We started with a simple daisy softwood cutting and each student was then able to take a small piece, trim it up and get their potting mix ready for planting. They labeled their propagated material and then set it on their class windowsill.

Then I talked with them for a few more minutes about seed germination and whether you could grow an apple tree from seed. We looked at how grafting could blend a few different apple trees together and even fielded the obvious "could you graft a watermelon with a banana plant?" question.

After some more discussion and curious questions it was time to hit the field trip around the college. We stopped at a very large Hibiscus and chatted about air and soil layering and a few kids took cuttings for their second planting.

The photo above, albeit very dodgy, shows us stopped alongside a path where some pak choy, that the students had grown last year, had self-seeded metres away from the garden bed. It was a great example of another type of propagation that often happens within our gardens - unfortunately more commonly with weeds than with preferred plants.

A few more cuttings here and there and then it was time to wrap the whole experience up. The kids got a real buzz out of seeing how plants could grow and multiply and it was an excellent chance to disperse some of my gardening passion into the next generation of gardeners. I'm hoping all their propagated cuttings will succeed and they will get excited about the possibilities.