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Kitchen Botany
Nature Bulletin No. 684 September 8, 1962
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Seymour Simon, President
David H. Thompson, Senior Naturalist
KITCHEN BOTANY
The corner grocery store and the local fruit stand offer a variety of plant
materials that can be grown and studied in the schoolroom or
laboratory. At any time of year, fruit seeds and root vegetables of many
kinds can be made to germinate, take root and thrive indoors. In
addition to those from the orchards, home gardens and truck farms of
this region, it is possible to grow seedlings of a number of tropical
fruits. Most of the contents of this bulletin are taken from a recent
article by Blair Coursen, published in Turtox News.
A few simple supplies including flower pots, boxes or trays of garden
soil are the only equipment needed. A school terrarium or leaky
aquarium can be used to advantage. A good hand lens or microscope,
though not essential, can show some of the finer details of roots, stems,
leaves and developing seeds not visible to the naked eye.
The sweet potato, a member of the morning glory family, is a favorite
indoor foliage plant with dark-green, heart-shaped leaves on long,
running or climbing vines. It is grown by planting a tuber in a pot of
rich soil or by setting about a third of its length in a jar of water. Root
growth starts quickly and the vines may reach lengths of many feet in a
single winter. Thin slices of the vine, cut with a razor blade, are
excellent for the study of stem structure.
The common onion belongs to the lily family. Onion "sets" or dry
onions of any size are easily grown in moist soil, or a large one can be
placed in the top of a glass of water. Thin sections of the new root tips
are used in almost every biology laboratory to demonstrate cell
division. Under a microscope the "skin" peeled from the leaf surface
shows the stomata, or breathing pores, and the guard cells that control
them. A flower pot with a thriving clump of chives, a small relative of
onions, is kept in many homes to flavor salads and sandwiches.
Some of our commonest garden vegetables are kin to the mustards --
cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and radishes, to name a
few. Others and among the simplest to grow indoors are large turnips
and rutabagas. Planted in soil, they usually send up stalks and bear the
typical four-petaled flowers of the family.
The seeds of oranges, lemons and grapefruit germinate readily in small
containers of sandy loam or between layers of damp blotting paper. In
pots of soil with warmth and moderate sunlight they grow slowly,
produce shiny green foliage, and may bear fruit after the second or third
year.
The single large seed of an avocado germinates, grows rapidly, and may
become a tree several feet in height. The seed should be barely covered
with soil in a large flower pot and kept warm and moist. If a pineapple
with a crown of fresh green leaves is selected, the top can be made to
grow if it is cut off just below the base of the leaves. It should be
planted a half inch deep in a pot of moist sandy loam and kept in a
warm sunny spot. Roots usually start within a week or two and it is not
unusual for it to produce another small pineapple, on an upright stem,
after four or five months. Any kitchen has the makings of a botanical
garden.
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Update: June 2012
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