Roots and Sprouts: Grow with Veggie Scraps!

Are you looking for a fun experiment project to go with the online enrichment from your school? Try this activity that could have you recording data for days or weeks and maybe have some tasty rewards in the end.

First you’ll need, a grown-ups help. For most of these veggies it’ll take a kitchen knife to cut the ends or tops off and you definitely don’t want to get hurt.

Supplies:

  • a cutting board
  • some clear plastic or glass jars, cups or bowls
  • maybe some toothpicks.

What to do:

Choose some veggies from the fridge or hang around the kitchen when dinner is being made to collect some carrot tops, celery bottoms or whatever else you’d like to experiment with to see if it will grow.

Put you chosen vegetable in a jar, cup or bowl and add just enough water so that the bottom of the veg is covered. If you are trying something like a sweet potato you might want to poke toothpicks into the sides so that the potato is suspended in the jar (not touching the bottom). But it’s your experiment, try your own method.

Place your veggie collection in a sunny window and don’t forget to add some more water if it starts getting low and not touching the vegetable. It might take a few days to a week or so to see a change, so be a patient scientist. Make sure you write down any changes you see and when you see them. Are they growing roots on the bottom? Maybe sprouting from the top? Is it changing color?

After awhile you might even be able to plant your experiment in your garden outside and keep the science growing!

from the scientific mind of Miss Jen!
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