Monday, September 03, 2007

Club Plant Experiments

Here it is September already. Everyone should have thought about getting an experiment ready for the club project. I'm going to see if there is any difference in the growth and overall vigor of a plant that is watered with plain tap water and one that is "fed" each time it gets watered with a solution of tap water and dissolved nutrients.

My two plants pictured here both came from a big box store and have just been on a light shelf for the past couple of months. They are acclimated to my house and conditions.

Both are starting out fairly equal. Both have approximately the same number of leaves and are the same variety, the same size and have the same number of flowers. Each plant is roughly 8 inches across.


One bottle will hold tap water for plant number one.
The second bottle will hold fertilized water for plant number two.




Plant number one is roughly round with a diameter of about 8 inches.

(You can click on any of the photos for a larger view!)



Plant number two is a bit more oval with a nine inch "long side" and a 7 inch "short side". That averages out to both plants being about 8 inches across.




The plants will sit on a light stand evenly centered under the lights and they will periodically switch sides from left to right to keep things even. I will try to photograph them every couple of weeks to see if and when there is any noticeable difference in growth or size or appearance.

What are you going to do for YOUR club experiment???? Something simple.... or complex.... we will all learn something interesting from EVERY member participating! Please start your project now so that we will have some preliminary results to examine at the January meeting. The experiments may run longer!!!! If you have questions contact nsavctc@gmail.com we'll be glad to assist with ideas, methods or other concerns!!!

Sunday, September 02, 2007

How They Do That....

















































A florist's gloxinia unfolds over the course of two days. This is a double unnamed hybrid.