Planting Potatoes! learn about vegetables that grow below ground
Category: Tricycler
Introduction:
Children often have the common misconception that all fruits and vegetables grow on trees, or they sometimes confuse the difference between fruits, vegetables, and non-edible plants. By planting some vegetables and fruits and watching them grow together, you can expose your child to different types of plants and learn about the science behind how each plant grows. This time, let’s focus on planting potatoes.
Do you see anything like this in your kitchen? If so, you are equipped to do this!
You Will Need:
A sprouted potato
Knife to cut the potato
Plant pot (wider is better as potatoes need room for their roots! The bigger the pot, the bigger the potatoes will grow!
Soil
Create:
Cut the potato into a smaller piece around where it has sproutedPrepare the plant pot with soil, cover the small potato piece with soil but leave the tip of the sprout peeking out of the soil. Lastly, water them. That’s it! In about 1-2 weeks, you should see some leaves and stems!
There are plenty of other great resources for learning more about potato planting. Simply run a search for “how to plant potatoes at home”. Here’s a helpful video we found to get you started! Happy planting!
Discussion points:
Is the potato a vegetable or a fruit? Why?
Discuss the differences between vegetables and fruits?
A good video to watch together: What's the Difference Between Fruits and Vegetables?
What kind of vegetables grows below ground? (https://www.gardenguides.com/101106-vegetables-grow-underground.html)
What kind of vegetables grows above ground? (https://gardeningelsa.com/vegetables-that-grow-above-the-ground/)
How often should we water them? Do all plants need the same amount of water? Even cactus?
Boxlapse has great time-lapse videos that show how different plants grow. Watch and learn how different plants (from Hyacinth to strawberries) differ in their growth! Check out this awesome time-lapse video of growing red bell pepper.
