Even if your children hate vegetables, force them to eat broccoli often. Why is broccoli so essential for 3-year-old kids? The detailed answer is in this article.

Coming from the cabbage family, broccoli is a tasty green vegetable packed with plenty of nutrients. You can come across dishes made of broccoli in any healthy diet that doctors highly recommend. But do you know that broccoli is also beneficial for your 3-year-old children?

This article will show you the reasons why your children should have broccoli in their daily meal. On top of that, I will suggest some delicious broccoli dishes to prepare. Let your kids enjoy broccoli from now on.

Types Of Broccoli

Similar to other vegetables, broccoli comes in many varieties that have different tastes as well as gardening requirements. In this article, I will introduce to you the five most common kinds of broccoli below.

Broccoli Calabrese

This is the traditional broccoli that you are probably familiar with. Broccoli Calabrese originated in Italy, and Calabrese itself refers to a region in Southern Italy. This kind of broccoli has bushy florets and thick stems, both of which are edible. Broccoli Calabrese is dark green with an average weight of 500 grams.

Chinese Broccoli

Also known as Gai Lan, this broccoli is a mix between the traditional broccoli and kale. It is light green in tone with thin stems. Chinese broccoli is mainly used in the cuisine of China, especially Cantonese. Typically, it tastes less bitter compared to the conventional type.

Sprouting Broccoli

This variety bears a strong resemblance to the traditional broccoli, except for the white or purple heads. Sprouting broccoli is usually served as a side dish by itself or mixed with others. It is a brilliant option for growing thanks to its ability to withstand different weather conditions.

Broccoli Rabe

This type of broccoli comes in crisp florets and leafy greens, but people tend to use only the greens for cooking. Rabe tastes bitter, but only slightly.

Why You Should Sneak Broccoli Into Your Child’s Diet

I think many people get caught in the same situation as mine. Before I brought up my children, I had already known about the incredible health benefits of broccoli. However, I still hesitated to feed my children this green vegetable. As you know, the digestive system of kids is weaker than that of adults.

One day, I came across an article by Linda Claire, a herb specialist, on GrowHerbsGarden.com, which provided useful information about how broccoli positively affected children’s physical health. Thanks to the post, I tried various methods to sneak broccoli into the daily meals of my children. The results are as expected; they all grow up strong and healthy.

According to Linda Claire, different types of broccoli have an all-rounded influence on the health conditions of 3-year-old kids.

Another benefit mentioned by Linda Claire includes constipation reduction. Similar to any vegetables, there is a decent content of fiber in broccoli. The fiber serves as strong support by simulating the digestive system and keeping it healthy.

Broccoli is low in calories; therefore, overweight or obese 3-year-old children will greatly benefit from this brilliant vegetable. To be more specific, every 146 gram of broccoli contains only 50 calories. Children can feel full after meals without gaining weight by eating a lot of broccoli.

Last but not least, Linda Claire revealed that broccoli acts as a defense against diarrhea, a dangerous illness to small children. Eating broccoli soup during diarrhea helps your child restore the necessary amount of water and nutrition for the body to function properly.

Tips To Select And Prepare Broccoli For Kids

Broccoli offers plenty of health benefits, but you cannot fully capitalize on these merits if you have no idea about the selection, storage and preparation process. Do not worry, we got your back!

According to the article of Linda Claire, broccoli can combine with plenty of foods for a yummy dish. Therefore, you should vary the broccoli recipe to whet the appetite of your children. Do not make them scared of eating this incredible vegetable.

Some delicious recipe with broccoli includes broccoli cream soup, broccoli rice, broccoli and cheese nuggets, etc.

Wrapping It Up

I hope this article solved your concerns about the benefits of broccoli for 3-year-old children. Broccoli is incredible in many ways so you should let your child eat different broccoli recipes often.

Brussels Sprouts take a long time to mature, but they are worth the wait. Here's how to grow a delicious crop of Brussels sprouts in your home with MicroGreens Starter kit or automatic sprout machine 

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Weeds can alter the beauty of your garden if adequate steps are not taken to get them out of the garden. Weeds tend to grow fast in places where they are least wanted and tend to contest the nutrients of the soil in those areas. It is one thing to get rid of weeds from the garden, and it is another thing to put in place preventive measures to prevent them from growing in the garden.

