How to Label the Growth of My Bean Seed

Fill your cup about halfway with soil.

Push a bean seed down into the soil at the side of the cup so you can see it easily through the plastic. About half of the bean should be buried in the soil. Plant several more beans this way if you like.

Fill the cup to the rim with soil. Water the soil until it is damp but not soggy and place the cup in a warm, sunny window.

Write the parts of the seed on the outside of the cup with a fine-tipped chalk marker. These markers write easily on smooth surfaces and come in many bright colors. Label the body of the seed as the cotelydon; this refers to the two outer coatings on the seed that protect the inner embryo.

Watch for a small, delicate, leaf-like protrusion to poke out of the top of your bean. This is a plumule, the first sign of germination in your bean. Draw a small circle around the plumule on the outside of the cup and label it.

Observe your seed each day. When a sprout appears and starts to grow down, label this as the primary root. Draw a small line under where the root stops. Each time the root grows further down into the soil, draw a new line to track its growth.

Draw a line above the top of the bean when the bean begins to move up. The bean will begin push up through the soil because beans store their leaves in the seed itself. Draw marks tracking the movement of the bean as you did for the soil. When an arch grows out of the top of the bean, label this as the hypocotyl arch. This is the stem of the plant.

Watch for the first leaf to slide out of the cotyledon. This is the primary leaf. Label this on the cup with an arrow pointing upward. The leaf will appear coiled into a small cylinder, so watch closely. Label the secondary leaf the same way.

Measure the stem above the soil. Write the measurement and the date on the cup. Repeat this each week to track how fast your plant is growing. After about two weeks, you can transfer your data to a journal to keep it neat and easy to read.