I'm doing a basic botany workshop in January where I want to send each child
home with a 'mystery seed' that they plant at the workshop to tend. Being
January obviously limits the choice a bit and I'm after some inspiration for
suitable seeds. My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds as many of those will start indoors ok in January then I
can give them enough details about the growing habits to enable them to look
after them, but they'll need to wait until it fruits to find out exactly
what they've got.
Any better ideas?
cheers
Sally (Wales)

In article , Sally Pointer
writes

I'm doing a basic botany workshop in January where I want to send each child
home with a 'mystery seed' that they plant at the workshop to tend. Being
January obviously limits the choice a bit and I'm after some inspiration for
suitable seeds. My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds as many of those will start indoors ok in January then I
can give them enough details about the growing habits to enable them to look
after them, but they'll need to wait until it fruits to find out exactly
what they've got.
Any better ideas?

It's a wonderful idea - but one seed each??
You can't guarantee the germination of one seed.
The general procedure is to plant several and hope that one comes up
(((((
And I would leave it until a bit later in the year.
You need the light levels if the plants are to grow properly!!!!!!
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com

My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds

I would avoid chilly seed like the plague as you have children involved, if
any of them get any of the oil from the chilly - any time from seed inwards_
into their eye then you could really have the book thrown at you.
I would be tempted to stick to something like sweet peas,
Lupins and tree lupins would be an idea but the seed is poisonous.
You don't say how old they are.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

"david" wrote in message
...
My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds

I would avoid chilly seed like the plague as you have children involved,
if
any of them get any of the oil from the chilly - any time from seed
inwards_
into their eye then you could really have the book thrown at you.
I would be tempted to stick to something like sweet peas,
Lupins and tree lupins would be an idea but the seed is poisonous.
You don't say how old they are.

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

They usually range from toddler with parent to about 12, but 6-8 is the
average, and I can deal with up to a couple of hundred over the weekend.
Unfortunately this particular workshop has to be in mid January because of
the way the events programme is working so it needs to be a seed that will
cope with early indoor planting.If it can be something that can be grown on
a windowsill if they have no garden its a double plus.
cheers
Sally

On Sun, 27 Oct 2002 09:17:39 -0000, "Sally Pointer"
wrote:

I'm doing a basic botany workshop in January where I want to send each child
home with a 'mystery seed' that they plant at the workshop to tend. Being
January obviously limits the choice a bit and I'm after some inspiration for
suitable seeds. My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds as many of those will start indoors ok in January then I
can give them enough details about the growing habits to enable them to look
after them, but they'll need to wait until it fruits to find out exactly
what they've got.

Your plan is hard to understand. Do you intend to have the
children plant the seed at the workshop, then take the pot home
to be tended? Or do they plant the seed at the workshop and tend
it there until much later? Since you say it is a workshop in
January, am I right in inferring that the workshop is only a few
days or weeks long, or does it run for several months into the
spring?

Whatever the details, I'm afraid your plan isn't going to work
very well. Tomatoes and peppers are all warm-weather crops and
January is no time to be sowing them. It's w-a-y too early.[1]
The seedlings will almost certainly all die long before it's time
to plant them out in late May. This is true even if you can
provide proper greenhouse facilities with supplemental lighting
right through to May rather than (unrealistically) expecting the
children to nurse the seedlings along at home.

Even assuming that the seedlings survive and are successfully
planted out, they won't fruit until late summer or early autumn
-- long after your workshop has ended, I suspect.

And there's the objection that these plants are too closely
related for the exercise. They are all members of the Solanaceae;
moreover, chilis and peppers are not botanically distinct, being
merely cultivated forms of the same species.

Any better ideas?

I suggest you ask yourself the question "What is the point of the
exercise?" or "What are the children expected to learn in
consequence of carrying the exercise out?" In what way does
growing a "mystery seed" add to their botanical knowledge?

To be frank, the idea impresses me as a poorly thought-out Bright
Idea that will make little difference to the children's learning.
Because of the high risk of failure it may actually be
counter-productive.

You might do better to acquire a collection of flowering
houseplants -- ones that are in flower during your workshop --
and use those as mystery plants to be identified.


