Bacteria and potatoes
Wording of this Handout:
There wouldn't be any yummy potatoes to eat if there were no bacteria - a special kind of bacteria that is.
The story starts in the soil.
Some plants have special kinds of bacteria on their roots. Plants need Nitrogen from the air, and these special kinds of bacteria are very good at collecting it. This helps the plant.
But before the Nitrogen reaches the soil it has to rain. The rain comes down, and washes Nitrogen out of the air. Once in the soil the Nitrogen is used by plants, but they cannot gather much of it with their roots.
And then there are potatoes. . .
these plants belong to a family of plants called legumes. The wonderful thing about legumes is their ability to collect special bacteria.
Once inside the roots of the legume the bacteria multiply quickly and make the plant's roots grow faster - until the root forms a lump (nodule).
The lump keeps growing until it is quite big, then it breaks off and the bacteria go back into the soil and wait for another legume to come along.
Unless of course, someone comes along and picks the lump (nodule) and takes it home for dinner.
Who designed the legumes and bacteria? Who put the Nitrogen in the air? Who made the rain to wash it to the ground?
God thought of these things and He created them to work together.
So next time you eat potato chips or fries, think of those handy little bacteria collecting Nitrogen for the sake of the plants.