Herbs are great to have on hand when you are cooking in order to give  dishes a little flavor and garnish! So try making these easy and fun herb planters with kids next time you want do a craft project. Enjoy!

Materials:
Marker
Sturdy 1-liter plastic bottles with caps
Utility knife
Scissors
Label remover or vegetable oil
Potting soil
Herb seedlings

1. For each planter, mark a line 5 inches from the bottle’s base. Use the utility knife to puncture the bottle at the mark (an adult should do this), then use scissors to cut all the way around the bottle at the mark. Remove the label, using the label remover or vegetable oil to get rid of any extra adhesive.
2. With the cap in place, invert the bottle’s top portion and insert it into the base. Fill it partway with soil. Transplant a seedling, adding soil and pressing it gently until the seedling is secured in the planter.
3. Lift out the soil-filled top portion and remove the cap. Add about an inch of water to the planter’s base, enough to cover the lip of the inverted bottle top when you replace it. Give the seedling some more water to help it get established, and then place it in a sunny spot. Following the care instructions that came with the herb, add water as needed to the planter’s base.

Say goodbye to April showers and welcome in May! The sun is out and so are the farmers markets. Enjoy the warm weather with a tasty baked good, samples of homemade jams and honeys, live music, and fresh produce. Check out the Oregonian’s helpful guide for a market open in your neighborhood.

And why not get the whole family involved? Get kids excited about grocery shopping at the farmers market and try doing a fun scavenger hunt. Here is a list of questions to guide your hunt:

1.       What season is it now?____________________________
List 3 fruits and 3 vegetables that are available at the farmer’s market right now.
FRUITS: 1.)_______________ 2.)________________ 3.)________________
VEGGIES: 1.)_______________ 2.)________________ 3.)________________

2.       Name one fruit or vegetable that comes in many different varieties at the market. ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_____________________
Name three of the varieties: _______________________________________________________

3.       What is your favorite fruit or vegetable at the market right now? _________________________

4.       Find a farm that is less than 100 miles from the market.
a.       Name the farm: ________________________
b.      What do they grow? _______________________________________________________
c.       Why is distance from the market important? ________________________________________________________________________

5.       Name a fruit or vegetable available at the market that you’ve never seen before. _________________________

6.       Ask three vendors what time they woke up this morning, and how long it took them to get to the market:
a.       ________________________________________________________________________
 b.      ________________________________________________________________________
c.       ________________________________________________________________________

7.       Find a purple fruit or vegetable: ______________________________

8.       Find a vegetable that grows underground: __________________________

9.       What is the most interesting thing you found for sale at the farmer’s market today? ___________________________________________


And don't forget to check out the seasonal Let's Grow recipes to help with your shopping list before heading to the market!

Avocados have been showing up in a few of our Grow Afterschool lesson recipes, like tofu lettuce wraps and guacamole, but they can be tricky to cut. Check out this easy step-by-step video from Epicurious for the next time you have to prepare a dish with avocados!

March is a perfect time to get out in the garden and plant some peas! This cool-season crop thrives in the Northwest and is a great food staple for every garden. Get inspired by some of the pea trellises built by GROW Afterschool students at Hillside and St. John's Community Center. The trellis design possibilities are endless, so get building and make your neighbors jealous by spring time! Check out pictures below!

St. John's Community Center also seized the opportunity to plant peas in their raised beds. Student gardeners from the "Sunflower" group built their pea trellis in a vertical formation.

Does your garden need some sprucing up? No matter what level you are at in the gardening department, there is always something easy to grow. You can start small and simply focus on trying to grow a mini herb garden. Who knows, maybe by summer you will be growing kale! Okay, well let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

February is a great time to focus on growing seedlings indoors. Sometimes cool season crops are easier to grow inside due to chilly temperatures outdoors. Cultivating seeds inside will give them a jump start to germinate and grow. Chives are a foolproof seed to grow indoors. Here is how:

