Sowing future seeds at Tuntable Falls Preschool

There are worlds within worlds.

This statement is true for all of nature, but especially for seeds.

At the end of this term, Tuntable Early Childhood Centre preschoolers were treated to a seed raising workshop where they learned about processing, collecting and sowing different types of seeds in preparation for potting up and planting over the course of the year.

The kids were collecting and sowing some native seeds; native ginger (Alpinea) collected on the community, and Cordyline rubra and Syzigium wilsonii, collected from the preschool grounds.

We wanted to sow some Bangalow Palm seeds but while there was lots of seed on the ground it had been sitting there long enough to get grubs.

The kids observed that there were also lots of grub holes in the native gingers, so before we processed the seeds, we looked up how to in Mark Dumphy’s Australian Rainforest Seeds.

The kids loved the tactile, crunchy feeling of shelling the native ginger seeds and squishing them into a jar to soak overnight; we found out that native ginger typically host lots of grubs and always needs soaking.

We also sowed some flower mixes to plant in the preschool gardens and up in the veggie patch. Recently the kids constructed insect shelters and placed them around the facility, so everyone was very excited about planting flowers for the bees and insects that call the school grounds home.

After only a week or so these are already happily stretching for the sky. It will be a wonderful surprise for the kids to find so many green things growing in their pots when the return from school holidays.

The next lesson in our plant propagation journey this coming term will be dibbling seedlings and potting up. We hope these propagation sessions will give our kids confidence to plant seeds and grow trees as a life-long passion.

Tuntable Falls Early Preschool is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8.30am – 4pm , and is taking enrolments now.

Please call 02 6689-1179.