The Seed Swap

Jacob and Tessa are getting ready for the school seed swap. Their class has saved seeds from the garden. Jacob folds small paper packets, while Tessa writes the plant names. Mr Bell brings a tray to keep the finished packets together.

A breeze comes through the greenhouse door. Two open packets slide onto the bench. Jacob catches the seeds before they scatter, but the name labels fall to the floor. Now he has two packets with nothing written on them.

“These must be sunflower seeds,” he says, holding up one packet. Tessa looks more closely. “They might be,” she says, “but we should check before someone plants them.” Jacob sets both packets aside instead of adding them to the tray.

Mr Bell asks what records they have kept. Tessa finds their garden notebook. Beside each plant name, they have drawn its seeds. There is also a photo from the day they collected them. Jacob opens the photo on the class tablet.

They compare the first packet with the drawing and photo. The long seeds with dark stripes match the sunflower record. The other packet holds large, round beans. Mr Bell checks their match before Tessa writes two fresh labels.

Jacob closes each packet before putting it in the tray. This time, Tessa writes the name directly on the paper as well. A loose label can fall off, but the writing will stay with the seeds. They add the date too.

At the swap, another student asks how tall the sunflower will grow. Jacob shows him the garden photo, with Tessa standing beside the plant. The student chooses a packet. He knows what he is taking home and where its seeds came from.

After the visitors leave, Jacob puts the notebook back on the shelf. Saving seeds has meant saving information too. Next time, he will label a packet before opening another one. Tessa closes the greenhouse door gently behind them.