Greens Machine!

Growing greens at home can be a time and money saving venture.  Aside from adding some natural beauty to your surroundings, growing greens, especially for fresh salads and components to smoothies, can be an enriching and nutritious endeavor, easy enough for the kids to not consider work! Plus kids respond well to foods they help cultivate!  When children know where their food comes from, it builds awareness and appreciation for the efforts put into growing the foods we love.  I found it key to instill in my girls the origin of the fruits and vegetables in the supermarket. They knew from an early age, that food starts first as seeds in dirt and grows, not magically waved into existence as mature, ready to eat food. Strawberry Shortcake videos and movies helped along the way too.  "How a Garden Grows" is one of our favorite songs from the series. It's awesome when our children can learn and be entertained at the same time, the lessons are more likely to stick. 
The above greens are some I grew in a vintage sink, leftover from a remodel years ago.  The basins are nice and deep, able to hold lots of fertile organic soil.  The drains in the bottom help to keep the soil from getting soddy and too moist.  I positioned the sink on stands about 1 foot from the ground.  It's in the back yard, where the morning sun hits the greens first thing.  I water them in the evenings to avoid scorching the tender leaves.
I used a sweet gourmet greens seed mix and also some micro greens from the brassica family.  I like the mixed variety because it contains at least 6 different types of greens that would otherwise have to purchased separately, saving time and money.  If they grow too big for micro, simply add them to your salads for added superfood and antioxidant power.  Texture and color are everything when it comes to a nice salad and this mix hits all the right notes, just throw in some other garden goodness like cucumber, tomato, fresh herbs and carrots. I have some colorful carrots growing too! I am so excited, as it's my first time and I love the bursts of color they'll add, from fresh salads to pot roast!  Recipes to follow.