Let's Get Back to the Roots!

Kids love to ask questions...even us grown-ups like to ask questions! It's how we learn...and it's how we discover new thoughts and ideas. One thing that has always fascinated both myself, and now my 6 year old son is science. The world of science is so vast...and so practical! For example...where does our food come from? How do plant grow? What is fertilizer and what is it for? What is farming?

Recently I discovered a fabulous little company called Back to the Roots. One of the main focuses of Back to the Roots is to give kids (and grown-ups!) fun ways to learn where food comes from and how to sustainably grow it themselves. Our first project from Back to Roots was to grow crop of delicious pearl oyster mushrooms...right on our kitchen windowsill! We received the Back to the Roots' grow-at-home mushroom kit which will grow up to 1 1/2 lbs of these tasty oyster mushrooms. We got right to work and started our first crop. The kids LOVED watching them grow, especially as they grew very quickly and you could easily see the changes in the growing mushrooms from one day to the next! The first crop only takes about 10 days or so to grow, and once they have grown you can harvest them, throw them in a stir-fry, eat them raw, etc.


The soil inside the kit is made from 100% recycled coffee grounds and is completely safe and sustainable. Growing the mushrooms is incredibly fast and easy too, and you can do it any time of the year, right on your kitchen windowsill. We have really enjoyed our Mushroom Garden, and in fact, are still growing mushrooms from it (we're on our 3rd crop now!) Throughout the growing of the first 2 crops, we did have a few questions about the mushrooms and the founders of Back to the Roots were quick to answer and very helpful and knowledgeable!

Back to the Roots is just about to release an amazing new product that is focused on taking the simple, ancient science of aquaponics and bringing it into our homes to help kids and adults alike learn even more answers about where food comes from and how it grows and the natural cycle of plant fertilization. To be honest, I can't remember ever hearing about aquaponics before, but the more I've read about it, the more excited I get about it! We can hardly wait to try out the Home Aquaponics Garden which will be available come March 2013.

What exactly is an Aquaponics Garden? It is a self-cleaning fish tank that also grows food! Talk about a win-win situation. :) This little garden will grow fresh produce right in your own home and can grow anything from basil to baby greens to mint and so much more. It is a closed-loop ecosystem that uses the fish waste from your little pet fishy in the tank to naturally fertilize the plants which are growing above. And the plants will also clean the water for your pet fish! I love the scientific approach you can take to this garden as well...and it's such a fun way to teach kids about a natural, rich fertilizer that is perfect for growing food, as well as the way that plants will naturally keep the water in the fish tank clean and save you (or us parents!) the extra work of cleaning the tank!

The Home Aquaponics Kit comes with everything you need (minus the fish!) to get started. Although the Garden is only going to be available in March, you can definitely preorder one for your home! Take a peek at the video on the Aquaponics Garden for an better look at this amazingly efficient product. And be sure to head over here and check out the details (and the discount & free shipping you'll receive!) if you preorder. 

BUY IT!
Back to the Roots is offering a discount code for 10% off your own Mushroom Garden Kit! Use the code: Glimpse10. Expires February 26, 2013.

**Disclosure: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the company or PR firm in exchange for being featured on Glimpse. The opinions expressed in this post are those of Glimpse and have not been influenced in any other way. Please see the full Terms of use.