Summer Sock Walk

This activity has several steps, each one interesting to do and connected to the next. Try walking in different places with different socks for a variety of plant seeds.

What you will need:

• A long old sock

• Potting soil

• 9” x 13” baking pan

• Magnifying glass

• Newspaper

• Spray bottle filled with water

Pull the sock over your shoe and over your pants. Go for a walk in a place with tall overgrown weeds and grass—Vacant lots, parks and roadsides are good places, but watch for ticks and check for them after the walk. Once home, pull off the wock, get out the magnifying glass, and look carefully at the seeds you picked up. Next, fill the sock with damp potting soil. Wet the outside of the sock with a fine spray of water and lay it in the baking pan. Fold a fat chunk of newspaper up into fourths and place under one end of the pan to tip it slightly. Leave the pan tilted up and add enough water so the end of the sock can soak it up until it can absorb no more. Put the  pan in a warm and sunny place. Over the next 10 days keep the sock fairly damp, but not soaking by pouring a little water into the pan for the sock to absorb when it dries out. Mist the sock with the spray bottle every other day.

What happens? Plants will grow from the seeds picked up on the sock—it may take anywhere from a few days to a week for the seeds to sprout. Plants have many different ways of dispersing their seeds, and one way is to attach themselves to moving objects, like socks, in order to cover a wider area to grow in.