Gardening

It is inexpensive, educational, and few if any of the seedlings will survive regardless of what you do. By mandate, my wife has to do her unit on seeds next week - same as every other classroom under the same restrictions. None of them will survive long enough to be transplanted, but the educational part of it is what matters.

Materials:
- Plastic disposable cups (small beer cups - clear)
- Seeds of your choice (extras from our garden in this case)
- A permanent marker
- "Sprouting Mixture" soil, not "potting soil" - the former is lighter, fluffier and won't cause root rot.
- A tray. At the low end, that's aluminum foil squares around each cup. At the high end it is a baking cooling rack in a plastic tub lid. Whatever works to keep the water from going everywhere.

1) use a hammer and nail to poke three holes in the bottom of each cup.
2) write each kid's name on the cup along with the type of seed.
3) fill each cup 3/4 full with sprouting mixture (you'll need to add more later - trust me)
4) have the kids make three finger holes and put a seed in each (and cover).
5) LIGHTLY WATER
6) keep the water light until the sprouts break the surface.
7) give them as MUCH sunlight as possible after they sprout.
8) when they are viable, send them home.

Now as for what KIND of seeds, if you are close to Mother's Day, marigolds are great. If the objective is to show the roots, you'll see them in the plastic cups. Lettuce makes a huge root system, but it isn't particularly obvious even in a glass box. Beans are probably your safest bet. Soak them overnight before planting. Only use the ones with their husks on and that are firm and not wrinkly. They also sprout quickly. Radishes almost always sprout and are only a 20-30 day crop for most varieties. Unfortunately, most kids don't like those. Carrots take too long. Squash is a fair bet for sprouting, but it won't survive unless it is close enough to planting time. Pansies are always a good option. Forget nightshades like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes unless you've got a LOT of room to transplant them. Herbs such as basil (get something simple like Genovese) sprout well and make a pretty plant, but you can't transplant until after the last frost.

It doesn't have to be at all expensive to have fun. One packet of beans runs about $3.00 (BUSH style ONLY for this). Same with flowers. The beans will give you the best root display and are probably the most likely to handle transplanting from classroom to home (they can be container grown). A $6 bag of sprouting mix will cover ALL of the plastic cups. A bag of plastic cups is a couple of dollars. Sunlight's free and water's included with the gig.

Enjoy!

On Edit: Make sure the SCHOOL pays for the materials. Teachers don't earn enough as it is. If the plants get lanky, that's why I said to leave 1/4 of the cup empty - so you can fill in more soil to keep them upright without staking.