Fresh watercress greens will enliven and decorate Easter table. Therapeutic effect This plant was known by the Persians 400 BC. Gradually it penetrated into India, Egypt and Greece. It was first used as salad greens in England in 1548. In some countries, for example, England, Holland and France, this plant is grown commercially - used as an ingredient for baguettes.
We won’t find it in stores, but it’s not difficult to grow it on the windowsill at home. IN winter period will supplement the lack of vitamins and will also decorate the festive table for Easter.
Cultivation.
It can be grown in an apartment or heated greenhouse all year round, V summer time- in the garden.
In the garden.
Grows best in moist, fertile soil not directly sun rays. We sow the seeds in rows at a distance of 10-15 cm, scattering them on the surface, or at least lightly sprinkling them with substrate and sprinkling them with water. Keep the soil moist because once the seeds dry out, the sprouts will die. If you leave the plant to grow, which is approximately 2-3 weeks, you will have to collect the leaves. Young shoots should be collected before the flowers appear, otherwise they will be bitter later.
At home.
At home, instead of a substrate, we use a cotton cloth folded 2-3 times. You can also take several paper napkins or a layer of cotton wool for this purpose. Place a towel folded several times or paper napkins on a shallow plate or tray (the water should remain in the plate) and pour water over it. Sprinkle the seeds thickly onto the water-soaked material and spray it with a sprinkler (the seeds should not float in the water). Place the plate with the seeds in a warm, bright place, keep the towel (or cotton wool or napkins) damp. The lettuce grows right before our eyes, germinating on the second day after sowing. After about 7-10 days, when the first two leaves grow and the plant grows 6-13 cm, you can begin to collect it. Thanks to the short growing season, we can always have fresh, vitamin-rich greens. It is enough to use 2-3 plates or trays, planted at intervals of several days. The shoots are trimmed with sharp scissors. If mold attacks the plant, get rid of it immediately and start again.
Fill the cotton with water.
Sprinkle the seeds thickly straight from the bag.
Keep the material moist.
This is what the shoots look like after 2 days...
And so in a week.
Photo by Taitlova.
Where are watercress shoots used?.
In medicine.
Lettuce shoots contain a wide range of vitamins such as C and B vitamins, minerals and microelements - potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, glycosides, mustard oil, folic acid and many others. This makes it ideal for treating certain diseases. Fresh leaves support the immune system, digestion and appetite, have anti-inflammatory properties, help with anemia and fever. It is recommended to consume 1 tablespoon per day.
The atmosphere in the house will be helped by grass planted a few weeks before the celebration and grown in shells.
It is best to make such an original and unusual green decoration together with your children; they will be happy to join in such an interesting and fun work, and will also enthusiastically take care of and water the sprouts. In addition, planting seeds and caring for them does not present any particular difficulties. This is easy to do and even small children can do it.
To create real green mini-vegetable gardens, you will need ten egg shells (or more, according to your desire), with the top part carefully “removed” from each eggshell. The shell must be washed and dried. Prepare fescue seeds, which sprout with soft, fluffy, bright green shoots.
Place a ball of soil in each shell, then add a few seeds (let your children place and plant the seeds) and top it with a little extra soil. Seeds should not be placed too deep. Water the planted seeds immediately after planting and continue to water them over the following days (do not overwater them) and place them in direct sunlight, such as on your kitchen windowsill. Under no circumstances should you take improvised pots into the yard or open balcony, otherwise you risk losing sprouts and seeds to birds.
In a few days you will already notice the first sprouts of grass. If your sprouts are given a large number of sunlight, the grass will grow very quickly, in just a few weeks. Trim the grass and decorate with shelled spring greenery for Easter dinner table. Great mood With such a spring miracle on the table, you and your guests are guaranteed! Idea from Andrea.
And more ideas for using chicken and ostrich eggs:
Many are already starting to prepare for Easter. This time I will show you how my daughter and I made an Easter “flower bed” for decoration. festive table, which will help create a spring mood not only on holidays.
