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Grow It 3-5 / Week 03 / Tuesday
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Week 03 · Life Cycles

Tuesday

Seedling to soil
// From seed to seed again
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: Seedling to Soil

Rocket stares at the bean window. "The roots are poking out the bottom!"

Raven looks closer. "What do you notice about the leaves up top?"

Nova hovers beside the cup. "Two kinds of leaves are growing," she hints. "Are they the same shape?"

Rocket squints. "The new ones look different! Maybe it is time for a bigger home."

Seed leaves and true leaves

The first leaves you see are often the seed leaves.

Seed leaves look different from the leaves that come next.

The next leaves are called true leaves.

Gardeners move a seedling when its first true leaves appear.

StatementTrue or false?
Seed leaves and true leaves look exactly the same.?
A seedling is a young plant.?
True leaves come after the seed leaves.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESeed leaves come first and look different from true leaves.

Move your bean to soil

  1. Put on gloves.
  2. A grown-up opens the potting mix bag.
  3. The grown-up fills a cup that has holes in the bottom.
  4. Poke a hole in the middle of the mix with one finger.
  5. A grown-up gently lifts one bean seedling out of the bean window.
  6. Set its roots in the hole and press the mix around them.
  7. Water slowly until a little drips out the bottom.
  8. Set the cup on a tray in a bright window.
Safety first
Wear gloves when you touch potting mix.
A grown-up opens and pours the potting mix bag.
Wash your hands after you finish, even if you wore gloves.
Nothing goes in your mouth.
PUT THE TRANSPLANT STEPS IN ORDER
  • ?Water the cup slowly.
  • ?Fill a cup with potting mix.
  • ?Put on gloves.
  • ?Set the seedling's roots in a hole.
WHY THIS EXERCISEGloves first, then mix, then the seedling, then water.
SEEDLING CARE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Why does the cup need holes in the bottom?
Who opens the potting mix bag?
Try it
Use a ruler to measure your seedling from the soil to its top.
Write the number in centimeters with today's date.
You will measure again on Friday.
Draw your seedling in its new cup. Label the seed leaves and the true leaves.

Great gardening! Tomorrow we zoom in on flowers and how they make seeds.

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