Seed Growing Activities

Plant Your Name

Plant your name or learn the alphabet with seeds 

What you need                                                    

  • A long aluminum baking or roasting tray
  • Sand (just use a bit from the sandpit)
  • Daltons Premium Seed Mix
  • Fast-growing seeds (radishes, or even try sprouts)

How to make it

  1. Spoon a layer of sand onto the bottom of the tray approximately 2cm thick.This will be a water drainage layer.
  2. Cover the sand with an additional 5cm or so of seed raising mix.
  3. Using a finger or a stick, let your child trace their name in large, block letters.
  4. In the ‘trench’ made by this letter tracing, plant your radish seeds approximately 2.5cm apart. Cover them with soil, sprinkle with water, and place in a sunny window. 
  5. Keep your soil damp, and within a week or so, you should see baby seedlings and beautiful letters.
  6. You can even try this in bigger outdoor gardens – see how many letters of the alphabet you can fit in!

Sourced from Education

The very hairy caterpillar

What you need                                                    

  • 4 cups Daltons Premium Seed Mix or Potting Mix
  • 4 tablespoons quick-sprouting grass seed (we used rye grass seed)
  • Small yoghurt container or paper cup
  • Knee-high nylon stocking
  • Colourful elastic bands
  • Scissors
  • Plastic bag
  • Bobby pin
  • Googly eyes
  • Pipe cleaner
  • Small pom-poms

How to make it

  1. Combine the potting soil and grass seed in a large bowl.
  2. Cut the bottom from a small yoghurt container or paper cup for a funnel, then slide a knee-high nylon stocking over it, as shown.
  3. Pour or spoon 3⁄4 to 1 cup of the soil mixture into the stocking, then slide a colourful elastic band over the end of the stocking to section off the pocket of soil. Repeat this process to make 5 soil-filled segments. Tie a knot in the top of the stocking and trim away any excess nylon. 
  4. Submerge the caterpillar in water for 10 minutes, then place it in a plastic bag and let it sit overnight.
  5. Remove the bag and loop a semi-straightened bobby pin through the front of the stocking, then glue a googly eye onto each end of the pin. For antennae, cut a pipe cleaner in half, glue a small pom-pom onto one end of each half, and stick them in place.
  6. Set your caterpillar on a plate by a sunny window and generously water the whole thing every other day. Your critter should sprout hair in about 4 to 5 days.

Photos and instructions sourced from Handmade Kids

Make a bean tepee 

What you need

  • 6 x 6 foot poles
  • Twine
  • Rake
  • Pole bean plants eg. Scarlett runner etc

How to make it

  1. First, decide how wide you want the inside of your tepee to be. As a guide, space each pole far enough apart so there is about 4 inches of open space in the center.
  2. Next, gather your long wooden poles and secure them together with twine, both at the top and the bottom. 
  3. Make sure you push the poles deep into the soil so they don’t fall over if it gets a little windy. 
  4. Most pole beans grow about 6 feet tall.
  5. Once your tepee poles are in place, rake the soil from the center of the circle to build up a nice mound of dirt around the tepee base.
  6. Then plant a generous amount of pole beans in the mound of dirt surrounding the tepee and water as necessary.
  7. You should have a fully covered tepee in about 60-70 days.

Sourced from Homegrown Fun

Strawberry carton seed starter

What you need

How to make it

  1. Fill the carton with Daltons Premium Seed Mix.
  2. Plant your seeds of choice according to the seed packet sowing directions.
  3. Water with warm or room temperature water.
  4. Close the top of the carton and store in a warm place away from direct sunlight.
  5. Once the first seeds start to sprout, pop open the top slightly. 
  6. Once all the seeds sprout, open the top completely and place in a sunny location. 

Sourced from Earlylearning Mom Trusted

Turtle Herb Planters

What you need

  • Fruit cup container
  • Herb seeds
  • Green paint
  • Googly eyes
  • 4 small green pom poms
  • 1 large green pom poms
  • Glue gun
  • Paint brush
  • Daltons Potting Mix
  • Spoon
  • Pencil

How to make it

  1. Paint the outside of the fruit cup green. 
  2. Hot glue the green pom poms on for the legs and head and then the googly eyes. 
  3. Using a spoon 3/4 fill the cup up with Daltons Potting Mix.
  4. Use a pencil to create seed holes in the potting mix, then put your seeds into the holes.
  5. Cover the seeds with a small layer of mix.
  6. Place on a sunny windowsill and remember to water regularly.

Originally sourced from Reading Confetti

Mini Lego Planters

What you need

How to make it

  1. Assemble the lego pieces to create a mini planter box.
  2. Fill the planter with the mix, then plant your plant into the mix.

Originally sourced from Hello Wonderful

Upside down tomato planter

What you need 

  • One 2 litre plastic drink container, clean and dry
  • Twine
  • Hole Punch
  • Tomato plant (a Sweet 100 is a good variety to try)
  • Garden TimeTM Tomato Mix
  • Scissors 

How to make it

  1. Carefully cut off the bottom portion of the plastic container. This large opening will become the top of your new tomato planter. 
  2. Cut the small threaded top of the bottle. Be careful not to cut too high on the container. This will become the opening for the tomato plant to hang upside down. You just need a slightly larger opening to pull the plant through without causing it damage. 
  3. Use the hole punch to create 4 punches equally around the top of the wide opening end. 
  4. Cut 2 lengths of twine about 70cm long each. Set aside. 
  5. Remove tomato plant from its container. 
  6. Add the tomato plant to the soft drink container very carefully so that the top of the plant hangs upside down through the narrow opening. The roots should point upwards towards the wide opening end. Take your time with this step and help young children. 
  7. Thread the twine through the holes and knot so that you have 4 loops of equal length, to evenly distribute the weight of the container. 
  8. Cover roots with soil and continue filling until you reach the top of the container.
  9. Hang your newly created upside-down tomato plant container in a sunny location. Water regularly so it does not dry out – and enjoy tasty red tomatoes! Feed with Garden TimeTM  Tomato Fertiliser as needed.

Sourced from Bonzai Aphrodite

Newspaper planting pot

What you need

How to make it

  1. First lay your newspaper down on the ground or table.
  2. Fold and wrap it around about 2/3 of the bottle.
  3. Tape and slide the bottle out – easy!
  4. Fill the newspaper pot with Daltons Premium Seed Mix or Potting Mix.
  5. Make a small hole with the tip of your finger and plant a seed in the pot.
  6. Once seedlings are 10cm tall the whole pot can be planted out in the garden.
  7. Find a nice sunny spot in your garden. 
  8. Dig a little hole with hands or a small shovel.
  9. Place the newspaper pot in the hole and cover with soil.

Sourced from Carrots Are Orange

Indoor vegetable root garden 

A see-through root vegetable garden. 

What you need

How to make it

  1. Cut out the sides of a large carton and cover them with plastic.
  2. Fill the container with potting mix soil. Wet and sow the seeds of your choice. 
  3. Use a spray bottle for watering and place in a warm sunny spot.

Sourced from What Do We Do All Day

Gumboot garden

What you need

How to make it
1    Fill the gumboots with potting mix until you have reached  about 2cm from the top.
2    Plant seeds or seedlings in the potting mix and water.
3    Watch the plants grow in your portable gumboot garden!

Sourced from Kidspot