While winter still has it’s hold on us here in the Southern Hemisphere, I am consoled by the fact that Spring is not too far away, in fact I can already smell a hint of spring blossoms in the air and the trees are slowly but surely filling up the trees with song once again. I love spring! I love the promise of warm sunny days, gardens in full bloom and new life! This calls for some spring time experimenting don’t you think?

This nifty little activity allows one to germinate their own seed or bean and sprout it into a growing and living thing, which can then be replanted in the earth. In essence, kids will make their own greenhouse of sorts which will provide an ideal environment for an “about to pop” seed.

OK, before we do the fun part, it is important to know what we are getting ourselves into. We are about to grow a seed into a plant. The first step is to allow the seed to germinate.

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What does "germinate" mean?

Germination is first takes place after a seed that has been dormant for some time, decides to sprout and grow. For germination to take place, the seed needs to be exposed to the correct elements. These elements include: a suitable amount of water, oxygen, light and temperature. When a seed is happy with its condition, the shell starts to burst open and out pops a root, and then a shoot. 

THE EXPERIMENT

This is a super easy experiment to do and even the very little guys will delight in watching their seed turn into something edible or just plain beautiful. The items you will need are super basic and you will probably have everything you need lying around at home or in your classroom already.

If this is your first time germinating a seed, then I suggest you start off with something that sprouts quickly and easily. Bean seeds tend to sprout by the 7th day, making them a good starting point if you are impatient to see results.

A LIST OF WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

• A transparent CD case
• Potting soil, just a good hand full
• Seeds or beans (small enough to fit into the case)
• Elastic band
• Water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove the inserts from your CD so that you are just left with the transparent case
2. Open the case and place it onto a flat surface, with the inner part facing upwards
3. Moisten your potting soil with a little water, it should only be damp to the touch with no actual water visible
4. Place a hand full, maybe less, of soil onto the bottom inner part of the CD case
5. Add two or three beans/seeds to the dirt, preferably in the centre.
6. Close the lid and secure it with your elastic band
7. Place the CD case in an area that gets a good amount of sunlight daily
8. Now, you wait!

* Make sure your soil doesn’t dry out, if it looks dry, open the case and spray it with some water to dampen it again.

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WHAT’S NEXT?

The bean or seed will lay dormant for about 7-10 days. At first you will see a root appear from the coat of the seed, this allows the plant to have access to more water. Next, shoots begin to grow, which then develop stems and leaves, these parts grow upwards to harness the sun’s energy for more development.

Once the bean or seed has been sprouted and the root and shoot development is sturdy, the sprouts can be placed into pots or directly into the ground where they will have more room to grow. Continue to care for your plant and in a few months, you will be able to harvest its produce, which is a wonderful and rewarding feeling!

Much love - @sweetpea

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