Growing For Fun I
Root Power:
Half an eggshell
egg cup
Marigold seeds
water
potting soil
saucer
spoon
Carefully fill half an eggshell with soil. Put
the eggshell in the egg cup. Sprinkle seeds over
the soil. Put the eggcup on the saucer. Cover
the seeds with a little soil. Keep the eggshell
in a warm place. Water lightly daily.
The seeds will germinate after a few days and
shoots will appear. Allow them to grow. About
five weeks later, the eggshell will begin to
crack. The roots of the marigold plant will
break through the eggshell. This is a great
way to show kids how strong roots are.
Plant Maze:
Two pieces of cardboard
scissors
pot of soil
water
cardboard box
bean seed (soaked over night)
Cut a rectangle hole in one end of the box. Cut
a rectangle hole in one piece of cardboard. Plant
the bean seed in the pot of soil. Water well.
Stand the box upright and insert a cardboard
shelf a third of the way up. Put the pot in the
bottom of the box.
Put the lid on the box and stand it in a light,
warm place. Keep the bean moist. When the
seedling has grown through the first hole (on
the shelf, in the box) insert the second shelf.
The seedling will change directions and grow
through the second hole in the maze. Keep adding
shelves as you like to watch the plant grow
through the maze.
Root-Top Garden:
Any raw root vegetable (carrot, turnip, parsnip,
beet)
Knife
Large dish or shallow platter
Clean pebbles
If the vegetable has leaves trim them. Lave about
1/4 inch stem. Slice off about 1 inch from the
base of the stem. Put root tops in platter with
enough water to just cover the bottom, not over
the top. Fill the spaces with clean pebbles. Put
in a sunny windowsill. In two or three weeks you
should have a leafy garden. Keep it well watered.
Growing For Fun II
Hanging Carrot Garden:
This is sooooo cool! Thanks Nancy...
Large carrot
Knife
Absorbent cotton
Water
Dish
Wooden skewer
Potato peeler
Thread
Cut a section about 2 inches from the top of
the carrot. Leave any leaves or stalks attached.
Stand the cut end in a dish of water on top of
the absorbant cotton.
Once shoots have sprouted, remove and scoop a
hollow bowl into the end of he carrot using a
potato peeler. Push the wooden skewer through
the top half of the carrot. Tie the same size
length of thread for each side of the skewer.
Hang the carrot up in a sunny window and fill
the inside "bowl" with water. The shoots will
grow up to the light, and you will soon have a
hanging garden!
On The Joys Of Growing Sunflowers:
The upshot of this input? Let the birds handle it!
You don't have to go out and specifically
purchase sunflower seeds. I have a bird feeder
hanging off my front porch, over the flower bed,
that holds only black oil sunflower seeds. Every
spring the birds plant many, many seeds for me,
in the course of using the feeder. Right now I
have several beautiful, 5-foot sunflowers blooming
vigorously in my front yard flower bed. When the
heads are ripe and start to fall over I harvest
them, put them in a plastic bag, let them dry till
the next spring, get the seeds out with a very
stiff brush, and put them back in the feeder.
The moral of the story is:
Let the birds do the work--it's easier on your
back.
