Growing sunflowers in your school garden is a great way to investigate real-life maths.
Here are some useful hints to help you grow the best flowers:
- Find a well-drained garden patch.
- Dig your garden to a depth of about 50 cm.
- Use a slow release fertilizer like Ozmocote.
- Sow the 5 seeds in a clump to a depth of 3 cm and cover with soil.
- Plant each clump 50 cm apart.
- Water lightly and keep the soil moist.
- Seedlings should appear in 5 – 10 days.
- Remove the weaker 1 – 2 plants in each clump when they are about 10 cm tall.
- Leave just the best 1 – 2 plants in each clump when they are 30 cm tall.
- If necessary, remove any extra plants to leave just one plant in each original clump at about 50 cm.
- Enjoy looking after your sunflowers and watching them grow.
For plenty of ideas on using real-life Sunflower Maths activities with your students, see the Sunflower Maths Sprouts in Sneak Peek.