Magic Beans and Practice Runs

Written by: Sumati Shah

 

Practice runs on the bunny hill are fun and filled with anticipation of what they lead to… the ‘big’ hill. Beans (always magical) are fun practice runs at your germination skills when winter activities are exhausted or it’s just time for some family time that doesn’t include mittens.

Have some fun, teach the kids some practical magic using just seeds dirt soil and water.

Get a practice run in and enjoy and if you sow Cardinal Climber, the flowers will even be showy – it’s really early for starting unless you’re in zone 8+, but a great excuse to play with some dirt!

 

Rule of Green Thumbs: Practice makes perfect. Magic beans make practice fun.

What you’ll need:

1- SEEDS
beans are a good choice for the dexterity of small hands, although any quick germinating seed will do such as cucumbers or pumpkins (soak beans for 2-4 hours in water before planting)

2- POTTING MEDIUM / SOILLESS MIX

you can use whatever you’ve got – this is just for fun – but the best thing is a nice light mix so the seedling can easily push through and air can reach the young roots (dampen new soilless mix  in a separate container prior to using)

3- POTS / EGG CARTON

egg cartons: on hand for impromptu fun and stay labeled with any marker – larger pots are great if you’re planning on running your experiment all the way to spring

4- LIGHT + WATER

with lots of light and not too much water (damp not wet, soil surface dry to touch between waterings) – beans will sprout in 5-10 days / egg carton seedlings will need bigger containers like a 4” pot after about a week

The magic is really all there in the bean…you just bring all the parts together  in just the right way….and it happens…like magic.

Sow some togetherness, have fun! And if by some chance the seedlings don’t sprout, or last very long…well then the magic was keen enough to know it was most needed in the compost pile 🙂

If you get it all ‘just right’ and your beans are just a certain kind of magic – you’ll have beanstalks, and big ones – ready to plant out when the time is right.

 

Go Go Green Thumbs!