Join junior farmer Finley Sleight for a tour of his family’s farm in Western North Carolina. Ever wonder what radishes taste like? Fin will tell you, plus give you tips on what to make with them! Fin also explains how farming requires experimentation and perseverance, and shows off some of the crops his family grows for local farmers markets, including one of his favorite veggies, dino kale.
This video could be used as the starting point to explore many topics with students, including specific vegetables (leafy greens or root veggies), plant parts (roots, stems, leaves), nutrition/tasting new vegetables, soil composition and health, or farm life. Find suggested Growing Minds lesson plans and resources to pair with this video below.
Lesson Plans & Resources
Preschool
- Colorful Plate Spinners lesson plan
- Garden Color Hunt lesson plan
- Garden Plot Crackers lesson plan
- What Plants Need lesson plan
- Root and Shoots lesson plan
Grades K-2
- Seasons on a Farm lesson plan
- Harvesting in the Garden lesson plan
- Garden Plot Crackers lesson plan
- Stem Exploration lesson plan
- Root Exploration lesson plan
- Soil Exploration lesson plan
- Soil Amendments lesson plan
Grades 3-5
Additional resources
- Winter Greens resource list
- Root Veggies resource list
- Soil resource list
- Farmers markets resource list
- Local Kale Saute recipe
- Baked Kale Chips recipe
- Local Lettuce Wraps recipe and lesson plan
Viewing Comprehension Questions
- What is a greenhouse used for?
- What varieties of vegetables does the Sleight family grow on their farm?
- What does Fin say that you can do wit radishes?
- What do you think Fin means when he says that “farming is all about experiments”?
- Why do you think the farmers add fish emulsion, kelp, and seaweed to their soil?
- What colors of lettuce did you see growing?
- Why do you think the kale plant that Fin eats in the video is called “dino kale”?
Journal Prompt
In the video, Fin uses descriptive words like spicy, crunchy, and dense to describe vegetables. What’s your favorite vegetable? What words would you use to describe this vegetable? What do you like about? Is there a specific dish or recipe you enjoy that features this vegetable? Have you ever grown this vegetable?