How does my garden grow?
Part 2
Geography, Science
Learning intentions
We are learning to identify which plants are root vegetables and how to grow a plant from a seedling, a seed and/or part of its root.
Teacher information
How does your Garden Grow (Part 2) can be a continuation from How does your Garden Grow (Part 1), or as a stand alone unit.
Science - Students investigate the external features of plants, what plants need to grow, how plants change and grow a food plant.
Geography - Students investigate features of environments that grow plants and how to care for them, and how the environment supports the lives of living things.
Introduction: Helen's back with some new adventures in the garden! Watch this video to find out more.
1. Intro video.mp4Task 1: Match the plant to the food we eat?
It’s easy to identify an apple on a tree or a strawberry on a plant, but can you identify the food that comes from the plants in these photos? Hint, they are all roots that humans eat.
Looking at the document on the right, match up the picture with the food it produces. (If you get stuck, the answers are at the bottom of the sheet).
Match up plant to food.pdfClick the arrow on the top right of the picture to see it in full screen.
Task 2: Grow a plant from a seedling.
A seedling is a seed that has germinated. That means it has grown a root and a shoot. You may have germinated some seeds in your plastic bag in How does your Garden Grow (Part 1).
If none of your seeds germinated, or you lost them, or didn’t do the activity, skip this task and move straight on to planting seeds!
If you have a seedling, you can transfer it straight into some soil. You could use soil in a pot or in a garden bed. Watch this video as Helen shows you how.
2. Growing from a seedling.mp4Task 3: Grow a plant from a seed.
Watch the video on how to plant different seeds straight into soil.
Find a seed from some food in your cupboard, from a packet, or from a plant in your garden or a park and plant it directly into the soil. You could use soil in a pot or in a garden bed.
Don’t forget to water it!
4. Growing from seeds.mp4Task 4: Grow a food plant from a root.
Did you know you can grow most roots that humans eat again simply by placing them in water or back in the soil?
You will need:
A bowl of water, and/or a pot with soil in it and/or a patch of soil in your garden.
Kitchen scraps that can be grown into a plant. This could be a carrot, onion, spring onion, potato, sweet potato, garlic, radish, turnip, parsnip etc.
Roots people commonly eat
You can start some plants growing again by putting them in a container of water. Cut the top off a carrot, place it in a container of water. Leave it for a few weeks and see if it grows.
Watch the video for instructions on how to prepare food scraps ready for planting, and how to place them in the soil.
3. Growing from roots.mp42. If you have some roots in your fridge or cupboard, plant them in soil and watch them regrow into a new plant.
3. If you have a nature journal, draw a before and after picture of your plant growing from a root.
4. Take a photo of any plants you grow and share it with your class!
Want to learn more?