For this we need:
- eggshell
- millet for germination
- food coloring
- two jars
- priming
- tea spoon
- egg cup
How to germinate wheat in eggshells
So let's get started. First we need to free the shell from the egg itself. Then we wash it thoroughly and dry it.
We dilute the dye to easter eggs(instructions are usually on the package), which is easy to purchase at any store. We paint our shells.
Now comes the most interesting part of the work, which your children will surely enjoy. We take the soil and fill it up to half the shell.
Now you need to pour millet into the decorated shells. Before this, we soak it for 15 minutes in warm water so that it will sprout faster in the future.
We lay the millet tightly in one layer, because the denser the layer, the more magnificent the bush will grow from it. And note, denser does not mean thicker, it’s just that the millet should lie grain to grain.
AND last layer- this is soil, you need just a little bit of it to hide the millet.
Gently pour in a small amount of water. If you have a container like the one in the photo, you can simply close it for a day. If not, then wrap it in a bag so that you get a kind of mini-greenhouse for the seeds.
As soon as the sprouts emerge, do not forget to spray them with water every day, because millet loves moisture.
Just a few days and our bushes are ready and delight the eye with real spring greenery. Happy easter!
While preparing for Easter, I came across a wonderful Easter decor idea on the Internet: sprouting cereal grains in eggshells.
Sprouting grain is a very simple process and, moreover, very exciting and educational. Therefore this bright craft To decorate the festive table for Easter, we decided to do it together with our three-year-old daughter.
We bring to the attention of all creative mothers and grandmothers our small master class:
Easter decor: barley sprouts in eggshells
Time to make crafts: 7 days.
Tools and materials:
- cardboard tray with 6 large chicken eggs(preferably with a white shell);
- watercolor paints;
- brush;
- a jar of water;
- barley grains (you can also germinate wheat, corn, millet, oats, soybeans, watercress for Easter, or use a special grain mixture for germination for parrots);
- cotton wool;
- saucer;
- soil for indoor flowers or seedlings;
- small plastic spoon;
- watering can or plastic bottle with a narrow spout;
- magnifying glass.
The first day: Preparatory chores.
On the morning of the weekend, my daughter and I went to the market, where, on the advice of a neighbor who germinates cereal grains for Easter every year, we bought barley.
Upon returning home, we prepared a flat saucer and lined its bottom thin layer cotton wool, which was generously moistened with water, and laid barley grains on a saucer in one layer.
Having soaked the barley grains for germination, we began preparing the eggshells:
- washed thoroughly raw eggs warm water with soap;
- Having beaten the sharp end of the egg, carefully freed the shell from the contents;
- removed small fragments, leaving approximately 2/3 of the eggshell intact;
- again thoroughly washed the shell, this time from the inside, trying to remove as much as possible the thin film from the walls;
- dried the shell.
Second day: Freedom of children's creativity.
The next morning next day I had to get up early and get ready for kindergarten. As usual, my daughter was not influenced by either persuasion or compelling arguments in favor of the need to visit preschool. But our child instantly responded to the invitation to look at the sprouting barley grains, jumping out of bed in one easy jump.
To finally drive away the dream, we decided to look among our natural history equipment for a magnifying glass. And what did we see when we looked through the magnifying glass? Several grains sprouted tiny white sprouts as the first roots of barley began to emerge. The day started with good news!
To prevent the grains from drying out, we added water to the saucer so that the barley seedlings were constantly in a moist environment.
Inspired by the successful start of the process of germinating grains for Easter, in the evening of the same day my daughter and I began decorating eggshells that would serve as pots for barley sprouts.
I confess that at first I really wanted to paint the shells of eggs with natural dyes: in yellow- turmeric and in blue - a decoction of red cabbage leaves. But it turned out that natural paints “take” very poorly on the shells of raw eggs.
Without thinking twice, I suggested that my daughter correct my mistake and paint the shells prepared for germinating barley with watercolors. And at the same time, decorate the cardboard tray at your own discretion. And she happily got to work.
Soon we were already admiring the result of children's uninhibited creativity.
Day three: Great responsibility.