Prevention has always been a better option than weed control in this article, we shall be running through 7 major tips that can help prevent weeds from growing in your garden.

A soil pH tester determines the soil acidity or alkalinity of a garden. The tester will establish whether the soil is acidic (below pH 7), neutral (pH 7) or alkaline (above pH7).

There are many ways of testing the soil pH. The most accurate measure is scooping various little samples of soil from the same portion of land, packing them differently and taking the samples to a laboratory for pH testing. The samples should be well marked to know from which part of the garden, they were taken.

What is the pH of My Soil? – How to Determine

You need a spade and room temperature distilled water and your soil pH tester. Distilled water is recommended because it has a neutral pH and therefore it will not tamper with the results by either adding to the acidity or alkalinity of the soil.

Take Different Measurements

Take about six different measurements of pH in the same garden. When you are done, add up all the pH levels and then get the average by dividing by six. But if the results differ greatly, then you won’t do averages. The results will be an indication of the soil pH of different parts of your garden.

Using Baking Soda & Vinegar

If you are using baking soda and vinegar, take a soil sample and divide it in two. Put the two portions in two different containers. In the first container, add vinegar. If the mixture fizzes, it means the soil is alkaline with a pH above 7.

If it doesn’t fizz, then make a muddy solution out of the other soil sample by adding distilled water to it and mixing it up. Then add baking soda to the muddy solution. If it fizzes, then the soil is acidic with a pH below 7. If there is no reaction, then the soil is neutral with a pH of 7.

The pH scale range is from zero (0) to fourteen (14). While pH Seven (7) is neutral, any solution with a pH exceeding seven is alkaline, and any pH figure below seven indicates an acidic solution.

What to Keep In Mind When Testing

Soil pH is affected by many factors including the kind of plants currently growing on it, fertilizers used, soil type, the pH of the irrigation water, climate and weather among other factors.

Soil pH is tested so that you can have a more accurate way of making various gardening decisions.

Soil pH determines whether plants will get nutrients from the soil or not. By having the pH level of your garden, you will be able to tell which plants can thrive in your garden and how to improve the condition of your soil to enable plants to grow well.

Can pH Be Measured In Dry Soil?

pH can only be used as a measure for liquids and solutions. There is no method of determining the pH of powders, solid or semi-solid particles in their form. They first have to be formed into a solution before the pH is taken.

The Accuracy of Soil pH Testers

pH testers only provide an approximation. Using a professional may produce more accurate results or taking a sample of the soil to a laboratory to have it tested professionally.

But basically, you don’t need very accurate pH levels if the information will be used to decide what plants can grow in your garden.

An indication of how acidic or alkaline is a good enough measure to help you make planting decisions.  This is because most plants do not require a very particular pH to thrive but grow in a wide pH range. 

But if your intentions are so that you can change the soil pH, then it is recommended that you have the pH professionally tested.

It is also important to get professional assistance in how to go about changing the pH status of your garden.

How Do Soil pH Testers Work?

You can either do the testing of the pH of your garden yourself, or you can get a professional to do it. It mainly depends on why you want to know the pH of your garden.

pH is a determinant of the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. Measuring the pH of a solution involves determining its hydrogen ion concentration. An acidic solution has high concentrations of hydrogen ions and therefore a low pH. While an alkaline solution has a low concentration of hydrogen ions and a high pH.

Using pH Testers in Your Garden

It depends on how big the garden is. The pH may not be uniform over the entire garden area. The only way to know this is by dividing the land into portions and testing the soil pH for each portion of land and recording it down. Then mark which part of your garden is alkaline, acidic or neutral.

Final Thoughts

It’s always important to be aware of the pH conditions prevailing in your garden. That way, you can have an easier time knowing which plants to introduce to it and which ones to do away with. It’s our hope that the information shared above will make it easier for you to do that.

Author Bio

Rosita is a passionate gardener who often writes blogs on gardening topics and trimmers in general.

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Aphids, as well as other pests and diseases, love broccoli plants, and all the members of the brassica family. Member of the Brassica genus includes broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard, and collards. We will discuss more about aphids on broccoli on this post.

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Summer is here, and that means mosquitos are out in full force. To enjoy your time outside, picking the best mosquito trap makes you feel more comfortable and gets rid of those pesky insects. There are dozens of different mosquito traps on the market, and their effectiveness, power, and coverage area all differ.

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