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Natural Seedbanks

Seeds disperse from the parent plants and fall to the ground, where they lie dormant waiting for the right season and soil moisture to sprout. 

Let’s find out what seeds are in the soil in our garden beds, parks or bushland!

 

Material

  • Trowel
  • Sieve
  • White container

Location

  • Garden beds
  • Parks
  • Bushland
  1. Collect seeds and other material from the “soil seed bank” by scooping some soil with the trowel into the sieve. Remove any material that is not a seed (e.g. leaves, sticks etc.) and shake to remove the soil, filtering out the seeds. 
  2. Sort seeds into groups based on appearance.  
  3. Look around you: which plants might these seeds have come from? 
  4. Which is your favourite seed?  
  5. Can you identify the seeds?  
  6. Try sowing them in seed-raising mix to see if they germinate. Keep a diary record of the planting date, and the dates the seedlings become visible. 
  7. Happy growing! 
Garden box with plants