How to Genetically Engineer Vegetables

You've got yourself the classic set of peas with different color flowers, but now it's time for the next step. You can prove that one out of every three is going to have purple flowers. Monks a few hundred years back could do it and so can you. People have been genetically engineering plants for millennium with little or no formal education. Heck, maize, or corn, is just genetically engineered grass.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Locate two plants of a the same species. They must be capable of cross breeding, such as most flowering plants, in order for this process to work. One of the plants should have a trait that's desirable, while the other plant doesn't have that trait.

2. Isolate the plants so that other plants can't breed with them. You can keep them away from each other, too, if you like.

3. Use whatever vector the plants use for reproduction to ensure that the plant without the desired trait receives sex cells from the plant with the desired trait.

4. Wait for new plants to grow. Retain any plants without the desirable trait, as they have a greater chance of gaining the desirable trait.

5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 as often as you like, making sure to retain the original plant with the desired trait for comparison and to start over if necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't use a cotton swab or other plant material to transfer sex cells, such as pollen. A plastic stick or a small brush is a better tool.