Liza Florida's Blog

Hello and welcome to Tristan’s Science Project.  For those of you who are not logging in from school, my son Tristan attends Kindergarten at Ivycrest Montessori in Orange County, Fullerton.  All students were given a science project with instructions on how to complete the project.  All projects would be displayed at Open House and we were free to present in any way we chose to, so we decided as a family to be more interactive and participate by having you log onto a website to learn more.  So let’s begin….

The Lima Bean Project!

WHAT DO PLANTS NEED?

Do Seeds Need Soil to Sprout?

Do Plants Need Soil to Grow?

1.  Put three (3) Lima Bean Seeds in a jar of stones.

2.  Put enough water in the jar of stones to cover the bottom half of seeds.

3.  Plant three (3) Lima Bean Seeds in a jar of soil.

4.  Water the seeds.

5.  Put both jars in sunlight.

6.  Watch the seeds for two (2) weeks.

Conclusion

Our observations have found that the Lima Bean Seeds planted in the stones and soil have both sprouted and therefore, this provides us with the answer that seeds DO NOT need soil in order to sprout (germinate).  In conducting additional research we know that seeds need water and air (also known as oxygen) in order to germinate or grow.  The ideal environment at the beginning stages of seed growth would be light, loose soil that will not compact, get soggy or crust over.  Also depending upon other factors such as weather (temperature), type of seed and season of the year you are planting seeds, there are other tips that will help assist you in making sure you can produce the best results. 

The additional information of our research provided above was found on www.jhudsonseeds.net. 

Other techniques such as using paper towels and soaking seed in water then growing on cloth may be found by clicking on the link below

http://spikesworld.spike-jamie.com/science/plants/C22114-germinate-seeds.html

Plants do not need soil to grow.  Our Lima Bean Seeds were able to sprout without soil, so we came to the conclusion that plants do not need soil to grow.  Of course, we wanted additional information to help support this conclusion, so we continued to do more research.  In doing so we found a technique called Hydroponics which is a form of growing plants by supplying all necessary nutrients in the plants water supply rather than in the soil.  The word derives from the Greek root words hydro and ponics meaning water working. 

You may read more information on Hydroponics by clicking on the link provided below

http://www.kidsgardening.com/hydroponicsguide/hydro1-1-intro.asp

So there you have it!  The conclusion of Tristan Ylagan’s Lima Bean Project.  Thanks again for visiting and if you enjoyed the video on bean sprout germination, we’ve attached another quick video on the time lapse of radish seed germination.  Enjoy!

By:  Tristan Ylagan and Family

Miss Shandra, Room 9