When I was in school one of the easy projects for a science class was growing bean sprouts. Another easy biology science project that was tried was growing carrot tops.
My younger brother in a grade school class planted corn for a plant biology lesson in for part of their grade school science class. This article will help any student studying the science of biology or plant biology.
Items Needed for Growing Plants from Seeds and Other Sources
Dirt. The dirt can be the from the yard or from a bag of top soil if you prefer your yard not to be dug up.
Disposable Plastic or Styrofoam Cup. Either type of disposable cup will work for all the projects. This way if the sprouting seed dies in the process, everything can go to the trash and makes for easier clean up.
Spoon or trowel. Use either item for placing the dirt into the disposable cup.
Water. Use the water for growing the sprouts or other plant life for the easy science project.
One each of the following items: a pinto bean, a carrot top from a mini carrot or a bag of regular sized carrots, a yam, piece of popcorn, a sprouting eye of a potato, and an avocado pit.
Tooth Picks. The tooth picks will be used for the yam and avocado pit. They will help hold the two items up in the mouth of the jar.
Two small mouthed jars. Two small pickle or olive jars can be used for growing the avocado or yam plant.
How to Grow Bean Sprouts, Potato Plants, and Corn Sprouts/Stalk
Growing bean sprouts is just as easy as making mud pies. Growing bean sprouts inside requires fewer gardening efforts than growing the bean plants. Growing bean sprouts is one of the easiest ways to watch plant life grow.
Place enough dirt to fill the disposable cup approximately a half inch below the rim. Insert your index finger to the first knuckle into the center of the dirt. Place a bean with the eye up in the hole and cover with dirt. Water the planted bean. The newly planted seed will need to be placed in a well-lit area, such as a window or near a light that is on quite often. Be sure to water the planted bean often so it will grow.
Within a week or so you will begin to see the sprouting bean starting to peek through. If a semi clear plastic cup is used, you will also see the roots of the bean sprout.
For the corn sprouts, follow the directions for growing a bean sprout. If you want to grow your corn planting into a stalk, transplant it into your vegetable garden.
Potato Plant
The potato plant should be grown in a larger disposable cup since the eye of the potato will be larger than the bean or corn kernel. Cut around the eye of the potato. Fill the cup three quarters of the way. Place the potato eye with the sprouts facing up. Cover the eye with dirt and tend in the same manner as the bean directions. The potato plant can also be transplanted into the vegetable garden.
Growing a Carrot Top, Avocado Pit, and a Yam
Growing a carrot top is a different type of plant life. The top of the carrot will grow like the loose carrots found in the produce department or grown in a garden. This particular plant growing project falls more along the lines of water plant life in this science project.
Cut off all but about two inches of a plastic cup. Place about a quarter inch of water into the cup. Cut an inch of the rounded end of the carrot off. Place the carrot top into the water. The sprouting of the carrot top leaves will take a bit longer than the bean sprout. Once the leaves start growing, you will find the leaves to be in a fern format.
With this particular plant biology project, it will eventually die unless planted in dirt with the roots attached. Once it is planted, you will have a nice fern style plant from a carrot top.
NOTE: If the top isn’t planted before the piece of carrot rots, it may not last being planted. However, if the carrot starts to become soft, plant it right away. The carrot piece can be used in providing nutrients for the dirt as it becomes compost.
Yam Plant
For the yam, cut in half. Poke at least four tooth picks into the yam half way up the cut yam. Fill the small mouth jar to just below the rim. The yam will sit into the jar until the toothpicks are resting on the jar rim. Within a week or two, you will see sprouting of the yam.
Avocado Pit Plant
Soak the avocado pit overnight in water. Without cutting the avocado pit, poke toothpicks into the pit in the same manner as the yam. With the large end down, the avocado will sit in the water. Let the pit sprout in the same manner as the yam.
After the pit has started to spout and grow, it can be planted to grow a tree. To learn more about growing an avocado tree, you can read more here.
These easy science projects can be used as a learning process for plant biology. Also, for those wanting to create a project for a science far these six types of plants can make a diverse style of plant life.
