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Lesson 2 - Part A: HOW PLANTS GROW - PHOTOSYNTHESIS
Lesson 2 - Part B: WATCH HOW PLANTS GROW (EXPERIMENT)
Lesson 2 - Part C: WHAT WILL YOU GROW?

  PREPARATION FOR LESSON 2: 

 

Please read through Lesson 2 text for students.

Where further information on these topics is provided in Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, pages references are shown as Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, see pp….

Prepare two PET bottles with a suitable growing mix for the experiment in Part C of this lesson. To prepare for this experiment you will need:

• 2 x 750 ml PET drink bottles, with lids, and holes in base (Lemonade or soda water bottles with straight sides are perfect)

• 2 litres of growing mix – see note below

• A few corn or maize seeds and a few green bean or pea seeds (Use bean seed in warm conditions and pea seed in cold weather)

• 2 waterproof plant labels

• 2 sheets brown paper

• 2 large elastic bands

• A pencil

• A tray or 2 plant saucers

Part A – HOW PLANTS GROW - PHOTOSYNTHESIS 

This lesson is conducted after seeds in the first experiment have germinated. Part A is divided into text for junior students and text for older students, depending on level of comprehension. For juniors, only a very simple explanation of the process is given. The teacher can decide which text is most suitable for your group of students.

The photosynthesis equation in the seniors' lesson shows that no atoms have been lost during the process, merely converted to other molecules.

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Part B – WATCH HOW PLANTS GROW - EXPERIMENT 

This experiment demonstrates what happens above and below soil level after germination. If the growing mix is prepared beforehand, the experiment does not take long to set up during the lesson. Students will be able to observe growth of the seedlings over several weeks. The experiment can remain in a well-lit area of the classroom or in a suitable, protected outdoor area. If kept outdoors, the tray or plant saucers may not be necessary.

The reason for using corn and legume seeds is that students will be able to observe the difference in growth between monocotyledons (where one seed leaf is enclosed within the stem), and dicotyledons (which produce two seed leaves).

Use a Stanley knife or box cutter to cut each PET bottle in two as shown in the diagram. Then cut a slit halfway up the neck portion of the bottle. This slit will allow the base of the top section of the bottle to overlap so that it will sit inside the base of the bottle to create a miniature greenhouse.
Using a hammer and nail, or a very sharp skewer, pierce enough holes in the base of each bottle to ensure good drainage.


 

 

 

 

 

GROWING MEDIUM FOR SEEDLINGS

Read the warning sign on bags of growing mixes before opening.

See Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, pp 148-150 – for further information on opening bags and using growing mixes for small containers.

Potting mix alone is too dense for early root growth, and it may also stay too damp for good germination.

Seed-raising mix alone does not contain enough nutrients to complete this experiment, and will require watering with a half strength liquid fertiliser, such as organic allowed Charlie Carp, or worm casting 'tea' to maintain strong growth after germination. If you want the growing medium to provide enough nutrients to maintain good growth, you can mix half a litre of worm castings through two litres of seed-raising mix.

Or, you can thoroughly combine one and a third litres of seed-raising mix, or well-washed river sand (propagation sand), with two thirds of a litre of organic allowed potting mix, which will show the certifying body's logo and registration number on the label. In Australia, the two logos which you can find on products allowed for use in organic farming and gardening are NASAA and BFA. Use whatever is most easy to obtain.

 

 

 

Example logos - if you see these logos on an organic gardening product, it has been registered for use in organic systems.

Each bottle needs to be at least 2/3 full of growing mix, as the mix will settle. 

You will need some paper to wrap around the lower part of each bottle to exclude light from the root area. Any thick paper is suitable. Brown paper bags, split lengthwise, and folded to double thickness are quite sufficient. Use an elastic band to keep paper in position.

As a precaution, when sowing seed for this experiment, one seed can be sown on opposite sides of each bottle in case one of the seeds does not germinate. The weaker seedling can be removed after germination.
Select a responsible student to water the seedlings (after germination only) when the surface of the growing mix starts to dry.

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Part C – WHAT WILL YOU GROW? 

This part is included early in the program to allow you time to purchase seed. You will find a list of suppliers of untreated, open-pollinated seed for each state in the Introduction section of this program.

When purchasing vegetable seed, don't forget to include some bulk seed for a green manure crop – this subject will be covered in a future lesson.

See Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting pp 66–121 – for suitable crops to sow each month for your gardening zone. You do not have to sow by moon phases. Select any variety listed under your gardening zone for the relevant month.

The crop chart included in this program provides the minimum time from sowing seed to harvest for each major gardening zone. It may help you to time the sowing of seed so that crops are not likely to need harvesting at the beginning of school holiday periods. For some crops, such as potatoes, pumpkins, garlic and onions, some leeway won't affect the crop, but other vegetables will spoil if not picked at the correct time.

This chart also includes colour coding to assist with crop rotation, (plus the nutrients that each plant provides). It is advisable to grow plants with the same colour coding together, rather than spreading them across an entire garden bed, although all members of the group may not be able to be grown in the same season. For example, if your class wants to grow both tomatoes (sown in spring) and potatoes (sown in winter), leave a space in that section of the bed for the other crop, or sow a fast-maturing crop that will be harvested before the other crop needs to be sown. Crop rotation will be covered in detail in a later lesson. It is the 'minimum time to harvest' part of the chart that you need at this time.

The chart can be accessed, at any time, by clicking on the 'Crop Chart' link in the left hand menu of this web page. 

See Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, pp 190–299 – for individual cultivation notes for fruit, vegetables and culinary herbs. A few flowering annuals in the vegetable patch attract beneficial insects as students will learn in a later lesson. A purchased punnet of seedlings would be sufficient, unless the students particularly want to grow flowers from seed.

See Easy Organic Gardening and Moon Planting, pp 342-5 – for general cultivation notes for flowering annuals.

WHAT TO COLLECT? 

We recommend that young students grow seedlings in small pots, tubes or segmented punnets rather than community punnets, as transplanting from community punnets without damaging seedling roots or stems takes some practice. When seedlings are planted out without disturbing their roots, losses are reduced, and seedlings don't suffer from 'transplant shock'.

Ask students to bring in any spare pots from home, and some clean containers from their recycling bins. Of particular use will be:

• Seedling punnets with divisions

• A few very large plastic pots

• Very small plastic pots and plant tubes

• Plant labels

• Small containers for seedlings (e.g. single serve yoghurt and Petit Miam)

• Straight-sided 750 ml PET bottles with lids

• Large plastic drink containers with recycling code number '2', '4' or '5'

Ask students to wash containers before bringing them to school. They do not need bleaching. A wash in warm soapy water and a rinse in clean water will be sufficient.

PET bottles (recycling code 1) with the bases
removed make excellent miniature greenhouses
for seedlings where they are not exposed to
heat. They also prevent mice stealing seed before
germination. This type of plastic is easy for an
adult to cut through with a Stanley knife or box
cutter.

The top third of a PET bottle (lid removed) makes
an excellent funnel for adding liquid fertilisers to
watering cans, etc.

Plastic drink containers (recycling codes 2, 4 and
5) are safe to use in the garden. With the base
removed, bottles of this type can be used to protect
seeds sown directly into garden beds. If the base
and lid are removed, these containers can be
inserted, neck down, into soil beside plants for
efficient watering of mulched beds.

With the base and part of the sides cut away (as
shown in the photo), large containers with handles
make excellent scoops for gardening activities, including collecting worm castings.

Avoid using anything with recycling codes 3 and 7. Polystyrene foam boxes (recycling code 6) can be used as indicated in the Introduction, under the heading 'Bed Types'.

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