The growing of seeds is called germination. Seeds require soil, sunlight and water to germinate and then literally grow on their own. Initially there is a radical which grows into the soil to find nutrition and then there are roots which grow out of this radical. A stem or plumule grows out of the soil upwards and this is the stalk of the plant. Leaves grow from this stalk and then the plant takes shape.

Seeds are used for propagating more plants, and though there are different methods of doing this today scientifically, this is the easiest and cheapest method unlike tissue culture which requires a certain amount of expertise. The seed is found in the flower of the plant which has both female and male parts. The male part of the flower is the stamen which has filaments and anther. The pollen from the anthers is transferred to the pistil in the female part and this is how germination takes place and the seeds grow in the female part of the flower which is called the ovary. This pollination is carried out in the flowers by insects like bees, butterflies and moths and also by tiny birds which come looking for honey. This is also done manually in greenhouses with a paint brush and can produce hybrid varieties in fruits and vegetables and in fact in any kind of agricultural produce.

The seeds are dispersed by the breeze or by animals. The seed has an outer protection in the form of a shell and sometimes these shells are hard and have to be coaxed into growing. This is done by soaking the seed in water to soften the outer cover or by making a small nick in the shell and encouraging it to germinate.