Wonder Wednesday #30: Tiny Sprout Gardens

This winter has been more than fully expressed in many places this year, so if you live somewhere that is more white than green these days, this month’s activity goes out to you!

It may be monochromatic, but you have to admit, even if you are totally over snow and ice, it is really beautiful.

And if you live somewhere a bit more mild, this activity is still super fun and when summer’s heat is blazing, this activity can spark your green thumb as you relax in the AC!

The tiniest of gardens can spark big wonder! So spring green your thumbs with this month’s up-cycled terrarium sprout planting project. It’s so easy anyone can do it successfully, green thumb not required!

Wonder Wednesday #30:

Tiny Sprout Gardens

Materials:

A glass jar. I used a spaghetti jar, but a nut butter or any other kind of glass jar you have would work fine.

Potting soil

Large bowl or small bucket

Small rocks, pebbles, marbles or any loose item of the sort that will help with drainage

Radish seeds

A spray bottle with water

Optional:

Decorative or whimsical items like little animals, fairies, etc.

Ribbon

Preparation:

Depending on the environment in which you are doing this activity, you may need to have children bring in jars or you may need to take some time to collect or gather enough jars for each participany to have one.

Remove any labels from the jar.

Sprouting tip: Radish seeds sprout very quickly and that is why they are my go to for children’s projects. If you want to get them to sprout even quicker, soak the seeds in a bowl of water overnight the night before you are going to plant. This jumpstarts the sprouting process!

Moisten the soil. Do this by adding water to the soil making it damp, but not soggy. If making a small batch in a bowl you can use the spray bottle, if doing this with a larger amount of soil, and using a bucket, you can add water with a watering can.

Procedure:

First, add a layer of the loose items about a half inch to inch thick. Depending on the size of the rocks and height of the jar this could vary.

Then, fill the jar a bit more than half way with soil.

Add a layer of radish seeds.

Add a thin layer of soil over the seeds.

Spritz with the spray bottle to moisten the seeds and top layer of soil.

Add any whimsy to the jar to make it fun. You can theme it, make it a fairy garden, add little animals and make it a jungle, or any theme the imagination comes up with!

A 10 year old friend of mine created lego renditions of Sean and I so they are managing my tiny sprout garden!

Place the indoor garden in a sunny window, wait, and watch the seeds sprout!

Spritz each day to keep the seeds and soil damp.

Optional: Add a ribbon around the mouth of the jar to decorate it or make it a gift.

What happens next?

Within 2-5 days the seeds will quickly sprout. Watch the sprouts grow and observe the root systems of the plants around the jar’s sides.

Spritz each day or as needed so the sprouts don’t dry out, but they shouldn’t be soggy either.

The sprouts will fill the jar within a week or so. At this point you can cut them with scissors, rinse them well, and eat them!

(Do not eat them if they smell weird, seem slimy, or have mold on soil around them. Always use smarts and common sense when eating sprouts. If you do decide to eat them, always rinse sprouts VERY WELL after cutting and before eating. Trust your nose and if it tells you don’t eat these, don’t eat them!)

AHH! The sprout farmers are lost within their sprouts!!

Extension:

Document the creation process and growing progress in your nature journal:

How many days did the seeds take to sprout?

How much do they grow each day?

How many days until they grew to the top of the jar and were ready to eat?

Did the items placed in the jar affect the sprouts growing near them?

Then, start again! Try a different type of sprouting seed, like alfalfa, sunflower, or broccoli.

Seeds to Sprout:

If these tiny gardens got you in the mood to start planning your outdoor garden, remember to check out the Let’s Build a Garden eCourse here and get your garden growing with the guidance of Wings, Worms, and Wonder!

Live in the north Florida area? Check out this 3 week nature journaling course I am teaching! Open to all and families welcome!