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What Plants Need to Grow

Just like humans, seeds have basic needs that must be met if they are to grow and thrive:

1. Water
Water is the first step to a seed's waking up. When a seed absorbs water, its outer coat splits. Then the baby plant, an "embryo," can get the oxygen it needs from the soil. Plants always need water, which carries important nutrients from the soil to the plant.

2. The Right Temperature
Seeds wait for just the right weather to leave their coats behind and begin to grow. Some seeds, like peppers and tomatoes, require warm temperatures to germinate; others, like lettuces, need cooler temperatures.

3. Soil with Room to Grow
The root is the first thing to emerge from the seed. When the young shoot begins to grow, the seed has become a seedling, nourished in this earliest stage by food that was stored inside the seed. As roots grow, they allow a plant to absorb water and nutrients. They also anchor plants in the soil. To help them get nutrients and grow, plants need healthy soil which is well-aerated — that is, loose enough for air to move though it.

4. Sunlight and Air
When the seedling's first real leaves come through the soil, the plant switches to making its own food. Using sunlight and nutrients from the soil in a process called "photosynthesis," the leaves of the plant change energy from the sun into food so it can grow. Plant leaves also need to breathe air to help with photosynthesis.

With the help of water, sunlight, and healthy soil, a dormant seed has everything it needs to transform itself into a strong, healthy plant. Nature's way of providing us with delicious, nutritious food seems like a miracle.

 

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