Give flavour a grow with Knorr®
Together we’re building girl’s confidence to try new flavours and helping them learn about eating more sustainably
We’re teaming up with our partners at Knorr® and encouraging girls to give flavour a grow.
By supporting them to grow their own herbs and use them to try new flavours in their meals.
It’s a great time to get ready to spring into action and get growing at home or with your unit. Growing herbs from seeds is not only easy and rewarding. But also a fantastic way to give you plenty more flavours to experiment with in your kitchen.
We know that climate change is a concern for girls. Almost 9 in 10 (87%) of girls agree we all have a responsibility to save energy and reduce waste to protect the environment. Growing your own herbs is a brilliant way to help you eat more sustainably - improving not just your health, but the planet’s too!
By giving it a grow, you can learn new skills and confidence to add more flavour to your meals. You could sprinkle some fresh parsley on your favourite soups. Add some home-grown basil to your pizza. Or garnish your favourite curry with some coriander.
As the experts in flavour Knorr® has plenty of inspiration to put your new growing skills into action. With their tips for flavour pairings and delicious recipes, they can help get your taste buds tingling.
Let’s get growing!
You don’t need a garden or special resources to give flavour a grow. Whether you’re challenging yourself at home or as a unit, there’s lots of ways you can get planting!
- Windowsills are excellent places to grow herbs, they’re bright areas protected from the wind and cold.
- All you need are some seeds, compost and a container to grow them in. You don’t have to buy a large bag of compost; many places have smaller amounts available too. To be even more sustainable you can recycle food and drink containers and turn them into plant pots.
- The easiest herbs to grow from seeds are basil, parsley, dill and coriander. They’re annual herbs which means you'll need to plant new seeds each year. To care for them properly make sure to follow the instructions on your seed packet.
- If you’re growing things in containers your plants may need regular watering as they can dry out quickly. But be careful not to overwater them too. Checking on your plants as often as possible will help you decide how often they need water.
- Don’t worry if you’re not seeing results right away, it may take a few weeks to see growth.
And, when you’re giving flavour a grow, why not use a few different planting methods and investigate which one works the best.
Stay safe when planting. Wear gloves while handling compost and take care not to breathe in the particles. Remember to wash your hands after the activity.
These seeds are for planting, not eating. Keep them away from your mouth.
Here’s just a few to ideas to get you started on your journey for growth
Wash your pots out properly and use a metal skewer to make a couple of small holes in the bottom. These holes are important to stop the pot from being waterlogged.
Fill your pot with some compost and place in a few seeds around 0.5cm deep.
Put your yoghurt pot planter on a tray or dish to collect any extra water and position in a warm sunny spot – ideally in the kitchen.
Be sure to follow the instructions on your seed packet to care for them properly and keep checking in on your herbs.
After washing your bottle out properly. Lay the bottle on its side and make a mark about 2 thirds up the bottle from the bottom. This is where you’ll need to make a slit with the point of a pair of scissors so you can cut the bottle in 2
You can keep the other half of your bottle and place on top to make it a greenhouse in the early stages of growing.
Use a metal skewer to make a couple of small holes in the bottom. These holes are important to stop the pot from being waterlogged. Fill your pot with some compost and place in a few seeds around 0.5cm deep.
Put your yoghurt pot planter on a tray or dish to collect any extra water and position in a warm sunny spot – ideally in the kitchen.
Be sure to follow the instructions on your seed packet to care for them properly and keep checking in on your herbs.
Using eggshells can be a fun and easy way to get growing. You’ll need some empty eggshells that are as firm as possible, some cotton wool and a packet of seeds - cress and mustard seeds work best. You can get crafty and give your eggshell a face too!
Eggshells will be very fragile, so be as careful as possible to cut the top off the eggshell. Then fill the shell with some damp cotton wool and sprinkle your seeds on top. Keep checking on the cotton wool to make sure it doesn’t dry it, adding a small amount of water if you need to.
Once the seeds start sprouting put your eggshell planters on a windowsill and when they grow enough you can trim the ‘hair’ with a pair of scissors.
It might be helpful to keep your eggshells in an open egg box to make sure they stay upright.
Whether you have a large or small outdoor space it doesn’t matter, you can grow herbs in all sorts of spaces.
Growing your herbs in window boxes or plant pots are a great option for either and they’ll be small enough to protect your herbs from poor weather. Remember to place them in a warm and sunny spot outside. You can even get special herb planter pots, but this isn’t necessary.
Fill your pot with some compost and place in a few seeds around 0.5cm deep. If you’re planting different types of herbs in the same large pot, make sure you leave a few centimetres gap between each type of seed.
Remember to ask the garden or homeowner's permission before planting anything.
Keep safe when using sharp objects - knives, scissors and sharp objects. Always direct the sharp object, scissors or knife away from your body when using. Always use a cutting or chopping board. Always hold on firmly to what you are cutting or piercing. Keep your fingers away from the sharp end, blade or scissor blades.
If you drop the knife, sharp object or scissors, do not try to catch it. Step back and pick it up once it has landed.
HQ grow along with us
We’re going to give flavour a grow here at Girlguiding. Why don’t you grow along with us too? Keep checking our social media where we’ll be sharing our seedling success this spring.
Make sure you share your planting progress too, ask an adult before sharing and for help. They can share your progress on social media or email [email protected].
When sending us photos, please make sure they only show your plants. We'll need a consent form for any pictures showing girl's faces.
Sprout further
There’s plenty of ways you can take your new growing skills even further. Why not expand your crops to include vegetables?
You can also use these new skills when working towards your interest badges. If you’re a Rainbow you can try the fruit and veg badge. At Brownies the grow your own badge. In Guides there's the backwoods cooking badge. And with Rangers you can can complete the cooking badge.