Plants are important to us. We use them for wearing, writing and reading. Plants cure our sicknesses, provide us with food and shelter and give us energy. What would we ever do without plants!
Land plants have been around for about 400 million years, long before dinosaurs ruled the earth. After they died, they were buried by layers of dirt and rock. When the pressure and heat within the earth's crust was just right, many of the plants turned into coal! Coal is a fossil fuel that is used to make electricity. To learn more about plants, coal and fossil fuels, visit Geo's Special Feature. It's at www.ecopals.com in Geo's EcoInfo section.
A Secret, Invisible Cycle
We breathe in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon
dioxide and give out oxygen. This recycling of carbon and oxygen gases
happen again and again. It is known as the oxygen cycle.Green plants have little openings in their leaves called stomata. They take in the carbon dioxide through their stomata. The plants use light energy from the sun to change carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugar. They use the sugar as food and release the oxygen into the air again. This process is called photosynthesis.
Get Your Plants On!
Years ago, some people wore leaves and plants as clothes. Although fashions
have changed, we can still thank plants for clothing. If you are wearing
cotton clothes right now, you are wearing a plant. Cotton is picked from
cotton plants, treated and used to make clothes, towels, sheets and other
fabrics.Cotton isn't the only plant we can wear. Linen is a fabric made from flax plants. It was first grown in Egypt and used to wrap mummies! A new fabric called Tencel is made from wood. Luckily, you won't find any splinters in it! It is spun from the natural cellulose in woodpulp. It is made into yarns and fabrics, then sewn into comfortable clothing.
Read Any Good Plants Lately?
Did
you know that comic books are made from plants? So are school books, notebooks,
magazines, and other paper products. In the U.S., we use over a billion
trees each year for paper. That's over 30 trees a second! Can you guess
how many trees would be saved each week if everyone in the U.S. recycled
their newspapers? Check the tree to find out.There are other paper products that you can recycle along with your newspapers. Cereal and toy boxes, paper bags, envelopes, writing papers and cardboard can all be recycled.
Every recycling company has its own rules about what kinds of papers can be recycled. Sometimes, they ask for paper to be separated from other recyclables like glass and aluminum. Call your local recycling center to find out how you should sort these items.
Almost half of all solid waste in the United States comes from paper and paper products. Only about one third of these papers are being recycled. It takes years for trees to grow, but just a few minutes for them to be cut down. When you recycle paper, you are saving trees and reducing the waste in landfills. If you want to learn more about recycling, visit Synapse's EcoInfo. It's in Synapse's Place at www.ecopals.com!
WOOD You Look At That!
Over a third of the earth's surface is covered by forests and woodlands. Trees can grow in almost every climate and region, and there are tens of thousands of different kinds. They come in all shapes and sizes. There are three main groups of trees. The broadleaves have broad, flat leaves and produce flowers and seeds. Conifers usually have needles and scales, and produce cones. Most are evergreens. The palms make up the third group. These tropical trees have adapted to wet and very dry environments. Many are known for their edible fruits and nuts.
| Fun fact: California's giant sequoias can weigh over 6000 tons. These trees are the heaviest living things on earth! |
Trees supply us with wood for building. There are two main types of wood. The broadleaved trees, like oaks, produce "hardwood." The conifers, like pines and cedars, give us "softwood".
Most people understand that trees are precious natural resources. This is why forests and woodlands are watched and managed. It is also why every year more trees are being planted and grown in the United States than are being cut down.
A Plant A Day Keeps The Doctor Away
Long ago, before people could go to the pharmacy or drugstore for medicines, they gathered wild plants from fields and forests to treat many illnesses. Plants like onion, mint, sage and mustard were used for colds, cuts and common health problems. Some of these plants contain the same basic ingredients that scientists use to make medicines today. Medicines made from rainforest plants are used to treat diabetes, malaria, heart conditions, arthritis and other illnesses. Doctors and scientists use plants to develop new cures for disease!
| DID YOU KNOW? Over a third of all prescription drugs come from rainforest plants. |
Chew on This!
Did you eat a plant for dinner? Maybe you had one for dessert. Many sweets,
like chocolate, come from plants! Most of our food comes directly from plants or plant-eating animals. Grain crops like wheat, rice, corn and oats are the most important of all food plants for people. They provide cereals, flours, grains, breads and more. They are also used for feeding the animals that give us meat and dairy products. Other food plants include fruits, vegetables, nuts, sugars, spices and herbs. In a balanced diet, plants provide carbohydrates, oils and fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins.
"...And On His Farm He Had Some Veggies, E-I-E-I-O!"
Thousands
of years ago, people gathered their food from wild plants. This was hard
at times. Eventually, they realized they could get more food by raising their own plants. They collected seeds, planted and harvested the crops. People had control over their food supplies for the first time.
