My Plant Diary

MY PLANT DIARY General Botany Micah Elline C. Lontoc's Property



Hello and welcome to my first micro garden journey! This diary contains the real-life application of my BOTAONE course and the discoveries that I encountered in the process of making my micro garden. I hope you'll have fun reading as I enjoyed doing this project!

Materials: A MUNG BEANS SEEDS B COTTON C WATER SPRAY BOTTLE D TUPPERWARE CONTAINER (RECYCLED) E LOAM SOIL F OLD BASIN (ALTERNATIVE POT) G TISSUE PAPER



Day 1 Let’s start my first micro garden by soaking the mung bean seeds in a bowl of water. I removed the floating seeds because they lack viable embryos or nutrient stores (Ly, 2015). I will soak it overnight/ for 24 hours. Soaking seeds before planting helps to break down the seed's natural defenses, allowing it to germinate more quickly (Rhoades, 2021).

Day 2 I just checked my soaked mung bean seeds and voila! I was surprised that it became swollen. I think this is what they call imbibition. According to Woodstock (1988), imbibition is the uptake of water by the dry seed that involves absorption of water by a cell wall and protoplasmic macromolecules wherein water molecules are \"held\" by electrostatic forces such as hydrogen bonds. Afterward, I dried the mung bean seeds by removing the water and putting it in a bowl with tissue. I will wait now for 12 hours.

Day 3 It’s been 12 hours since I transferred the seeds into the bowl. I noticed that they are starting to germinate! There are small tails in the seeds. Based on what I’ve learned, this is the radicle that becomes the primary root of plants. I grabbed my recycled container and placed some cotton. I spread it so that it won’t have any space since what we have are cotton balls. I sprayed some water in the container with cotton before and after placing the seeds. I now have made them a small shelter :>. It will be the main setup for seed germination.

Day 4 I am constantly spraying the seeds twice a day since that’s what I have read and saw on the video on youtube. I observed that the skin of the seeds was peeling off. At first, I thought it was unusual, but I remember that it is the seed coat that serves as the first line of defense against harmful external elements, but it also serves as a conduit for environmental cues to reach the seed's core (Radchuk & Borisjuk, 2014). As the seeds absorb water through the seed coat, the seed coat softens leading to its pealing (Iowaagliteracy, 2018). The radicles are growing too!

Day 5 On day 5, I noticed that there were no changes in the seeds. I am now worried. I still water them twice a day since I don’t want to overwater them.

Day 6 They are not growing anymore :((. I think they’re dead. The factors that might affect the withering of the seeds: Lack of water. I stick to watering them twice a day even though there were times that they were dry. The cotton absorbed the water I sprayed instead of the seeds benefiting from the water. They have direct contact with sunlight since I did not cover them. They were placed in an airconditioned room. I based these factors on the article of Science and Plants For Schools (2021).

Day 7 I spared another day to check if they will still grow. Surely, my mung beans are dead. That's why I decided to restart my setup. I soaked some seeds once again and waited for 24hrs for the water to imbibe.

Day 8&9 I rinsed, drained, and dried the seeds again by putting them in a bowl with tissue paper for 12 hours. Afterward, sprouts are visible. After drying, I changed my setup. I put the seeds in a tray with wax paper as their base. I watered them slightly, enough to be moist, and covered them with a cloth to avoid direct sunlight.

The mung bean seeds are germinating better than my first setup! I just continued watering it, keeping it damp. I always make sure that they will not be dried. They are also located in a warm room. Day 10&11

The sprouts are getting longer that's why I transplanted them to the recycled container. Based on Sunset (2004), you'll need to transplant most of the germinated plants to larger containers for growth to planting-out size. Instead of using cotton as the base of the container, I used tissue paper so that it will not suck most of the water for the seeds. I used tissue paper also to cover them from direct sunlight. Note: Some of them already have cotyledons! :> Day 12

I consistently spray the seeds with water from time to time. I guess this setup is effective since it grows faster than I expected. I can see the changes even on the same day. I realized that mung beans are low maintenance compared to other plants. You only have to have the most suitable setup. Day 13&14

Day 15 Since my mung bean seeds have long sprouts now, I decided to transfer them to the soil. I used loam soil and an old basin. While moving them to another setup, I realized that I should have transferred them earlier before it grew longer. I had difficulty removing them from my recycled container since their roots were stuck in the tissue paper. That's why I did not attempt to remove them one by one. I just transplanted them all together with the tissue paper.

I water them regularly, and up until 2 weeks later now, they are still alive. I am happy with the process of growing my micro garden. It might be just a basic plant but still, I have learned a lot. My trial and error setup allowed me to explore more. Indeed, we should first research the things we should and should not do in a specific plant before planting to prevent mistakes I did.

Mung bean Herbaceous (Vigna radiata) Dicot Legume Tap Roots

References: Iowaagliteracy. (2018, May 4). Science 101: Germination. Iowa Agriculture Literacy. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://iowaagliteracy.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/science-101-germination/. Ly, L. (2015, November 5). How to soak seeds and speed up germination time. Garden Betty. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.gardenbetty.com/soaking-seeds-to-speed-germination/. Radchuk, V., & Borisjuk, L. (2014, October 10). Physical, metabolic and developmental functions of the seed coat. Frontiers. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2014.00510/full. Rhoades, H. (2021, August 8). StackPath. Gardening Know How. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/seeds/soaking-seeds.htm Science & Plants For Schools. (2021). Using Mung Beans in the Lab. Science & Plants for Schools. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from https://www.saps.org.uk/secondary/teaching-resources/755-using-mungbeans-in-the-lab Sunset. (2004, September 4). Seedling Care: Transplanting, Thinning, and Preventing Disease. Sunset. Retrieved September 12, 2021, from https://www.sunset.com/garden/garden-basics/seedling-care-transplanting-thinning-preventing-disease WOODSTOCK, L. (1988). SEED IMBIBITION: A CRITICAL PERIOD FOR SUCCESSFUL GERMINATION. Journal of Seed Technology, 12(1), 1-15. Retrieved September 11, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23432691



Thank you for joining me in this process! If you have any questions, email me at [email protected]