Is it too cold to grow radishes?

Right now, in Melbourne, it's about the coldest it's going to get as we start heading towards Spring. On a clear day, there's actually some warmth from the sun coming through, but mostly we're having a very wet and cold winter.

This being the case, I started Mariposa on her new science experiments with a word of warning: "We aren't going to see these seeds grow as quickly as the dvd and book says they might. In America, they would probably be planting these in autumn, whilst the soil is still warm. We're in winter, so we'll see how it goes."

So, we began!

Mariposa set out her seeds as per the instructions in the TOPS: Radishes book. Our supplies included an empty cardboard milk carton, paper towelling, a pen and radish seeds.

No growth was noted for three days. Then finally, a squeal of excitment when a few of the seeds had begun to grow. Now we could start drawing the growth stages.

Almost two weeks on and we can see definite changes. In fact, we're ready to move on and plant a few for another stage of experiments.

Mariposa made a very lovely observation during the week. "Men can't make seeds that grow like this, can they mum?" Well, no, but they have been trying! A little discussion of genetic engineering then developed, but mostly I was admiring that something as "simple" as a seed can teach so many wonderful lessons. Then I quietly gave much praise that my daughter can draw on these observations to connect with other fundamentals in God's word.

I'll share some of Maestro's experiments soon. He's been very busy learning about electricity circuits and magnetism. ☺