Grow tomatoes from old fruit – Growing Veggies with Kids
Growing veggies with kids is something I’ve been wanting to write about for a while. Not just because my boys love it, but also because its something I want to do more of and sometimes having a little accountability here is good for me.
Ironically as I write this my veggie patch is overrun with old pumpkin vines that really need to be pulled out, but hey I’m currently winning on the seedlings stakes as I’ve got tomato plants coming out of my ears after we grew them from the manky tomatoes I found in the back of the fridge. (Who knew manky tomatoes would one day be really useful!)
I had planned to have turned the entire (back) side yard of our house into a veggie patch by now by my low blood pressure and the crazy hot weather we’ve been having has made going outside pretty much impossible. But now that it’s finally starting to cool down I have hopes that we’ll be able to tackle that job in the next couple of weeks ready for some serious planting.
5 reasons growing veggies with kids is a good idea
They’re more likely to eat it if they grew it themselves. If I put peas on their plate at dinner time, will they eat it? Not a chance. If they helped grow it, I’m lucky if I can get any of it upstairs and into a meal.
It gets them outside and makes them less crazy. We could talk about the grounding effects of sticking your hands in the dirt and being outside in fresh air but I’m sure you already know it as fact that outdoor time = less crazy.
Teaches them where there food comes from. I really just don’t want my kids to think that food comes from a store or in a packet. ’nuff said.
It’s good for patience. (Mine and theirs) Almost everything else in our world is instant. There is something magical about having to wait and anticipate something that (feels like) it grows out of nothing.
It’s something we enjoy doing together. I’m going to let you in on a secret. I don’t really enjoy jumping on the trampoline, or running around the backyard playing football, or even getting in the pool with them for that matter (I like to wait until they’re done to avoid having all the wet children on me at the same time effect).
How to grow tomatoes from old fruit
Step 1. Cut your old tomatoes into 1cm slices.
Step 2. Place them on top of potting mix and cover with a little bit of extra soil.
Step 3. Put them somewhere sunny and let them dry out.
Step 4. Water them regularly, but otherwise forget about them.
Step 5. Once your seedlings have started growing you’ll need to replant them to space them out so they have enough room to grow.
Things to know
The rotting fruit helps to give the seed nutrients to grow.
Some store bought tomatoes won’t ever grow. You’ve got the best chance with organic.
Be patient! Ours took about two weeks to do anything and then all of a sudden BOOM – little baby tomato plants.
This was a good little project to tackle with little kids because it literally cost us nothing and we could keep it in a sunny spot on our kitchen to check every day.
Do you grow veggies with your kids? What should we attempt next?
