Plant activity with child.....?

Question

Hi. My 7 year old wants to grow a plant. I do not have a green thumb at all. I want to know, what sort of container should we buy? Is there a certain soil? and what is the best thing for a 7 year old to plant, that will be easy for her to take care of and that she can see fast results? Any added advice would be appreciated also, thank you.

Answer 1

If you're not confident, I would buy a complete child's kit - somewhere like a garden centre will have loads, which will include seeds, pots and compost. Many of the kits will produce plants that outgrow these little pots, though - do you have somewhere outside you can plant them when they've grown a bit?

Or if you want something even simpler and much quicker, how about growing cress or beansprouts. You can grow them on a windowsill with no special equipment (you don't even need compost, cress will grow on a damp paper towel in a saucer), it only takes a few days, and then you can eat them!

Answer 2

Do something that you can plant outside when the weather gets nice, like a tomato plant.  Get some seed starter pods (you can buy them at Home Depot), and prepare the soil.  Add 1-2 seeds to each pod, mist lightly with water, and then follow the germination instructions on the seed package (sometimes they should be kept in a warm, dark place until they sprout, and sometimes it doesn't matter).

Once the seeds have sprouted and had a chance to grow, thin the seedlings so there is only one per seed pod.  You will eventually have to transfer them to larger pots.

When the outside soil is warm enough, you can plant them outside.

Answer 3

Get a clear plastic drinking cup.

Line the inside with a damp paper towel.

Place dry kidney beans between the paper towel and the cup. This way the bean stays nice and snug but is still clearly visible. The fibers in the paper towel will provide what the roots need to anchor themselves.

Put the cup somewhere that it can get the sunlight it needs. A window sill or something.

The bean should start to sprout within a few days, and with the clear cup, she will see everything from the seed explanding and splitting, to the roots and stalk coming out.

Use four or five beans so at least one will grow.

She can transplant the bean plants later into soil.

Make sure the paper towel stays damp, but don't fill the cup with water. It will kill the plants.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Beans are easy and fun.  Just put potting soil in a cup and push the bean down into the dirt.  When it gets bigger..plant it in your garden and soon you can pick the beans.

Answer 5

you know the best thing? Go to a plant nursery. Depending on the plant depends on the soil. They will advice your child on a good plant for your area and how to care for it