Does anyone remember chia pets? I never actually had one, but I remember seeing those commercials (ch ch ch chia!) as a kid. Well fast forward to my adult life and I always have chia seeds on hand to sprinkle on my kids' yogurt or cereal. I never realized that chia seeds were the same thing used in chia pets... until one day it all of a sudden just dawned on me lol. Being that we are sheltering in place, I've been looking for activities to keep my young kids busy. We decided to try out sprouting some chia seeds! This was such a fun experiment, especially for my four year old and it is extremely easy. Many of you may already have the necessary items on hand:
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Supplies:
- Chia seeds
- Paper towel
- Empty milk carton
- Scissors or box cutter
- Water
Steps:
Cut off the top of the milk carton and place your folded paper towel on the bottom. Sprinkle in some chia seeds (try to spread them out unlike ours) and pour some water on top. Place the container near a window where it can get some sun.
We watered it about every other day. Not too much water, just enough to keep it a little moist. The first few days were slow, but by day 6 we started seeing a tiny bit of sprouting. From there, it just took off and started growing very quickly. Every morning, my son would run down to check on his little chia plants and he was in awe at how much they grew.
DAY 1 | DAY 7 |
DAY 1O | DAY 17 |
Keeping pants alive is definitely not one of my strengths. We actually failed to water it for a couple of days and when we took a look, all of the plants were lying flat... almost on its death bed. We added some water and miraculously the next day they were alive again! Lol these things are very forgiving! We are a couple of weeks in now and they continue to grow! This is such a fun and easy experiment and i highly suggest you try it out!
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UPDATE! We've also experimented with sprouting lentils and pinto beans, both of which were amazing to watch grow! My Dad also suggested trying out bird seeds!
Lentils | Pinto Beans |
Take care and stay healthy!
Ashley
