Watch That Seed Project

JJ has been studying seeds and seed development in his science lessons.  About a week ago, we started a seed project that was mentioned in his science book.  I have done a similar type of experiment before probably even when I was in school so it is nothing new.  I just wanted to share what we did and our results.

JJ on day 5 surveying his cucumber seeds.

We used 3 plastic sealable sandwich bags, 3 types of seeds, paper towels, water, and tape.  For the experiment, we placed 1/3 sheet of a paper towel under water and wrung it out until it was just damp.  We laid several seeds in the center of one of half of the paper towel piece (center half of the 1/3 sheet).  The towel was then folded over the seeds and slide it into a plastic baggie.  The completed seed baggies were then taped in a window that received plenty of sunshine.

Savannah checking on our seeds

Our 3 types of seeds were cucumber, watermelon, and lettuce seeds which we had left over from our spring garden.  The idea was to watch the seeds in the process of germination (sprouting).  As we continued in our chapter on plants, we looked at and recorded our seed progress on a daily basis.  We were able to watch as the  stages of the seed germination took place from the seed case busting open to the beginning development of the roots.  By the end of our project, we had cucumber seeds with roots that had grown about 2-3 inches.

I will say that the cucumber seeds were the best seeds to use in my opinion.  They developed more quickly and had more root development to show by the end of out week of seed watching.

JJ smelling the cucumber roots.  They actually smelled like cucumbers!

The bean seeds did not show as much in the way of root system, but it did have a thicker more defined plant "stem" developing.

Sprouted Green Bean Seeds

The lettuce seeds did not change.  They never sprouted - just molded!  They were actually from an older seed pack that I found in my cabinet, so they may have been too old to be active.

Our Seed Growth Chart

We made a chart to record the progress of our seeds each day, and we planted the cucumber seeds on the mound in our garden where we had planted our cucumbers last spring.  Even though it is too late in the season, we just thought we would see if they would take off and grow.