1. Using a seed starting tray kit, place the cell compartment tray on top of the bottom tray. The bottom tray holds excess water and acts as a way to give additional water to seeds from the bottom up. This watering system causes the roots to grow down and creates stronger, healthier roots. (Or you can use another type of planting container that is 3-4 inches deep, like a plastic yogurt or cottage cheese container with drainage holes punctured in the bottom).
2. Fill the cells of the tray all the way to the top with a seed starting mix, or potting soil, and water the soil.
3. Next poke a small hole in the soil of each cell compartment. A pencil is the easiest method for making a small hole so the seeds can grow close together. The depth of the hole should be roughly double the size of the seed (for chives it is about 1/8”in.).
4. Then fill each cell hole with 3-5 seeds. Lightly cover holes with more soil, and GENTLY pat soil down.
5. Cover trays with dome lid. The dome holds moisture in and acts as a greenhouse.
6. Make tags for the seedlings so they are clearly marked with the date and name.
7. Place the trays near a south facing window to get light. It is also best to use artificial lights so the seeds get enough rays. Use a desk light with a flexible neck and clamp. This way you can get the light close enough to the seed so it can grow. An inexpensive fluorescent light bulb (T-12 or T-8) works best because it remains cool while giving off enough light in close proximity to seeds.  Place the light 2-4 inches above tallest point of seeds at all times. Use a light timer, giving the seeds 12-16 hours of light.
8. Check seeds each day to see if they need watering. Seeds should be kept slightly moist. Use a watering can that does not powerfully shoot out water because it can drown and flush away seeds. Instead use a watering can with a nice, light showering head.
9. Roll up the tops of the seed packets to seal off opening and store it in a plastic sandwich bag in the fridge. It is best to store seeds in a fridge to keep the viability of the seeds and so they don’t dry up. They can last up to a year.

In 3 to 4 weeks, or when the weather is warm enough (about 50 degrees), your chives will be ready to transplant outdoors. Good luck!

Now for a round of Name That Vegetable: "Inside they're super good, but outside they just look like green leather balls," 

That right-on description was overheard at St. Johns Community Center, where Grow Afterschool students are tasting and cooking with Brussels sprouts (did you guess it?) this week. 

Our tasting lessons are designed to help kids explore fruits and veggies with all their senses. They also encourage students to take just a taste of something they wouldn't ordinarily try...and many of them are discovering you shouldn't judge a veggie by its green leather cover. This week's recipe is Sweet Island Brussels Sprouts, and they are delicious. 

Gardening with kids has a million benefits. It shows them where real food really comes from, what fruit and veggies are in season and will therefore taste amazing now, and everything that goes into planning, growing, and harvesting a garden. 

Starting a garden, though, can be pretty intimidating - especially if you don't have a naturally green thumb. As Grow Afterschool starts its first full planting season, we've looked for easy ways to keep our four gardens on track. Oregon Tilth's The Toolshed is a must-use resource, especially their planting and harvest calendar. Oregon State University Extension's monthly Garden Calendar also gave us a starting point for planning lessons...especially for months where the garden itself is pretty quiet, but there's still a lot to learn about dirt, good and bad bugs, garden chores, garden tools, and more. 


Happy gardening! 

Our Grow Afterschool classes are tasting and cooking with pomegranates this week, and showing students how to seed these delicious but tricky fruits is part of the lesson. For help, we turned to Chef John at foodwishes.com, who shows off his secret and simple - kids can do it, too - technique.

If you are looking for a way to stay active but you don't want to take on the rain storms outside in order to move around, perhaps yoga is just the ticket! Its easy to do from home and is a great way to challenge your flexibility and stability. Plus yoga can calm the mind, enhance concentration, and leave you feeling more relaxed. It is a great activity for parents and kids to do together.

Test this yoga move out to get started. It's called the "tree pose". First start with both feet on the ground and focus your eyes on a stationary spot in the room to help you balance. Slowly raise one leg and place foot to the opposite thigh or calf, while bringing your palms together above your head. See how long you can balance. 

The holiday season is in full force and so is the weather! It’s easy to stay bundled up watching a movie on the couch when the weather is cold outside. But try to limit the screen time and take advantage of those dry, brisk fall days and get outside to enjoy the changing autumn foliage! Why not get in the holiday spirit as well and decorate your home with a wreath? Go for a stroll in your neighborhood or even step out to your own backyard and go hunting for supplies to make your own wreath. You can use colorful leaves, twigs, pine cones and even rosemary sprigs or other herbs from the garden to make your wreath unique.

Check out creative wreath making ideas from Sunset Magazine to get inspired.