Look around your garden.  I bet you see tons of dirt! See it?  That’s perfect because that’s what you need for today’s idea. We’re going to do a little science experiment and study the dirt in our garden.
What’s Needed:

• Plastic baggies
• Marker
• Shovel
• Magnifying glass (optional)

​Dirt or soil differs from place to place.  Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it’s soft. Today, we’re going to see how it differs depending on if it’s in a sunny spot, a shady spot, or comes from a bag.  First thing you need to do is grab your plastic baggies and write “sunny,” “shady,” and “bagged” on each of them.

Now, find an area in your garden where the dirt or soil is in a sunny spot most of the day. Fill up the baggie that you wrote “sunny” on with dirt from that area.
 
Now, find a shady spot and do the same, but this time fill up the baggie with “shady” written on. 
 
The third bag should be filled up with potting soil that came from a bag you buy at the nursery or garden center.
 
Now, compare the three bags. Really look at each one and try to see where they are the same and how they are different.  Why do you think that is?
 
Here are some questions to think about while you’re looking at your soil samples:

• What do you see in the sunny soil that’s not in the shady soil? What about the bagged soil?
• What do you think you’ll find in each sample?
• Which one do you think will absorb water better?
• Which dirt is softest? Hardest?

 
Can you find other areas in your garden that have different dirt textures than the three we found above? Let me know what you find by posting it below.

​Since today is all about green it seems like a perfect day to turn something white to something green.  (Okay, so this project will take a couple days but it’s still the perfect day to get it started!)

​Carnations are extremely popular cut flowers.  If you’ve ever been to a wedding you may have seen a bunch of the men wearing them on their jackets.  They have a leafy flower but the coolest thing about them is if you start with white ones you can change their color!

​First of all, remove some of the leaves from the stems so the flowers are the only part of the flower receiving the water.  Leave the stems as long as possible and don’t bend them.
 
If the flowers aren’t freshly picked, you’ll want to cut about 1/2 inch from the bottom to make sure the stems can drink the water.
 
Now, add a few drops of green food coloring to the water.  (If you don’t have green, remember you can use blue and yellow to make green.) Then place the carnations into the water.  After a couple days you’ll start to see the petals change to green.  As the flowers drink the water, they absorb the food coloring which dyes the petals.  Your friends will be amazed!

​If you think about it, this is a very simple way to learn about how the stems of plants allow water to travel up and bring nutrients and water to the entire plant! 

​Wondering what to do on a mucky day? Head outside. It's perfect for exploring the mud. Use sticks or even your fingers to make mud drawings. You can also make mud sculptures and leave them out to dry. Although it's messy, it sure is fun. Just be sure to dress properly first and bring a wipe-off towel with you.

​Are you revved up and ready to plant? 
 
We’re racing plants today and it’s really tons of fun!

​To add to the sense of the racing adventure, start by making a flag out of foam craft paper for your vine.  The flag is going to be used to identify which vine in the yard is yours so be creative.  It’s kind of like the way racecars are painted to stand out from the pack. You want your vine to be proud and stand out too! Add a number or even your name or initial! 

​Once the flags are made, it’s time to put in the racing track, or in this case the racing pole.  A lot of berry vines are called “climbers” because they actually climb or grow up a stake or pole.  The vine will wrap itself around the pole as it grows.  It’s kind of like it grows little hands to hold on.
 
Tape a flag onto the pole.  The first flag doesn’t really matter how far up it is. However, the rest of the vines, or competitors, must be taped at the exact same height.  Our flag was taped about 18 inches from the top of the vine. The other flags should then all be taped 18 inches from the top of the vine too.  You want to measure the distance because your vine may start at a different height then your brother’s or mother’s. That’s okay.  By measuring the distance you’re making the race fair.