The first farms were planted between 10,000 to 5,000 B.C. Archeologists believed that wheat and barley were raised in the Middle East between 8,000 and 5,000 B.C. The people of China grew rice as early as 2800 B.C. After their harvests, it appears that farmers took seeds from their healthiest plants and saved them for planting the following year. Because of this careful seed selection, they produced better and better crops.
Since
then people have been eating many different kinds of food plants. For most
people, a balanced diet should have at least three vegetables and two fruits
every day. Sowing Your Seeds
It's fun to grow your own vegetable garden! Most plants need four things to grow: water, air, sun and nutrients that are usually supplied by the soil. Spring and summer are a good time to plant vegetables.
Radishes, lettuce, basil and tomatoes are great plants for the beginner. Most growers plant their vegetables in rows. But you can have fun experimenting with different garden shapes! Before planting, read your seed packet. It will tell you the size of the fully grown vegetables. Then you can figure out the space you'll need between plants. The packet will give you directions on how to plant the seeds and when to harvest your vegetables. Most vegetable seeds usually sprout in about 7 to 10 days.
| FUN FACT: A single seed from the coco-de-mer palm can weigh up to 45 pounds! It's the largest seed in the world! |
If you don't have enough space in the ground for your garden, try planting a mini-garden in a crate or planter. Have you ever seen miniature vegetables at a grocery store or famer's market? There are tiny tomatoes, onions, lettuce, carrots, pumpkins and many other vegetables that only grow a few inches tall. These gardens are perfect for small spaces. You can order the seeds from a seed catalog or through a plant nursery.
PLANTING TIP: If you use a wooden crate, line the inside with a heavy weight plastic garbage bag. Then, put small rocks on the bottom before adding soil.
A Little Food and Water
Garden
soil should be loose and easy to move around. When a garden is first planted,
keep the soil moist but not too wet. Overwatering may drown the seeds. After
the plants have sprouted, water regularly when the soil is dry. Plants need healthy soil with nutrients, including nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. These nutrients are found in humus, often called compost, which is made from decomposing plants and other organic matter.
| DID YOU KNOW? Soil is made up of clay, sand, gravel, bits of rock and decayed material. |
Composting is a great way to recycle food and yard waste while providing a rich supply of nutrients for your plants. It also reduces the amount of garbage you have to throw away or grind down your kitchen disposal.
Basically, compost is rotting organic material. If you and your family would like to start a compost pile, you can include grass clippings, chopped leaves, plant trimmings, pine, cedar or fir needles, and kitchen scraps like vegetable and fruit waste, egg shells, sour milk and coffee grounds. The pile should be kept damp and out of the direct sun. Mixing the pile once a week speeds up the process. Before long, you'll have rich, dark humus. If you'd like to learn more about composting, visit Synapse's EcoInfo. It's at www.ecopals.com!
You Pest!
Pests
are insects or animals that damage gardens. Most hide during the day, then
come out for a late night snack. You'll notice holes in your leaves and
vegetables if your garden is home to uninvited guests. There are many different pests. Aphids eat leaves and roots. They slow the growth of the plant and often spread disease. Beetles, caterpillars and snails chew on leaves. Grubs and wireworms feed on roots. People have tried a variety of ways to rescue their gardens from pests. Sometimes chemicals are used to kill pests. But these pesticides often kill helpful insects, birds and other wildlife too.
Organic gardening is a method of growing plants where only natural materials are used to prepare and fertilize soil, and get rid of insects and disease.
Organic pest control is very creative. First, the soil is weeded, raked and given nutrients regularly. Next, the helpful bugs and animals that kill pests are protected from harm and encouraged to stay. "Good" bugs include ladybugs, praying mantis, stink beetles and earwigs. Toads, frogs, salamanders, lizards and many birds are pest eaters too.
| DID YOU KNOW? The more humus you put in your garden, the more earthworms you'll attract. Earthworms improve the soil and help plants grow. |
What's a Weed?
A
weed is any plant that is growing where it is not wanted. In a sunflower
garden, wild dandelions might be called weeds. But to some farmers, dandelions
are a food crop.Garden weeds should be pulled out, dug up or buried deeply. They rob the garden's soil of water and nutrients. But outside of the garden, some weeds can be helpful. They can add humus to soil as they rot. They can shelter the land from sun and prevent erosion during rains. Often, weeds provide food and shelter for birds, mice and other wildlife.
Related Books and Websites
Would you like to learn more about plants? Here are some great books and websites that you may want to visit!
Books:
Burnie, David. Eyewitness Books: Plant, (London: Dorling Kindersley, 1989).
Morgan, Sally and Rosie Harlow. Pollution and Waste (New York: Kingfisher, 1995).
Rhoades, Diane. Garden Crafts for Kids (New York: Sterling Publishing, 1998).
Websites:
The Rainforest Alliance has a wonderful website sharing lots of information about the importance of the rainforest. Check it out at:
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/
The students of Hinkle Creek Elementary have created an exciting site about plants. Visit them at:
http://tgjunior.advanced.org/3715/