Plants

Tomato Plant Interactive

Click on the picture to visit the tomato plant interactive website from PBS Learning Media. English and Spanish options are available. There is a also a sequencing challenge after the activity!

Watching Plants Grow!

Our seeds were planted on April 17th. We will keep track of the plants growth. We planted alfresco mix in the blue pot, poppies in the gray pot and alfresco seeds in the bag for the window. When you look at the pictures, can you identify the parts of the plant?

Can you point to and name the parts of this plant? Are any parts missing?

Plant Life Cycles

Did you know that plants have parents too? Adult plants produce seeds. When the seeds have the right conditions (can you remember what a plant needs to survive?), the seed will germinate and a new plant will grow! We call the young plant a sprout. As it grows, we call it a seedling. Then it becomes a young plant and finally a mature, or adult, plant. What do you think will happen when it becomes an adult plant?

That's right! It can then produce fruit and seeds! The life cycle will start all over again!

Here are the alfresco mix seeds. How many seeds to you see here? What will these seeds need in order to grow?

We only planted 5 seeds in the pot. We want to make sure each seed has enough room to grow!

These are the poppy seeds. What do you notice about them? How do they compare to the alfresco seeds?

After planting the seeds, we gave them some water. All plants need water in order to grow!

4/21/20-Germination! We have some of the alfresco mix seeds that have sprouted. They are tiny. Can you see them? Measurement of one sprout is 0.7 cm tall!

4/22/20-Look how much we've grown! The alfresco mix plants now have leaves! The poppies do not seem to have any sprouts visible yet. The sprout is 1.3 cm tall today.

4/23/20-WOW! Lots of change overnight! The sprout is now 2.1 cm tall!

4/25/20-So many seedlings! The first sprout is now measuring 3 cm tall.

4/26/20-I notice that all the seedlings are 'leaning' the same direction. Why do you think they do this?

4/29/20-Our seedlings are now about 4 cm tall!

4/21/20-Poppies do not have anyvisible sprouts yet.

4/22/20-Still have not seen sprouts. Water was added today to make soil moist.

4/23/20- No sprouts were visible. Checked top of the soil for any signs, but none were found. The tiny seeds blend so well with the soil, it is very difficult to find them.

4/25/20-We have our first poppy sprout! It is 0.8 cm tall!

4/26/20-We have quite a few sprouts today! How many seedlings can you count?

4/29/20-The first poppy sprout is now measuring the same height as the first alfresco sprout (4 cm). What inference can you make from this?

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Planting a window garden

We wanted to plant some seeds in the window where we can watch them germinate! 'Germinate' means seeds begin to grow and roots start to sprout from the seed. Watch the video (to the left) if you would like to see how to make your own window garden. You can use seeds you purchase or seeds from a fruit or vegetable at your house. Remember that if you use seeds from a fresh fruit or vegetable, let the seeds dry out completely (a few days) before you follow the steps in the video.

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April 17th-"planting day"

April 20th-What changes do you notice?

April 22nd-Two days have passed. Do you notice any changes? How does this compare to the Alfresco Mix seeds that were planted in the soil?

April 23rd-Look at all of those roots! These seedlings will be transplanted into a new container soon.

Host Plants-Native to Texas

There are many plants that are native to Texas (plants that occur naturally here) that are considered "host plants" for butterflies! A host plant meets the needs of shelter and food for a specific insect (caterpillar in this case). How many of these host plants have you seen? Do you have any of them in your backyard or neighborhood?

While caterpillars use host plants for food and shelter, once they become adult butterflies, they often visit other plants or flower for nectar. Some examples of butterflies in our area are listed below along with information about their host plant and nectar plant. Also, visit our butterflies page to learn more about Painted Lady Butterflies.