Create a letter or number shape from germinating grass seeds.
Learning Intentions
Students will be able to:
- germinate seeds using a basic set-up.
- distinguish the growth form of a seedling from the grass family.
Grassy numbers
Preparation:
- Seeds from the grass family work best for this activity as they grow straight upwards, thus keeping inside the margins of the shape you plan to create.
- Lawn or ryegrass seeds are best for small shapes. Purchase from garden supply shops or online.
- Cereal seeds are best for larger scale projects. Purchase seeds from health shops or online.
What You Will Need:
- Lawn or ryegrass seed, or cereal seeds (wheat, oats, barley). Ensure the seeds have not been treated if you are going to harvest the resulting seedlings as microgreens.
- Clean, used meat trays (or larger trays for scaled-up projects).
- Paper towels.
- Plastic bags big enough to fit the trays.
- Cotton wool buds or small artist's paint brushes.
- Water.
What to do
Follow the pictures and steps described below.
- Cut two paper towels to fit a clean plastic meat tray. Draw a numeral on the top sheet with a soft pencil, e.g. '7', then stack both sheets back into the tray.
- Sprinkle grass seeds inside the margins of the shape. Slowly pour water into the tray till the towels are damp (not wet), being careful not to disturb the seeds.
- Use a cotton wool bud or small paint brush to carefully position any seeds that may have moved.
- Slip the tray inside a plastic bag and fold the end over to keep the moisture in. Leave in a warm place till the seeds germinate, then remove from the bag and keep watered and positioned in sunlight so they can grow tall and straight.
- Take photos or draw pictures and write about what you did.
Hints and tips
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Going further
Use a large plastic serving tray or similar to create a scaled up version of grassy numbers, or to create patterns of your choice.