Do you have Green Fingers?

Activity 1: Grow this season’s special: Vetches aka Ġulbiena

Here is all you need to know to grow your own vetches, which is a Maltese tradition during Christmas time. Vetches are very easy and fast growing plants. All you need is a few simple items.

The vetch is a genus of plants that belongs to a family of 140 species forming part of the Fabaceae family (the pea family). It is usually grown as fodder, which is basically feed for cows and cattle. But in Malta, we grow it quite differently around Christmas time to use it as a decoration.

Let’s give it a try, shall we?

Get your materials ready!

• Vetches seeds (you may find these at your local pet or plant store)
• Simple containers (you may reuse something such as an empty butter container)
• Cotton wool
• Water
• Bowl

Try it out!

Step 1

Place your seeds in a bowl and soak them in water. The vetches will absorb plenty of water and they will eventually triple in size. Therefore, make sure the bowl is well filled with water. Leave the seeds in water for 24 hours before the next step.

Step 2

Pack the container you will be using with cotton wool. Make sure the container is clean from any residue if you’re reusing a food container. Butter containers work great for this.

Step 3

Drain the soaked vetches seeds and place them on top of the cotton wool. The more seeds you place in a container, the more voluminous the plant will grow. However, make sure you place them in a single layer and not on top of each other.

Step 4

Water the vetches and keep watering every few days. Never leave the cotton wool to dry out.

Step 5

Place the container with seeds in a dark space, away from light as much as possible. We placed ours in a closed cabinet. Only open the cupboard for watering. This way your vetches will grow into brilliant white shoots. Exposing them to light will make them turn green.

Other great spots would be under a bed or else in a dark room and covered with a cardboard box. Make sure there is enough space around your plant for the shoots to grow.

Step 6

When they are grown (usually takes around 3 weeks), take them out of the cabinet and place them wherever you want to decorate with them!

	Credit: Holidappy.com

Activity 2: Spot the Wild Plant!

If you’d like to learn more about plants, why not go on a nature walk this December?  Download this ‘Spot the Plant Worksheet’ to take with you and see whether you can spot the six indigenous plants included in it. They’re beautiful plants, right?

Even though our islands are small, we can proudly say that we have quite a few indigenous and endemic species. But what is the difference between the two types?

• Indigenous species are plants or animals that can be found naturally in a particular place, meaning that they came to be on our islands through natural processes, and were not brought over by humans. But they can also be found in other countries. For example, Malta’s indigenous scorpion is also found in Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Libya & Egypt.
• On the other hand, endemic species are plants or animals that live only in a specific area. So, when we say that an animal or a plant is endemic to the Maltese islands, this means it can only be found here and nowhere else around the world.
• There are species which are not indigenous or endemic to our islands, so they’re considered to be alien species, meaning that they were most probably brought over to our islands by humans. When alien species cause harm to an ecosystem, they are then considered to be invasive alien species.

Did you see any other interesting plants while out on your walk? Let us know!

Share you’re a photo of your Gulbiena & any photos from your walk with us on social media  by tagging us on social media @esploramalta #esploramalta #getcuriousgetinspired

Don’t forget to take a photo of at least 4 of your favourite activities from Esplora’s Science Advent Calendar. Trust us, you’ll need them!