Southeast Michigan’s a primo place to grow your own grub – and families are definitely joining in the locavore movement. But when it comes to gardening, getting your children geared up might be tricky – especially if you don’t exactly have a green thumb yourself.
That’s about to change with Growums gardening kits!
With so many unhealthy food options out there, it’s more important than ever before to teach kids about food and healthier alternatives. By giving them the chance to plant seeds and watch, for example, how tomatoes grow, you might just encourage them to eat better.
Created by Michael Ferarro, Growums are an easy and educational way to get kids (and parents) hyped about gardening through some cool interactive techniques. Each kit has its own set of characters, which your child gets to know over the course of the growing process.
There are six yummy gardens to pick from: pizza, herb, salad, ratatouille, taco and stir-fry. The gardening process really comes to life with animated vegetable characters called Growums. They include Tomicio the Tomato and Cecil Cilantro.
Here’s how the kit works: Add warm water to the coco pellets and watch as they expand right before your eyes. Plant three seeds in each pellet and then log on to Growums.com to register your kit.
Once you’ve done this, the Growums characters tell you how to care for your growing plants. Every 10 days, the cartoon characters teach kids what to do for the next 10 days. After the gardens sprout, plant them in a sunny spot and water them.
It’s a fun and inventive way to get kids interested in growing their own vegetables and herbs – and a neat trick to excite children about healthier food options. The characters make it an engaging experience, too.
Purchase Growums at Hessells Greenhouse in Shelby Township and Turner’s Greenhouses and
Garden Center in Ann Arbor.
Each kit costs $9.99 and comes with eight coco pellets, one package of each herb or vegetable seed and eight plant tags.
Come on: Get growing!
