You do not need a garden to watch a plant grow. With a jar and some paper towel, you can see roots and shoots appear in days.

You will need:

a clean glass jar

paper towel

3 dried beans (broad beans or butter beans work well)

water

a sunny windowsill

What to do:

1. Fold the paper towel and push it into the jar so it presses against the glass all the way round.

2. Pour in a little water. The paper towel should be damp, not swimming. Tip out any extra.

3. Slide the beans between the paper towel and the glass, about halfway down the jar. Space them out so they are not touching.

4. Put the jar on a sunny windowsill.

5. Check the jar every day. If the paper towel feels dry, add a few drops of water.

6. After three to five days you should see a small white root pushing out of each bean. A few days later a green shoot will grow upwards.

7. When the shoot has two leaves, carefully move the bean to a pot of soil and keep watering it.

Why it works: A bean is a seed. Inside it is a tiny plant and a store of food. Water tells the seed it is time to grow. Because the bean is pressed against the glass, you can watch what usually happens hidden under the soil.

Safety note: Never eat dried beans. Wash your hands after touching them.