Let's Garden

Getting Started

A great place to Launch...

from: LearnAboutAg.org

What do Plants Need to Grow?

Simple Activities for Observation

Getting started begins with good questions:

Discuss with a partner what plants need to grow. What questions do you have?

Build a hydroponic garden

Predict what will happen to the bean. Will it grow without soil? How will it differ from a plant grown in soil?

Observe the beans as they grow.

What happens to the water over time. Why?

Reflect and Write

Maker Lab Soil-Free Planter

How to build your hydroponics planter.

Let's Compare

Build a Root View Garden Too

A root view garden offers the opportunity for close observation of your seed. Place your seed close to the glass when planting.

Observe the plants closely.

How are they different? How are they the same?

Reflect and Write

This one was grown in a bird feeder purchased at Walmart.

Watch and Learn More

Extra Support Lessons

PBS Learning Media

A great place to find supporting lessons to guide your observations.

A Gardener's Poem | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection explores the many roles of a gardener through a short, fun poem. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

Discussion Questions, Video Notes, Background

Garden Health and Maintenance | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden examines what a garden needs to remain healthy. Explore the choices that lead to a thriving garden like choosing the best location to plant the garden and preparing the soil by composting, weeding, and mulching. Learn how to tell when a garden needs watering and how much it requires. Also find out how to meet the special needs of specific plants.

The History of Food | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection provides a brief history of cultivated food. Take a trip through the woods as a hunter-gatherer foraging for edible foods; see how Native Americans used companion crops like the Three Sisters and why corn, beans and squash work so well together; and get a closer look at where the tomato, once thought to be poisonous, got its start. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

Plant Structure | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection examines plant structure by taking a closer look at the root and shoot systems. Learn about roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, and fruit through engaging illustrations and animations.

Photosynthesis | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection explains the process of photosynthesis through a fun poem with stop motion animation. Learn about what chloroplasts and chlorophyll do, and why sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, oxygen, glucose, and carbohydrates are important to the process. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

The Importance of Water | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET's Think Garden collection explores why plants need water to survive, and how they tell us they're thirsty. Learn about the signs plants give when they've had too much or too little water and the part water plays in the process of photosynthesis. See a quick, easy-to-understand animation explaining the water cycle and transpiration process. Also find out how to improve water quality with rain gardens and how to conserve water with rain barrels. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

Soil Composition | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET's Think Garden collection explains why soil is more than just dirt. Learn how to tell if soil is rich and healthy or lacking in nutrients, which nutrients are essential for plant growth, and what happens if plants lack these nutrients. Also find out how to improve soil with crop rotation and by weeding. Also, ind out what compost is, and how to use it in a garden. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

Garden Pests and Helpers | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection explains how creatures living in a garden can damage or help it. See the role insects like bees and butterflies play in pollination, and learn how ladybugs and spiders help by eating insects that attack the garden. Also learn how to discourage bigger garden pests like birds and rabbits through the use of simple tools and techniques such as scarecrows, raised beds, fences, netting, and more.

What's a Food Chain? | Think Garden | PBS LearningMediaThis video from KET’s Think Garden collection illustrates why all living things need food and explains how organisms provide energy, in the form of food, to each other. Colorful graphics show the difference between a food chain and a food web, and an animation and poem make food chains easy to understand. This video is available in both English and Spanish audio, along with corresponding closed captions.

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