[1] In the eastern US, March 15 is the recommended date for
indoor sowing of tomatoes and peppers. This recommendation is
made with special reference to low light levels. (R. Milton
Carlton, "The New Vegetable & Fruit Garden Book")

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

"Rodger Whitlock" wrote in
message ...
On Sun, 27 Oct 2002 09:17:39 -0000, "Sally Pointer"
wrote:

I'm doing a basic botany workshop in January where I want to send
each child
home with a 'mystery seed' that they plant at the workshop to
tend. Being
January obviously limits the choice a bit and I'm after some
inspiration for
suitable seeds. My current best plan is to mix up a packet of
tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds as many of those will start indoors ok in January
then I
can give them enough details about the growing habits to enable
them to look
after them, but they'll need to wait until it fruits to find out
exactly
what they've got.

Your plan is hard to understand.
large snip
Rodger Whitlock

I, like Rodger, am uncertain of how the project is intended to proceed
after the workshop......Will the kids come back in with their plant at
regular intervals ??

If its a more 'instant' project, why not use mustard and cress or
different forms beansprouts ? They come up quickly in just water and
can be eaten quickly. 6 to 8 year olds might lose interest on waiting
for a tomato to appear :~))

http://www.sproutpeople.com/ has info.

jenny

I, like Rodger, am uncertain of how the project is intended to proceed
after the workshop......Will the kids come back in with their plant at
regular intervals ??

If its a more 'instant' project, why not use mustard and cress or
different forms beansprouts ? They come up quickly in just water and
can be eaten quickly. 6 to 8 year olds might lose interest on waiting
for a tomato to appear :~))

http://www.sproutpeople.com/ has info.

jenny


The idea is to give them a half hour workshop on how plants develop, during
which time they'll plant some seeds in a small pot with instructions to take
home on how to look after the seeds. I wanted to give them a mystery seed so
that they could write down observations in a booklet as to when it gets
leaves, what shape they are etc and slowly they will be able to identify
their plant from clues in the booklet as it develops. They are always able
to pop in to ask questions if they want, but most kids that we do sessions
with just enjoy learning something new and need little extra support
afterwards. Its just one session in a two month basic botany theme, but due
to the programme of other activities this one is stuck at the current date
so I just have to work with what I can.

I've planted indoor tomatoes myself in January and had good results with
them, herb seeds might be another possibility, something that will probably
spend its whole life in a pot on the windowsill. Mustard and cress is a last
ditch backup, I'm not sure that they won't all have done that at nursery or
primary school already at some stage, also, at the edible stage I think they
look too similar to be easily identifiable by young children.

On Mon, 28 Oct 2002 04:17:28 +0100, "JennyC"
wrote:

If its a more 'instant' project, why not use mustard and cress or
different forms beansprouts ?

A small reminder: most ordinary beans are all the same species,
/Phaseolus vulgaris/ iirc.

However, afaik the following beans are other, distinct species:

black-eyed peas
chick peas
mung beans
soy beans
fava beans
(maybe) lima beans
(maybe) urid beans

Unfortunately for the purpose at hand, this doesn't help since
you can tell these apart by looking at the dried bean! No need to
plant it!

And I wonder if the seedlings are very different.

OTOH, seed of love-in-the-mist looks much like dianthus seed...

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

In article ,
"JennyC" writes:
|
| I, like Rodger, am uncertain of how the project is intended to proceed
| after the workshop......Will the kids come back in with their plant at
| regular intervals ??
|
| If its a more 'instant' project, why not use mustard and cress or
| different forms beansprouts ? They come up quickly in just water and
| can be eaten quickly. 6 to 8 year olds might lose interest on waiting
| for a tomato to appear :~))

Grass and (certain) umbellifer seed look pretty similar, and are
very easy to tell apart as seedlings. There are other such
pairings.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

My current best plan is to mix up a packet of tomato, chilli
and pepper seeds as many of those will start indoors ok in January then I
can give them enough details about the growing habits to enable them to look
after them, but they'll need to wait until it fruits to find out exactly
what they've got.
Any better ideas?
cheers
Sally (Wales)



Cannabis?

Dave. (North London)