Just How Strong Are Plants?

Last week’s Nature Detective was too hard for my son and Peggy had the only guess with solar panels — was she right? Why yes she was. For a while we’ll be putting the game on hold until I figure out a better balance of hard for the kiddos.

In exchange — a cool nature experiment.

This experiment is fun for kids and uses stuff you likely have around the house.

You need:

• Dried beans (maybe six or so)
• A milk carton
• Soil from your garden or yard
• Plaster of Paris

Prep work:

1. Soak your beans overnight in clean water.
2. Wash out your milk carton, cut the top off, and fill it half way with soil.

The experiment process:

1. Water your soil in the milk carton until it’s fully wet but not oozing water — it should feel like a wet sponge.
2. Plant your beans about 3/4 of an inch deep in the soil. (make sure to plant them a bit apart so they can grow).
3. Make your Plaster of Paris mixture. To make it correctly you can follow directions on the container; but you really only need a little bit so you can just spoon a bit out and add water until you get a mixture that’s paste-like but still easy to pour.
4. Pour a thin layer of your plaster mixture over the top of the soil until it’s all the way covered.

Wait a few days and see what happens.

For more cool kid-friendly experiments that involve plants, sun,. and soil check out Gardening Wizardry for Kids by L. Patricia Kite.