Subject: Re: seedlings for kids

From: [email-masked]
Date: 10 Mar 95 21:08:14 -0600

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] (Chenaya Strutton) writes:
> JG>From: [email-masked] (Joel Golden)
>   >What's a good plant for a class of kids to sprout seeds?
> 
>   I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions for this...
> 
>   Radishes, marigolds, leaf-type lettuce, sunflower and alyssum come to
>   mind. And while I think about it, I rememder being enthralled by corn
>   and bean seeds that were sprouted in glass jars. If I remember right,
>   you rolled up stiff paper towels (the kind most schools have) and set
>   them upright in a jar so the paper conforms to the shape of the jar.
>   Then stuffed crumpled paper towels into the center to hold it in
>   place. Then added enough water so that the paper stayed wet but not
>   soggy. Then put bean or corn seeds that had soaked in water over-night
>   in the jars, against the glass about half way up. You might have to
>   add more paper towels to hold everything in place. ...

More fun and games with the rolled-towels-in-a-glass:  Can plants
that have started to grow right side up turn themselves upright if
the glass is then laid on its side?  Is there a particular part of 
the plant that bends?  Can you make a plant stem do a complete loop
by repositioning the glass a little at a time, or will it "work
the kinks out"?  Does it matter which species you're looking at?
What if you put a seedling in a carboard maze, away from the entrance,
and put the lid on the box and put the entrance to the maze in the 
light?  Can the plant find its way out?  What's the longest you can
persuade a bean plant to grow while looking for light?  If you start 
seedlings in the dark, and bring them into the light, how fast do
they green up?  Is it an all or nothing process, or gradual (hint:
start *lots* of small batches of seedlings in the dark, and bring
out a new pot every hour.  But the room you're keeping the seedlings
in has to be dark, dark, dark!)

If tops of plants always grow back up when you reorient a seedling,
do roots always go down?  What happens when you plant a corn seed
in the various orientations (flat sides down, pointy end down, 
broad end down)?  Can seeds turn in the soil so they're "right side
up"?  (Is there a "right side up" for a seed?)

....

(yes, it's ok for grownups to do these experiments, too... go ahead
and have fun!  8-) )

Kay Klier  [email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 8 Mar 95 17:13:36 -0600

> What's a good plant for a class of kids to sprout seeds?

What age, and what are you going to do with them?

My picks for the younger kids would be corn and common beans: fast
and cheap.  Lettuce and dwarf marigolds for kids who can handle
smaller seeds, and want something you can "do something with" (like
eat, or watch flower).  Radish is good, too, as are any of the seeds
sold for salad sprouts: mung bean, alfalfa, radish, fenugreek....

If you've got the time, and a few bucks for seed, I'd suggest
sensitive plant, Mimosa pudica (try Parks).  It's a sure-fire
attention getter...

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From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 95 13:41:13 EST

>What age, and what are you going to do with them?
 
Are you aware of the Grow Lab program.  It's a learning center
for the class based on gardening.  Lessons, teacher's aids and
information well prepared.  My Garden Club sponsors a number of
them in inner city as well as schools in the 'burbs with great
interest.
 
E-Mail directly if you would like more information.  It's a national
program and I'm sure there are programs near by.
 
I'll suggest a different gardening classroom project:
          Bird House gourds.
 
Plant the seeds in the spring, outside of course.  Watch them grow,
some students or others who visit the school during the summer
could make and record observations.
 
In the fall they could be harvested and allowed to cure over winter.
 
In the spring they could be decorated and hung for bird houses.
The number of different classes and courses which could be involved offers the chance to extend a learning experience well beyond just watching a seed
germinate.
I made this suggestion to a student attending an environmental educational
 
gathering.  He took it to a middle where he was student teaching and last
I heard a faculty team was considering it as an introduction to a new
nature studies program.  The question which started our discussion was
similar to "How can I use gardening as an instructional format."
 
Dave Vanderhoof

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From: [email-masked] (Chenaya Strutton)
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 1995 19:05:00 GMT

Radishes, marigolds, leaf-type lettuce, sunflower and alyssum come to
  mind. And while I think about it, I rememder being enthralled by corn
  and bean seeds that were sprouted in glass jars. If I remember right,
  you rolled up stiff paper towels (the kind most schools have) and set
  them upright in a jar so the paper conforms to the shape of the jar.
  Then stuffed crumpled paper towels into the center to hold it in
  place. Then added enough water so that the paper stayed wet but not
  soggy. Then put bean or corn seeds that had soaked in water over-night
  in the jars, against the glass about half way up. You might have to
  add more paper towels to hold everything in place. Anyway, I thought
  that was great as a kid and I think I was even able to plant them in
  the garden after the project was done where they were promptly eaten
  by cutworms. From such memories, a gardener (or bug stomper) is made.

                        Cheryl
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 * OLX 2.1 TD * Someone, please, stop me before I plant again!

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From: [email-masked] (Martha Frost)
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 1995 10:56:32 PST

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Joel Golden) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (Joel Golden)
>Subject: seedlings for kids
>Date: Wed, 8 Mar 1995 12:36:51

>What's a good plant for a class of kids to sprout seeds?
This brings back fond elementary school memories:  beans on moist paper 
towels inside a clear container. They sprout fast enough for a child's 
interest and don't cost much. We also had a sweet potato sprout a long vine, 
and onions sprout, pineapple tops or avocado seeds  sprout suspended in jar 
over water. These would be interesting because it shows our food is alive 
(barring irradiated stuff). If that is too mundane, we also did 
calendula-plantings in milk containers, some plants managed to bloom after a 
while. It has been over 40 years, and I still recall those lessons with 
fondness.
Regards, Martha
[email-masked]