kids grow cress
kids grow cress logo
kids grow cress

Growing cress with kids

Cress is a tangy, peppery herb. It's delicious in salads, and added to egg sandwiches. It's also really easy and fun to grow, and super-fast: you can harvest it in just a couple of weeks! You can grow it in any container - but why not try growing cress heads, with living cress 'hair'?

What you'll need:

  • • 2 teaspoons of garden cress seeds
  • • 2 eggs
  • • 2 cotton wool balls
  • • Felt-tip pens or acrylic paints
  • • A pair of scissors for harvesting!

Step 1: Prepare your eggs

two cress heads with facesDraw faces on your eggs - the cress grows like hair!
Image: Malgorzata Surawska/ Shutterstock
  • • Carefully remove the tops from the eggs, leaving the bottom two-thirds of the shells intact.
  • • Empty the shells - and save the eggs for cooking with another time!
  • • Gently wash them out.
  • • Get creative! Decorate your shells with faces, using pens or paint, and leave them to dry.

Step 2: Sow your cress

group of cress heads on a window sillGrow your cress heads on a windowsill.
Image: Raffaella Galvani/ Shutterstock
  • • Dip the cotton wool balls in water, and squeeze out.
  • • Place one ball inside each shell.
  • • Sprinkle a teaspoon of cress seeds onto each one.
  • • Put the shells in egg cups and leave them in a dry, well-lit place. A windowsill is perfect.

Step 3: Harvest your cress

Harvesting cress from cress headsHarvest your cress with scissors
Image: Shutterstock
  • • Your cress will start to sprout in just a few days!
  • • It should grow out of the top of your egg heads after about a week.
  • • Your cress head should have a full head of hair within 15-20 days.
  • • Feed your cress with tomato feed just before they flower!
  • • When it's long enough, carefully harvest your cress with a pair of scissors.
  • • Make a delicious egg and cress sandwich!

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There's plenty more information in the downloadable guide. Print it out for more detailed instructions and even more sweetpea facts!

  Click the image to download the full pdf guide  
 
growing cress with kids pdf
 

Banner image: FraVal Imaging/ Shutterstock

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