a medium bowlful of sprouts that I use only enough of to cover the bottom of the grower. Children should learn that gardening is important not only for our general good  health, but to satisfy our mental health needs as well. Watching something grow that we have "planted" ourselves is satisfying a basic, primitive human memory. Everyone, even if there is no "house",  has access to a window sill, a patio or deck. There, your kids can grow many things, not just sprouts: tall beans or herbs, chives or green onions, little tomatoes. You don't need a plot of land to add good health to what you consume. A small bag of sprout seeds will last for years and keep all that time, too. My 16 ounce bag supply that cost under 15 dollars, is over 2 years old and still going strong. Sprouts can be added to anything: into fruit, on top of cooked dishes, tucked into bread, dropped onto and inside pancakes, or just eaten by the pinch. Give it a try and see if your kids and grandkids do not delight in growing their own snacks. You, too! DIY your green garden in a few days.