The Ex-Germinator

Seventeen days ago, Dr. Smirnova asked our class, ED5534 to take 10-20 seeds and place them in a wet paper towel and then into a plastic baggie, observing them for two weeks. We were investigating germination of seeds, and we are learning about living and non living things in class right now, which makes this experiment appropriate to our course content. We had to keep the paper towel moist, check on the seeds everyday and record any changes we observe. This paper is my reflection about what I have learned from observing the seeds and from the further research I engaged in.

I had 18 seeds total delicately placed in a moist paper towel and then into a plastic baggie. I placed the baggie on the window sill in my kitchen where the sun hits it everyday. I did this because when researching, I read that germinating lettuce seeds, which mine are, should be in a moist but warm environment. Everyday for 17 days, I checked on my seeds and took notice to any changes. Germination of lettuce seeds should be successful in six to ten days, where you should see a sprout of some kind, physical changes to the dormant seeds.

After only three days I started to take notice to the physical changes occurring in my seeds. They were a bit bigger than they were originally. This truly excited me, then a few days after that, two of my seeds split open a bit. Seeing these changes happening really intrigued me. On the sixth day the paper towel had yellow and green stains on it.  It also had some clear gooey stuff coming from the seeds onto the towel. I thought for sure that a sprout was eminent in the near future. Unfortunately, nothing else ever took place. I read that all seeds are not successful at germinating. This is why Dr. Smirnova had us take more than a few seeds. My seeds were not kept hot or cold, I kept them in a warm climate just like I read about. They were checked everyday, and were nice and moist. I have to say, I was truly disappointed when I came to the realization that nothing else was going to happen.   

I do not recall anything like this from my childhood in school, but I would definitely use something like this in my classroom when learning about living kingdoms or plants. Students would be excited to check on their very own growing projects and write about their observations in their journals. Then, when the project is over, I would help them plant the successful seeds in pots in the classroom. The students would get to enjoy taking care of the plants they grew throughout the whole school year!   

I read in our textbook that it does not matter if the seeds were placed in a well lit area or a dark space. I placed my seeds in sunlight merely for the warmth factor that was described as needed. This experiment raises many inquiry questions for me. What could I have done differently for my seeds to have been successful? Maybe I could keep a towel wrapped around the baggie next time so the seeds can be insulated like they are when they are in soil. What exactly went wrong? I am truly not sure about this; were the seeds bad? Is it possible that I ended up with seeds that would never germinate? I will never know the answer to this question but it is not impossible nor is it likely though. I wonder how my classmate’s germination went for them. Last I spoke with them they were having the same experience that I had.

       Germination is a crucial part of the survival of our civilization. Plant life provides food for people and animals, and oxygen. Understanding germination is important for everyone- germination has to occur for the dormant embryo to grow into a plant. We are exploring living things right now; the professor wanted us to observe how a dormant seed makes an astonishing transformation into the beginnings of plant.