"Last year, before you came," Billy told Emil, "we grew only radishes."
"Tell me about it" Emil said.
"Well," Billy began, "Mariah and I were reading a book together, when Mandy climbed up on the couch and showed us a packet of seeds. They were radish seeds."
Billy explained to Emil how Mandy invited them to help her plant the seeds. "We went into the kitchen," he said, thinking back. "Mandy had a clear plastic cup and some rocks. We put the rocks into the cup."
Mandy had filled the cup with dirt. "She called it potting soil," Billy explained. "That's special dirt you use when you plant something in a pot."
Mandy added water to the cup. She added water until the dirt was damp.
Then it was time for the seeds. Mandy tore off the top of the seed packet.
Mandy poured some seeds from the packet into a little bowl. "The seeds were tiny things," Billy said.
Mandy picked up a chopstick. She used it to push the seeds down into the soil just a little bit. She made sure the seeds were up against the sides of the cup, so the dolls could see them as they grew.
Mandy said that they would have to wait, and the seeds would do the rest.
Mandy put the cup in a little bowl on the windowsill. She checked it every day and sometimes added water.
After a few days, the dolls were able to see the seeds change shape. They grew little arms that curled around in the dirt.
After a few more days, the arm had started to go down in the dirt.
"So maybe it was a leg, instead of an arm," Emil suggested to Billy.
"Mandy told us it's called a root," Billy explained. "She said it would grow bigger and bring water and food to the plant."
"We took turns checking on what was happening in the cup," Billy remembered. "The little plants were a bit bigger each day."
One day the little plants had leaves.
Mandy brought the cup to the workroom, so all the dolls could see.
"Mandy told us the plants were growing," Billy explained.
"When we looked at the side of the cup, we could see that the roots had tiny hairs sticking out," Billy explained. "Mandy said those were roots, too."
Every day there were more leaves on the plants and the plants were taller.
When the weather was warm, the dolls took them outside and planted them in the garden.
"They grew and grew," Billy explained to Emil. He showed Emil where they had planted the radishes. There were other vegetables there now, but there would be some radishes soon, too.
"When they are big enough, we'll pull them out of the ground," Billy explained. "That's what we did last year."
Billy remembered how Jolena had cut up the radishes last year and put them into a salad. The dolls had pretended to eat them for supper.
Just then Mandy came out of the house and heard what the boys were talking about as they walked back to the dog door. "You don't have to plant some plants in the ground for them to grow enough to eat," she said. "We've been growing some sprouts in the house. Come and I'll show you."
The boys got up and followed Mandy into the house. On the counter was a jar full of little leaves and tiny roots. "These seeds grow inside a jar. They are ready to eat in a just a few days. These are sprouts," Mandy explained. "They grew from broccoli (BROK-uh-lee) seeds."
"If we planted them outside and let them keep growing," Mandy said, "they would turn into broccoli plants. We could cut the broccoli and bring it indoors for Jolena to cook."
"We can pretend to eat them this way, too," Mandy said, "by growing them in jars."
"How do you do that?" Emil asked.
"First you put some seeds in a jar," Mandy began. "Then you put some water in with the seeds and close the jar with a special lid that has a screen in it."
"You leave it for the seeds to soak overnight," she continued. "In the morning, you drain the water out of the jar. It's easier if you have a screen in the lid or a special lid with holes to keep the seeds in the jar." she told them. "You leave the jar tipped over in a bowl, so the water can drain and the air can get in. Some seeds taste better if you leave them in the dark. We use one of the kitchen cabinets for that, but these are OK out on the counter."
"We rinse them with water every morning and every night." Mandy explained. "You have to pour water into the jar through the lid, then tip it over so the water drains out."
The boys took a close look at the seeds. Some looked looked puffy, but they still just looked like seeds. Wet seeds.
"These will be a different kind of sprouts," Mandy said. "They are a mix of several different kinds of seeds."
(Here's what Mandy's seeds looked like when they had been growing for a day or two.)
"These sprouts have grown enough to eat," Mandy explained, showing them some sprouts in a bowl on the counter.
"How do you pretend to eat them?" Billy asked.
"Jolena puts these in salads or sandwiches, like lettuce," Mandy replied, "but you can throw them in with food you cook, too."
Now all the dolls like to pretend to eat sprouts. They like to grow them, too. It's fun to see how much bigger they are in the morning when you get up.
Jolena explained to Charlotte that sprouts are easy to grow, because you don't have to dig in the dirt. You don't have to wait for warm weather. You can even grow them in the winter.
Jolena likes to think of different ways to serve the sprouts.
Sometimes the the dolls like to sprout a special kind of beans. They soak them overnight and then rinse them with water twice a day, just like the small seeds.
They keep these in the dark. When the sprouted beans grow to fill the jar, they are ready to eat.
Jolena likes to cook with the bean sprouts. She usually cooks them with other vegetables.
Veronika has been using a special indoor garden to grow herbs (ERBZ).
Herbs are plants that are used to add more flavor to foods. Veronika's special garden grows the plants in water. It has a light that comes on and stays on all day to make sure the plants have enough light. Plants need light to grow. Jolena likes to use the herbs in her recipes.
Children grow, too. They don't stay in a jar or get planted in the ground. They run around and play. They sleep in a bed at night, the way dolls do, not standing up in the dirt or squished in a jar.
Eating foods that grow in the ground or in a jar helps them grow. They grow until they are as big as they are meant to be.
Cast--
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Note: No dolls were harmed during production of this blog. All dolls shown are Götz Happy Kidz or Classic Kidz. If you like these stories and are willing, please make a donation of any amount to a charity that supports pediatric cancer, such as CURE Childhood Cancer, St. Baldrick's Foundation or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
Whole radishes photo: Matilda Bellman
Cut radishes photo: Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis
Broccoli photo: Annie Spratt
all of the above on Unsplash.
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Copyright © 2020 by Peggy Stuart
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