Windowsill Gardens from Seeds
Plant a Pop Bottle Terrarium, Pinecone Tree, or Veggie Box Garden
Kids get new ideas for windowsill gardens which can be used in classroom or homeschool.
If you have a sunny window space, don’t waste the chance to learn about flowers and seeds and to be cheered through late winter by green plants and flowers. These three windowsill plant project s also include learning suggestions for homeschool and classroom students.
Pop Bottle Terrarium
Make a pop bottle or water bottle into a terrarium. Have an adult help you carefully cut off the top 1/3 of the bottle. Use scissors rather than a knife for easier cutting. Attempt to keep the pieces straight all the way around the bottle. Save the top. Fill the lower part of the bottle with some small rocks to weigh it down and help it stand upright.
Add potting soil to a few inches of the lower section. Plant seeds or ivy pieces in the soil. Water enough to moisten the soil well. Cover the planter you have made with the top half of the bottle and use packing tape to seal the top half to the bottom half. Put the lid on and use that opening to add water when the drops of water fail to condense inside the bottle.
Keep the terrarium in a window where it can get light. If the bottle seems too wet, take off the lid for half a day or so to release moisture. Study how sunlight causes condensation inside the bottle.
Try a Pinecone Tree
Stand a pinecone with its largest end in a bowl of rocks and water. Sprinkle dirt and then grass seed or alfalfa seeds in the bracts of a pine cone. Set in a sunny place and watch the grass seed sprout. Your garden will resemble a small pine tree. It won’t last long, but it will be fun for a day or two. If your pinecone contains some seeds, try planting the seeds in tin cans in the window and seeing if they will sprout. Study the difference in deciduous and evergreen trees.
Plastic Tray Garden
Salvage the plastic tray that tomatoes, strawberries or bakery goods come in. Line the bottom half with tin foil if there are air holes in the carton’s lower space. Next, fill the bottom half with potting soil. Plant seeds in the soil and then close and latch the lid in place. This will act like a miniature greenhouse when you have set the box in a sunny warm place.
Remember that most houseplants do not do well when placed too close to heat source like a gas heater or a woodstove. These rob the plant of the moisture it needs and may overheat the plant.
Another way to make this tray garden is to put small pots of soil inside the container and start the seeds in them. When the plant has sprouted and grown taller than the box lid, raise or remove the lid. Flower seeds are nice to grow this way. Study the factor of drainage. If the soil cannot drain what will happen to the plant? Which materials allow the soil to drain best?
Window gardening adds cheer to otherwise dreary winter days and it also affords opportunity for science learning.
