| Explore | Outside of School: plants need a certain amount of sunlight and water, some plants grow better if you cut flowers off (like roses) Inside of school: some plants grow better in nitrogen soil (like radishes) Questions: What causes plants to grow best. Is nitrogen the best additive to grow plants? |
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| Research Question | Do natural nitrogen-rich additives help organic spinach grow better? In background research, we have discovered that spinach grows best in cool temperatures with soil that is high in nitrogen, but we could not find a conclusive answer on farming websites that stated which was best. |
| Predictions | We predict that the spinach grown with egg-shell additive will grow best. |
| Experimental Design | Four wide pots (7 inches tall) with organic potting mulch (1 inch deep) at the bottom and organic potting mix (5 inch deep) on top of the mulch. Four spinach seeds will be planted in each pot with 3 inches between each seed. The first pot will have only organic potting mulch and soil, with no extra addatives. Pot 2 will contain organic potting mulch, soil, and potato water produced from boiling the potatoes (we will decide later on the amount to be added). Pot 3 will contain organic potting mulch, soil, and crushed egg shell. Pot 4 will contain organic potting mulch, soil, and gelatin. Record data 4 times a week, water as needed (but water each plant on the same day, with the same amount of water). Boiled potato water: Egg shell: remove the inside of the egg, wash out, crush egg shell till it is a dusting |
| Conclusion | Spinach grows better with addatives in the soil. Farmers can use this to add nitrogen to the soil and get more plants. We wonder why the seeds in the control pot did not germinate. |
| Investigation Theme | WOS |
| Grade Level | Undergraduate Students |
| School Name | Wright State University |
| Session | Fall 2017 |