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GERMINATE SEEDS IN SAND This project might show us a new reason to appreciate some of the foods we eat! We will save seeds from oranges, lemons, apples, pumpkins, grapefruit, tomatoes, and any other fresh fruit we have. We already have some beans, peas, corn, and grains, such as oats, wheat, and barley. Let's put clean, wet sand into all these little pots, and make three finger-holes in each one, about 1/2 inch deep. Into each hole, we will drop one seed, and cover it with more clean, wet sand. Each pot will have three each of one kind of seed, to give them a good chance, and to make it easier to make a list of what kind of seeds are in which pot. We could put stickers on the pots, with the name of the seeds, or we could just number the pots, and put the kinds of seeds beside the numbers. Like we always do, we want to remember to put the date on our list. Carefully put a little more water into each pot. Don't just pour in the water, because the seeds will move, and either bunch up together, or wash up to the top of the sand. When the sand starts to get dry on top, put in more water. After the seeds have germinated, there will be tiny stems poking out of the sand. On your lists, put the dates that each pot showed a little green, so you know how long each kind of seed takes to germinate. Some take longer than others. There will be a surprise here. Some of the pots won't show any green. After a few weeks, we can empty the pots that haven't germinated, and see what the seeds look like. Some of them look just like they did when we planted them. Why do you think that is? Some of the seeds may not have all the right stuff; the weather during the time the seeds were forming inside the fruit may have caused the seeds to be incomplete, and they would never germinate. Some kinds of seeds need to be cold and dry before they can germinate. Seeds from some kinds of trees, especially conifers (fir, pine, cedar), have to be put in the freezer for a few weeks before they can be planted. Nature takes care of that in the wild because the kinds of seeds that need to be cold do not fall from the trees until winter time. Conifer seeds are often buried in snow all winter, and when spring comes and the ground warms, the seeds thaw, rain pushes them into the soil, and then they germinate. Apple seeds are like that. Some seeds have very hard coats, and take a very long time to soften enough to germinate. Grandmother used to use a sharp knife to cut a little notch in hard seeds, then soak them overnight in a little dish of water before planting them. They germinated faster that way. We can look at our lists to check germination times, and classify the seeds by how fast (or slowly) they germinate, or if they need special treat- ment, like freezing, before they are planted.  Any problems with this page? Send URL to
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