Growing Bean Seeds in Bags

  It wouldn't really be spring if we didn't do something with seeds, right? This is the first year my grandmother isn't with us for planting season, so it's a little bittersweet, but it leaves me all the more determined to grow something, even though I've never had any real interest in past seasons.

  We started by trying to grow bean seeds in plastic baggies. In one bag, one dipped cotton balls in water, covered the bottom of the bag with them, and then added some green bean seeds. In a second bag, we dipped a paper towel in water, added it to the baggie with some seeds, and then sealed both bags shut. We taped them to the window and waited to see what would happen. Since the bags are sealed, the water remains in there (you'll be able to see the condensation on the bag within a day), like a little greenhouse.

  To add a bit more interest for my competitive daughter, we had a race - which did she think would grow faster: the cotton ball seeds or the paper towel ones? She guessed the cotton balls. 

   Then came the waiting, but not too long. Within a few days we started to see the seeds sprout. Every day we'd check them in the morning and they would have grown even more. I can't believe how quickly they sprouted up. (And for the record, both the cotton balls and the paper towel seeds grew at the same rate. So much for the big "race"!) 

  We soon had to plant them in dirt. I explained that the roots grow first, so that they can find nutrients to feed the growing seed, and so they needed dirt to help them grow bigger and stronger. If you leave them in the bag to long, they'll end up looking like this:

  We used a plastic container that had strawberries in it originally (a little re-using here!) and the beans grew even faster now that they had more room to spread out. Next stop....the garden!

  Welcome back to the Saturday Science blog hop and linky! Check out what my co-hosts are sharing this week, and then see the linky below; if you have a science idea for kids, add it on. If you don't, just see what other's have been sharing. Either way, lots of inspiration! 

Super Simple Science Experiment: Build a Flying Contraption from The Usual Mayhem 
Static Electricity from Suzy Homeschooler 
15 Awesome Science Experiments for Older Kids from Lemon Lime Adventures 
Milk Color Explosion from Stir the Wonder