Carrot Tops – a Toddler Trick for indoors

This could be one of the easiest toddler tricks you could do but it will provide a point of interest for several weeks.  Now that winter is approaching the ability to grow something indoors is a real bonus too. “Carrot tops” can also create some interesting discussions around which part of the carrot we eat and where it really does grow.  You can never be too young to start understanding that our food doesn’t really grow on a supermarket shelf.  This trick was a favourite with my twin sister and I when we were young.

What you need:

•  - The ends off a carrot; just make an extra thick slice the next time you are preparing carrots for eating.
• - A saucer
• - Water
• - Patience

 What you do:

1. Simply place the end of your carrot top-side up in a saucer and place  enough water in the saucer to just cover  the bottom of the carrot.

2. Add a little more water every day and watch the fronds start to sprout from the end of your carrot.  In a few weeks you should have a nice fern effect!!!  Just like a carrot growing from the ground.  You can expect some failures however as we can’t tell how the carrots we buy have been treated; so put two or three ends in a saucer at once to hedge your bets.  Sometimes you can find one that is already starting to sprout – as we did – and this can give your project a head start.

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