Kids corner





Let’s have fun germinating seeds for our veggie patch this summer!

It is always so much fun to germinate seeds. Eating your own home grown veggies is very satisfying. See if a grown up can give you a small sunny spot in your garden, or a good-sized pot, and grow your own veggies! Being responsible for nurturing seeds and plants will be very rewarding for you.
All you need is a packet of seeds. If you can’t get to your local garden centre, you can purchase some from the supermarket, or maybe you have collected some seeds from your last summer’s crop. I love to collect tomato seeds from my own home grown tomatoes. I just squeeze some of the tomato seeds out on to a piece of paper towel and leave them to dry. When dry, I put them with the paper towel into a paper bag ready for next season. They can be planted directly into the soil and the paper towel decomposes. I collect and dry my own pumpkin seeds too. Seeds come in different sizes and shapes. They also take different lengths of time to germinate. 
By using newspapers it’s so easy to make your own tubes to germinate your seeds in. It’s also great for the environment to recycle. Follow the steps below to have a go. When you plant your seeds into tubes make sure that you put them in a warm spot and spray them regularly. 

What you will need

  • Newspaper, sticky tape, icy pole sticks, permanent marker
  • Paper roll insert from foil wrap
  • Ice-cream container
  • Seeds: Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce, Radishes (superfast to grow and colourful!)
  • Spray bottle

 

Method

Tear a strip of newspaper into lengths around 13cm wide and 60cm long.
Fold over 4cm along the length of your newspaper.
Roll your newspaper around the cardboard roll leaving 4cm over hang.
Cut along this 4cm overhang and fold down into the center and secure with some tape.
Carefully remove your tube.
Fill your tubes with some good quality germinating mix or potting soil.
Place your seed into the tubes, sprinkle with a small amount of soil on top.
Label your seeds using a marker on an icy pole stick.
Place into an ice-cream container or a cut down paper milk carton.
Spray to keep moist at all times.

The newspaper becomes very soft after a while and its good to have your paper tubes nice and close together in a container to keep them firm. When your seeds have germinated and are of a good size, plant them out into your veggie garden.

But most of all…… have fun and don’t forget to send us a high resolution photo or photos of your creations (minimum image size 500KB) via email to  to operations@opengardensvictoria.org.au

 

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