* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download English - LA Sprouts
Gartons Agricultural Plant Breeders wikipedia , lookup
History of herbalism wikipedia , lookup
Photosynthesis wikipedia , lookup
Plant stress measurement wikipedia , lookup
Plant secondary metabolism wikipedia , lookup
History of botany wikipedia , lookup
Evolutionary history of plants wikipedia , lookup
Plant defense against herbivory wikipedia , lookup
Plant use of endophytic fungi in defense wikipedia , lookup
Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus) wikipedia , lookup
Pollination wikipedia , lookup
Plant breeding wikipedia , lookup
Plant morphology wikipedia , lookup
Plant nutrition wikipedia , lookup
Plant evolutionary developmental biology wikipedia , lookup
Ornamental bulbous plant wikipedia , lookup
Plant physiology wikipedia , lookup
Plant ecology wikipedia , lookup
Flowering plant wikipedia , lookup
Perovskia atriplicifolia wikipedia , lookup
Plant reproduction wikipedia , lookup
GARDENING WEEK 7 PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! What we would like you to learn: 1. Learn what a plant needs to grow. 2. Learn about the Life Cycle of a plant. 3. Learn the parts of a flower. 4. Learn why many plants depend on bees in order to reproduce. WEEK 7: PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! 2 Plant Nutrition When people need energy, we can eat a healthy snack or a well-rounded meal. What about plants? How do plants get the energy they need to grow? To obtain energy, plants undergo a process called photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants use the light energy from the sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into chemical energy that they store in their leaves as sugar. WEEK 7: PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! 3 What do plants need to undergo photosynthesis? • Light energy (from the sun) • Water (absorbed from the soil through the plants’ roots) • Carbon dioxide (from the air) • Chlorophyll (stored in the cells of plants, chlorophyll is what gives plant leaves their green color) The Life Cycle of a Plant In the same way that we ask the question: “what came first, the chicken or the egg?” we can also ask, “what came first, the plant or the seed?” A plant starts as a seed; this is its first stage of its life. From a seed, the plant becomes a seedling. From a seedling, the plant grows into a full grown, or mature plant. How does a plant produce seeds? Plants produce seeds through their flowers (the function of a flower is to produce seeds, and in this way, continue the Life Cycle of a plant). For a flower to produce a seed, it must be pollinated. During pollination, pollen grains travel from the stamen of the flower to the stigma. Once on the stigma, the pollen grains stick and grow a long tube down the style all the way to the ovary of the flower. In the ovary, the tiny eggs are fertilized and become seeds. The ovary of the flower becomes the fruit that contains the seeds. This process is called fertilization. How do pollen grains travel from the stamen to the stigma? Pollen grains can reach the stigma in several ways. In some cases, an insect or a butterfly will feed on the nectar of the flower and brush up against the stamen. Their bodies transfer the pollen to the carpel and pollination occurs. In other cases, the wind might cause the pollen to fly from the stamen to the stigma. Flowers can also become pollinated with the help of birds, bats, beetles and bees WEEK 7: PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! 4 Why Honeybees need Flowers and Flowers need Honeybees Honeybees are attracted to flowers because they consume the flowers nectar as a source of energy. Honeybees also collect pollen to bring back to their hives as food for larvae. When honeybees hover over a flower, drinking its nectar or collecting pollen, they help the flower to become pollinated. Bees are fuzzy. Their bodies are like Velcro. When they fly over a flower, pollen grains attach to their bodies. When they fly on to the next flower, these pollen grains may get caught on the flower’s stigma. This is why honeybees are referred to as pollinators. FUN Facts of the week: • Bees carry a static electrical charge, which makes it even easier for pollen to stick to them! • If it weren’t for bees, thousands of plants would not get pollinated – and the Life Cycle of plants would be broken. The fruits that we cherish and enjoy would not be as easy to find. Let’s define the following terms: Photosynthesis: the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy and store it as sugar Chlorophyll: a biomolecule that gives plants their green pigment and helps plants to obtain energy from light. Seedling: a young plant Pollination: the process by which pollen grains travel from the stamen of the flower to the stigma WEEK 7: PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! 5 Larvae: the early life stage of an insect such as a honeybee. Larvae develop from eggs. As larvae develop, they spin a cocoon and in this way grow into pupae that become adult bees. On your own: • Cut open a piece of fruit (or ‘veggie’) with your children. Ask your child to point out where the seeds of the fruit are. If you can, pack up some of the seeds so your child can bring them to class next week. WEEK 7: PLANTS NEED ENERGY TOO! 6 GARDENING WEEK 8 GARDEN MAINTENANCE What we would like you to learn: 1. Learn how to maintain your organic garden. 2. Learn how to keep your garden weed-free. 3. Learn how to maintain a good watering practice and fertilize. 