I think you have already guessed how our next day began. Of course! From contemplation through a magnifying glass of sprouted barley grains, which by this time had already managed to sprout small roots.
In the evening we took on the most important part of the work of germinating barley for Easter: planting the grains in the ground.
To begin with, we placed the painted eggshells in a cardboard tray decorated using a free-form design technique.
Using a small spoon, fill the prepared shells ¾ full with potting soil.
Sprouted barley grains were carefully placed in each shell in one layer.
The sprouted barley was sprinkled with a small amount of soil on top.
Well, anything to do to develop coordination of movements and fine motor skills child?!
The planted seeds were watered.
When watering, it turned out that the bowl from a children's mixer is not the best equipment for this purpose. And in the absence of a watering can with a narrow spout, we later used plastic bottle with drinking nozzle.
Day four: First shoots.
Again, quickly getting up in the morning and observing the progress of grain germination.
The magnifying glass came in handy again; without it we would hardly have been able to clearly see the first tiny sprout that appeared in one of the eggshells.
As a bonus for diligent growth, barley grains receive their daily portion of water.
Day five: Confident victory.
There is no doubt that our careful care for the growing seedlings has brought its generous fruits: the barley sprouts are increasing right before our eyes, adding 1.5 cm per day.
We remember for rapid growth grains need water! We water the seedlings so that the soil in the shell is constantly moist.
And at the end of the day the barley sprouts are already almost twice as tall as in the morning!
Day six: Cognitive retreat.
While our barley sprouts are enjoying the warmth of the spring sun and the moist nutrient medium for germination, there is time to provide a scientific basis for our hitherto only creative experiment.
For children preschool age easiest to digest educational material, presented in a visual form. For example, in the form of pictures.
After a short search on the Internet, a wonderful series of educational pictures from the set was found demonstration material publishing house IP Burdina S.V. entitled “How Living Things Grow.”
Alena Baltseva | 04/26/2016 | 3016Alena Baltseva 04/26/2016 3016
We offer a spring option for creativity with children - break own garden in an eggshell.
Whatever one may say, there is nothing left until Easter. If you're preparing for this happy holiday in advance, good idea– set up a mini-garden in eggshells and involve children in this exciting process.
Egg “pots” with sprouted grains will be a charming decoration for the holiday table. In addition, if you plant plants in them that you eat (parsley, onions, etc.), for the holiday you will also have fresh herbs from your own windowsill. What are some compelling arguments to try this idea?
Cooking eggshells
The hardest part of this little experiment is figuring out how to crack the eggs correctly and accumulate enough shells.
Try to break the eggs not in the middle, but closer to the sharp end (after all, the blunt end is more stable base), to " flower pots"turned out deeper.
You don’t have to try to break the eggs evenly (and you won’t succeed). Let your impromptu mini-garden be in the natural style: the more natural, the more beautiful.
Choosing seeds
The second important point is which seeds to choose for germination. It is better to give preference to plants that “hatch” quickly, otherwise your child may simply get bored waiting for the end of the experiment.
Thyme, parsley, watercress, and chives are suitable for germination on a windowsill.
If the edibility of a plant is not an important point for you, you can try growing daisies or other unpretentious flowers.
You will need
- Eggshells (optimal quantity - 10 pcs)
- Cardboard egg tray
- Seeds
- Soil for home flowers
- Scissors
- Spoon
Egg shells can be painted or painted.
Planting a mini-garden
- Dry the shells. It is advisable not to leave remains of a raw egg in the shell.
- Place the shells in an egg tray.
- Take any soil for house plants and slightly moisten it.
- “Stuff” the eggshell with soil using a spoon, leaving about 1cm from the edge.
- Place the seeds.
- Sprinkle the seeds on top with another spoonful of soil.
- Place the tray on the windowsill. If possible, on the south side. For seeds to germinate quickly, they must receive at least 6 hours of sunlight daily.
- Water your mini garden daily. This should be done carefully using a spray bottle so as not to wash away upper layer soil.
- Wait for the sprouts to sprout.