How does your garden grow? Do these experiments and discover the magic of seeds!
Examine Soaked vs. Dry Beans
Soak some of the beans for a couple of hours or overnight. Then, compare some dried beans to the beans that have been soaked. Are the dry and wet beans the same size? Why not? Are there any differences in the covering of the beans? Carefully pull apart one of the soaked beans. What do you see inside? All seeds have three parts in common; a tough covering, a “baby” plant, and a food supply. The tough covering of a seed is the seed coat. The “embryo” is the tiny plant inside the seed. Surrounding the embryo is the food supply. The food supply is the seed’s only source of nourishment as it pushes up through the soil and grows into a young plant. When the food supply is gone (for a bean this takes about two weeks), a green plant begins to manufacture its own food through photosynthesis.
Germinate Bean Seeds
If you put a seed upside down, will it still grow? Why or why not? Let's find out. Place a moist paper towel in a clear, clean plastic bag. Place bean seeds between the bag and moist towel. Try placing the seeds in different positions to test how gravity affects the seeds. Tape the plastic bag on a window to receive sunlight. Observe the germination process over several days. Which direction do the roots grow? In which direction do the stems and leaves grow?
Seeds respond to gravity. For most plants, the roots grow toward the center of the Earth or down in the ground. No matter which way you plant a seed, it always manages to grow roots downward and a shoot upward.
Observation of the Number of Seeds in Various Fruits/Vegetables
Do all fruits have the same number of seeds in them? Let's find out. Gather different fruits and vegetables such as an apple, green pepper, kiwi, navel orange, orange, papaya, pear, and strawberry. First, guess the number of seeds you think each fruit has in it. Cut the fruit in half and start counting! How close were you to your estimations? Do you know why the navel orange did not have any seeds? An orange tree branch is grafted to another citrus tree to produce navel oranges! Now put together a fruit salad!
Enjoy these e-book picture books about gardens!
How does your garden grow? Read some books about gardens.
