Plant Growth Experiment

The purpose of the plant growth experiment was to test the affect of plant fertilizer during plant growth.

The system we were working with allowed us to test the recommended amount and double the recommended amount of Miracle Grow in comparison to a control of an all natural growing plant. The plants we were testing were radishes We decided on testing the validity of Miracle Grow with radishes to determine if fertilizers are worth purchasing.

Hypothesis: If the recommended amount of Miracle Grow Fertilizer Solution were doubled, the dish will grow more than radish with the recommended amount and the control. The recommended amount of Miracle Grow will grow more than the control radish. Experimental Design: There were three equal sized pots, filled with the same amount of top soil and an additional 300 ml of organic soil. Each pot had a total of 6 radish seeds distributed evenly throughout the soil.

The solution for the recommended amount of Miracle Grow for pot #2 was 1 scoop of powder and 2 liters of water.

The solution for double he recommend amount for pot #3 was 2 scoops of powder and 2 liters of water. The control plant, pot #1 received the same amounts as the other plants except with water. For the first week, all three pots got 300 ml of solution daily. After the first week plants were watered three times a week to start with 300 ml of solution. Progressing into the experiment, the plants were unable to take in the initial amounts of solution.

The amounts of solution went to 200 ml, 100 ml, 70 ml, and 50 mil’s of liquid.

Despite these changes, all the plants were adjusted accordingly. Data Collection: Throughout the duration of the experiment, general observations were recorded along with the watering log. After the experiment finished, all of the data was collected. The tools used to collect the data were: a flat ruler, precision ruler, and scale.

Each pot was evaluated separately. The contents of the pot were dumped out and each plant was sorted. Excess dirt was removed from the roots. The flat ruler was used to measure the height of each plant In centimeters.

The roots were then measured with the flat ruler In centimeters as well.

The root width was measured with a precision ruler in mm ( precision of +. 1) After each plant was measured in those three areas, the combined plants per pot were measured in grams. Results: Discussion: Overall, the Miracle Grow did lad In plant growth. Pot #1 that was given Just water, was one plant short of the other two pots. The number of leaves In pot #1 were dramatically different than the other two pots. Double the recommended amount of Miracle Grow had an average of 5.

Leaves, pot #2 with the recommended amount had an average of 4. 16 leaves and the control had an average of 3. 8 leaves. The average heights in pots #2 and #3 were drastically different than pot . Pot #3 had the most height with an average of 15. 33 CM, pot #2 was close with 14.

33 CM and pot #1 with an average of 6. 69 CM. Miracle Grow greatly affected the height of the plants, in which Miracle Grow did not seem to positively affect the radishes growth. Pot #1 had an average root length of 8. 4 CM, pot #2 had 4.

CM and pot #3 had an average of 7 CM. Perhaps the roots in pot #1 needed to be longer in order to absorb more nutrients. Pot #2 had the biggest root width with an average of 1. 81 mm, pot #3 had 1. 68 mm and pot #1 had 1.

36 mm. The total weight was very close between pots #2 and #3, they were off by . 1 off gram to one another. Pot #1 weighed in at 1. 2 grams, pot #2 7. 6 grams and pot #3 7.

7 grams. Double the recommended amount of Miracle Grow affected plant growth positively in the areas of number of leaves, height and total weight.

Root width had best results with the recommended amount of Miracle Grow and root length was most successful with regular watering. Conclusion: In conclusion, the use of Miracle Grow does positively affect the growth in radishes. Using double the recommended amount of Miracle Grow shows the best results. Our hypothesis was proved correct as three out of the five data measurements were highest in pot #3.

Additional experiments could be done to further prove our group’s results. Using different brands of plant fertilizer could affect the radish growth differently.