4. Learn how to identify good and bad bugs. Garden Maintenance These are some basic good practices on how to care for your organic garden. Frequent maintenance of small tasks in the garden will lead to a healthy garden in the long term and keep problems to a minimum. Garden maintenance includes weeding, proper watering, fertilization and monitoring for “good” and “bad” bugs. Weeding What is a weed? Weeds are plants that grow where we don’t want them, in the wrong place. Weeds can grow in many places and crowd out healthy crops or plants. Weeds have many seeds that are able to survive for long periods of time in a dormant state. Weeds have very strong roots that resist removal. We want to remove weeds from our garden because they will compete for space, light, and water with our garden vegetables (and many times the weeds will win, because they are well adapted to our environmental conditions). Let’s define the following terms: Crabgrass: a very hardy weed that invades gardens Dandelion: a plant having yellow flower heads and deeply notched leaves Dormant: a period of time when plant seeds wait before growing Germinate: a time when seeds begin to grow Herbicide: a chemical powder or spray used to kill unwanted plants WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE 2 Pollution: contamination of soil, water, or the atmosphere Seed: the part of the plant from which new plants come Weed: an undesirable, unattractive, or troublesome plant growing where it is not wanted Examples of some common weeds you may find in your garden. Foxtail Bermudagrass WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE Crabgrass Dandelion 3 How can we control weeds? Preventive methods: • Prevent seed production and germination by removing weeds before they seed • Clean tools after use in the garden and before sharing • Use weed-free seed, plant material and soil • Eliminate weed seedlings Mechanical methods: • Mowing • Remove by hand • Hoeing • Mulching Note: There are sprays and poisons called “weed killers” that will also work to control weeds. Unfortunately, these herbicides kill other things too, like desirable plants. These chemicals also can leak through the ground into our rivers, lakes, and streams. The methods of weed control listed above are the safest, and much safer than using herbicides. Watering The five basic needs of plants are water, light, air, nutrients, and space to grow. Plants use water for a number of important processes, including photosynthesis (production of food) and transpiration (evaporation of water from the leaves into air that cools the plant and creates pressure to move water from roots to leaves). Water also helps in the absorption of some nutrients. WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE 4 Rules of thumb for watering One deep watering is much better than watering several times lightly. Watering to a depth of 4-6 inches encourages deeper, healthier root development. It allows longer periods between watering. Early morning is the best time for watering to reduce evaporation. To help control where your water goes, water when it's not windy. Fertilization All plants require certain nutrients to be healthy. The most important plant nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). Nitrogen is important for stem and leaf growth and for photosynthesis. Phosphorus promotes root growth and improves flowering and fruiting. Potassium contributes to root development, the overall growth of the plant, and disease resistance. Other essential nutrients are also important, but plants require them in much smaller amounts. When we think about fertilizing, we think about Feeding the Soil! Keeping soil healthy is the key to maintaining healthy and productive plants. Most plant nutrients are provided by the soil, and we increase their availability through fertilization. A number of different types of fertilizers are available. Compost can be used as a fertilizer in the soil to increase the nutrient content. WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE 5 Garden bugs – helpers and pests! Good bugs: Many insects help humans by pollinating plants, eating insect pests, decomposing waste, providing food for thousands of other creatures, and by being fascinating and beautiful in more ways than we can imagine. Some good bugs include honey bees, ladybugs, butterflies and ants. Bad bugs: Some insects are responsible for spreading deadly diseases, damaging and destroying many varieties of food crops and flowers, biting humans, causing allergic reactions like rashes, and by being just plain annoying. Some bad bugs include ticks, weevils and fleas. Chemicals are considered by many to be the most effective form of pest control. However, they pose a potential danger to every part of the Earth’s environment. Chemical powders and sprays applied to get rid of pests can harm land, water, plants, and animals, including people! The very ingredients that make various chemical products devastating to targeted pests are often highly toxic to non-targeted plants and animals as well. There are many approaches to controlling bad bugs that don’t involve using chemicals. For example, natural predators are animals that will eat pests. Birds, ladybugs, praying mantids, garter snakes and lizards are all examples of natural predators. WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE 6 Test your kids: What is a weed? ______________________________________________ How can people get rid of pesky weeds? ___________________________ ____________________________________________________________ How can weeds make it hard for a seed or little plant to survive? ____________________________________________________________ At home: • Ask your children to think about ways we’ve learned to keep our garden neat and healthy. • Together with your children, think about one of your favorite songs on the radio. Substitute some words in the song for those we learned in class to make a fun way to remember the concepts we covered. Be creative! WEEK 8: GARDEN MAINTENANCE 7