How to Grow Beans in a Jar

This is probably one of my favorite activities to do with kids when we are learning about plants and how they grow. Growing beans in a jar lets you see up close how a little seed can turn into a large plant!

This activity pairs really well with the story, "From Seed to Plant" by Gail Gibbons. There are actually instructions on how to grow your own bean at the back of the book!

We use paper towels rather than black paper - I'm thinking the paper was used to have a better contrast between your bean and the background so you can see the growth better. But we've always had good luck with paper towels! Keep reading to see how we set up our experiment.

Step 1: This year we used 8oz wide mouth mason jars. I layered 2 half size paper towels and folded them down about 2/3 of the way so they'd be as tall as the jars.

Step 2: Roll up the paper towels.

Step 3: Put the rolled up paper towel in the jar, spread it out, and pour in 1/4-1/3 cup of water. You want enough water so the paper towels can absorb it and be soaked, but you don't want the water level to be so high that the beans are sitting in the water. Once the paper towels are soaked, the water level shouldn't be higher than an inch or so. If there's too much, pour a little out before you add the beans.

Step 4: Carefully slide some beans about halfway down between the paper towel and glass. We used pinto, chickpea, and black beans. I labeled the sides of the jar with each child's initial and the date we put the beans in so we'd know whose it whose and how long they've been growing.

Step 5: Watch them grow! A couple of the beans sprouted tiny roots by the end of the next day. This is what we have after 5 days!

The jars don't have to be placed in a sunny spot, all you have to do is make sure there is a little bit of water in the bottom of the jar so the paper towel stays soaked. It's an easy job for the kids because they can glance in the jar every day and see if it needs a little extra water. Once the beans have grown out of the jar, they will need sun and soil to keep growing strong. So at that point you can either plant them or toss them.

Feel free to repeat the activity as many times as your child wants! Happy sprouting!