My baby is a MAN:o spud grew up:(

Spud had grow to be 10.5 inches tall. He started out as a little seed who I loved. I never knew you could love a plant as much as I love Spud. Im sad Bud never grew, but he was defective. I still love him though. I was a good mom over this time period and I am going to miss my lovely plant children. I was going to teach them about the reproductive cycle of plants, but I got to lazy and decided they weren't mature enough yet:o That's why I didn't blog about that. I want everyone who reads this blog to know that being a teenage plant parent isn't easy, but it is possible!

Bud and Spuds second to last day at home:(

I haven't really seen any new developments in Spud or Bud lately. Spud just keeps growing taller and getting more leaves. This is what they look like on their second to last day home.
    -P.S. I can tell they are very sad to be leaving me because I was a good plant mom.

The Life of Spud and Bud.

So I did not naturally birth Bud and Spud, they were artificially implanted. Here is a diagram to help explain how this could happen. I'm sorry the diagram is confusing, but finding a better one way quite impossible.

A gametophyte is the multicellular structure, or phase, that is haploid, containing a single set of chromosomes.The gametophyte produces male or female gametes (or both), by mitosis. The fusion of male and female gametes produces a diploid zygote which develops from mitotic cell divisions into a multicellular sporophyte. The sporophyte produces spores from meiosis which then go back to be gametophytes!

Bud and Spuds blood related family (p.s.they love me most)

Spud (mr.tomato) is in the Solanaceae family. They are dicots which are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. Other members in Spuds family are potato's, garden peppers, and eggplants. Members of the Solanaceae family provide fiber, vitamins A and C and
other nutrients when eaten, but I want it to be known that I would never eat Spud!!  In the picture are some of Spuds cousins!

Bud is more related to all the grasses and such.He is in the Poaceae family. Poaceae are a large family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. They have more than 10,000 domesticated and wild species and they Poaceae represent the fifth-largest plant family. That means the Bud has MANY cousins, but don't tell him that because I'm assuming they grew bigger then him and he will get intimidated. Some of his cousins pictured below are Timothy Grass, and Crested Wheat Grass.

but still remember....BUD AND SPUD LOVE ME THE MOST!

Why is Spud FUZZYYYY!

So I know this doesn't really have to do with the rubric I got, but I am very curious about the fuzzyness of my plants. I looked it up and it said that it was because if the stem was placed underground it would be able to work as a root. AND THEM IT CLICKED...the fuzz is root hairs...that are not even on the root! It kind of blew my mind. So if I put the stem under the ground the hairs would be able to help. Also I think the probably help with protecting from stuff hitting the stem. I am going to feel really awkward and all of this I'm writing is just wrong. Well, that's my update for today!

FOOD FOOD FOOD

This is Spud and the not so good looking Bud!

This blog is supposed to be on the food delivery process including the phloem and trans-location.I know I shouldn't be saying this since Mrs. Anderson is going to read it, but I really don't know that much about this topic because every time I type in food delivery system or cycle into Google I get results like how quickly Domino's can deliver pizza to me.....   I'm hoping that since this is a blog and I am supposed to express my opinions Mrs. Anderson won't take of point for my slight rant about the ineffectiveness of Google:D

Translocation is the movement of materials from leaves to other tissues in the plant.Plants produce sugars in their leaves from photosynthesis, but these sugars need to get to other parts of the plants that cant produce it. This happens by the phloem which is pictures here next to his similar cousin the xylem. The phloem is the actually tissue that the sugar and nutrients move through to get to the other area of the plants. It goes all the way from the roots to the leaves and is made of long continuous stands called vascular bundles. Really food delivery is simple. When parts of the cell need nutrients like sugar it is transported through the phloem to there where it is used to help with growth.

How Bud and Spud Get hydrated!

I wish I had a picture, but you can not really photograph the inside of a plant. The water is given to Bud and spud through their soil. I water them a little everyday, but not too much. The soil not only hold water, but also nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. The water is taken up by the roots and into the xylem. The casparian strip is what regulates how much water actually gets to the xylem. The xylem is a vascular tissue which means it is conducting. The water is pulled up to the leaves from pressure created from transpiration. Tugor pressure is what is created from the water pushing against the inside of the cell. As the water moves up the cell it can deliver itself to all the plants sections along with nutrients from the soil. When it gets to the leaf if transpires through the stomata of the leaf. These are little openings that open when the sun shines on them normally.

Tropism

Tropism is  a biological phenomenon, indicating growth or turning movement of a organism . Geo-tropism is a plants response to gravity. Positive Geo-tropism is what leads to stems growing up and negative Geo-tropism leads to roots growing down. Spud is experiencing this currently!

Growth Explained! - P.S. I don't know why the text is white

From this picture you can see that I added a cactus to encourage the growth of Bud and Spud.Spud listened......but obviously Bud didn't. Spud is growing towards the sun ! This is because of the plant hormone auxin which causes the elongation of cells in shoots and is involved in regulating plant growth. It causes plants to move towards the light because auxin elongates the shaded cells. Cytokinin is what causes the cells to divide. Theses to hormones need to be balanced with each other in order for cells to grow big and tall. Plant growth occurs in areas called meristems, that are the site of repeated cell division of nonspecialized cells. Apical meristems are located in the root and shoot tips of the plants. This is where primary growth occurs with mitosis. Thickening of the stem occurs in the lateral meristems which is required by perennial plants that grow year after year, and need the structural support to continue growing. Secondary growth is what causes the thickening and this occurs in the vascular cambium and cork cambium of the perennial plant. Vascular cambium grows outward in rings that thicken the plant over time. The outermost layer protects against pathogens and this is called the cork cambium. 

