Growing from a seed
Biology · Early Years · The School
Inside a seed
A seed looks still. But it is not asleep. Inside, a tiny plant is curled up. A carrot seed is tiny. A sunflower seed is a bit bigger. It waits for the right things to happen. Then it can wake up and grow into a real plant, just like the ones in a garden.
What wakes a seed up
A seed needs water to wake up. A seed needs warmth too. Most seeds sit in soil to grow. A seed left in a dry cupboard will not grow at all. Give a seed these things and it starts to grow. We call this waking-up step germinating. It is the very first step of all.
From seed to seedling
First, a root grows down into the soil. It drinks water there and holds the plant steady. Then a shoot pushes up. It grows up, up, towards the light. Two small leaves open wide. Now the tiny plant is called a seedling, and it is ready to grow bigger.
Small seed, tall plant
A tiny sunflower seed can grow very tall. It can grow taller than a grown-up! A big seed does not always make a big plant. Water, light, warmth and time matter far more than how big the seed was at the start. Some plants make flowers. Some make fruit for us to eat.