Daffodiaries

The daffodils we planted in the yard are just starting to emerge from the ground. We can see a few tiny shoots. On the other hand, the bulbs growing inside show visible changes day-to-day. That's why we decided every kid should have a bulb of his own to plant and observe at home. Weekly observations just aren't enough! The kids made special diaries, "daffodiaries," to keep track of how their bulbs develop.

You can plant a daffodil outside in the soil, but we decided to "force" our bulbs to grow indoors without soil, so that we could better observe the changes.  The downside of doing it this way is that the daffodils will take in fewer nutrients for NEXT year's growth. With the exception of water and sun, everything the flower needs is already packed inside the bulb.

With that in mind, here's what we're going to do when we get home:

1. Find a small glass bowl. 
2. Fill it with some rocks, marbles, legos, etc. 
3. Place the bulb on the rocks/marbles/etc. pointy side up.
4. Pour just enough water into the bowl, so that ONLY the base of the bulb is under water.
5. Leave the bowl in a sunny spot, and wait and see.

Within a day or two we hope to see roots, and not long after, a shoot coming out of the top. We just need to make sure that the roots have water, and that the plant gets enough sun.