Growth Update!

Look at how beautiful Spud is getting! You can see he has two very big leaves, and a couple tiny ones on each of his sprouts. I know I will have to explain how all this growing is occurring, but I am waiting to do that till Spud gets bigger, and Bud actually sprouts. That is when ill explain the tissues and everything I have too. For now though I am just nurturing them and hoping they survive! Ill update back soon with a growth update!

The Weather Confusion

I told Bud and Spud that it was the first day of Spring, but I don't think they believe me with the weather conditions that are outside currently. They need sun and warmth to grow the best, but its snowy and cold. Poor Bud and Spud

They Grow Up So Fast!

Spud is growing so fast! Yet I think I may have killed Bud because he never grew. I swear I was a good mom but I guess not good enough. Happily though Spud has two little leaves that emerged from the terminal bud! Well it either emerged from the terminal bud or just a normal bud. The terminal bud is the primary one and it increases the length of the plant. I cant really see the terminal bud at the moment, so it may still be forming. A bud is what blossoms into the leaf or flower of the plant. It is what makes a plant be able to grow. The two little leaves are what perform transpiration and absorb the sun for photosynthesis!  So I am a very proud mother as Spud grows!

Roots Roots Roots!

Well Spud(tomato) is still the only one growing with two cotyledons. I have no clue what happened to the third seed I planted though:( These plants are getting quite tall  and that is due to their strong root system which is a fibrous root system Fibrous roots(Lateral roots) develop  from adventitious roots(primary roots that form on organs other then other roots) arising from the plants stem and usually do not  penetrate the soil very deeply. Most monocots have a fibrous root system. These roots absorb nutrients and water for the plant. 

Buds(Corn) root system is slightly different though. Bud is a dicot and has a tap root system. A tap root system is a strongly developed primary root which grows downwards and grows lateral roots much smaller than itself. The tap root comes from the radicle and goes very deep to get sources of water deep in the ground. Both roots systems store a lot of minerals for the plant also. Tap roots go deeper then fibrous roots.

The Germination Explanation

You many be wondering how Spud (and hopefully Bud) are going from a seed to a little green cotyledon(sprout) . Well the key is that the speed was getting the elements right. In order for a seed to germinate, the temperature must be right and there must be water to soak the seed. Some seeds also need light. If all the seed's needs are present, it will start to grow like Spud has done. The food reserves are turned into a form the plant embryo can use for energy to grow. First, the root (radicle) emerges from the seed coat, followed by the shoot (plumule). The root always grows downwards into the soil, while the shoot always grows upwards towards the light.Obviously Spud had the conditions he needed, but many Bud is just a late bloomer (literally).

IM A MOM!

Do you know what is the best feeling in the entire world? When you come home from school to find out you have two babies! SPUD IS ALIVE! He has two little sprouts emerging from him. Sadly for Bud he is still hiding out in the soil. I never had to drain there water because they sucked it all up. I didn't think I would be so excited that my plants sprouted, but after a week I was starting to get worried. You have to look closely at the picture to see the sprouts.

Whoops

I may have over watered Bud and Spud by accident, hopefully it will absorb better by tomorrow. I hope they are drowning. I'm going to poke holes in the bottom of the cups and put them on a plate tomorrow so hopefully they drain. I will post a picture tomorrow! Sleep we'll Bud an Spud

Bud and Spuds second day home!

Today was a very sunny day for Bud and Spud and they like that. I wish I could see some progress in growth but it isn't visible yet. I bet they are trying very hard to grow though and I am giving them lots of water to use! As you examine the pictures you can see they are getting a lot of sun and have moist soil.

Bud and Spud's Seed Structure.

A corn seed is a monocot which is an angiosperm plant having a single cotyledon in the seed. Monocotyledons have leaves with parallel veins, flower parts in multiples of three, and fibrous root systems. This is what Bud looks like on the inside now as he is a baby seed.

A tomato seed is a dicot which is characterized by having two photosynthetic cotyledons in the seed that may emerge from the ground when the seed germinates. Also dicot vascular bundles are in concentric circles and they have a taproot system. This is what Spud looks like as a baby seed.

Things to note:
1. An endosperm is the part of a seed that acts as a food store for the developing plant embryo.
2. The cotyledon are the small little leafs that first emerge from the seed ( what we are looking for first!)
3. The embryo is the undeveloped leaves and stem at the pant that is protected by the covering. 

Welcome Home Bud and Spud!

I tried to find the perfect place for Bud and Spud to be able to grow big and strong. They need a lot of sunlight in order to grow so I placed them by my window. The problem is I have three dogs running around and I don't want Bud and Spud to go diving into the carpet to their doom because of a wacky tail attack. This is why they are in the dining room were the dogs don't tend to go. I watered them a little more when they got home because they seemed a little dry. I think they are happy to be home:)

Conception of Bud and Spud

 Okay so these are the seeds I was given that I need to keep alive until April 24. They are now my babies. The corn is named Bud and the tomato is named Spud. I am going to document their whole lives in this blog and show how they grow and develop.

Bud and Spud have been implanted! Since Bud is bigger he went two inches into the soil, and Spud only went .25 inches down. I watered them until the soil was moist, but not soaked because I don't want to drowned by children! I think Spud is going to grow quicker then Bud, so we will see if that works.