Seed Germination Lab Report

Introduction

       For our experiment, we are testing weather soil types will affect the growth of Brassica Oleracea. The plant our group was assigned was Kohlrabi (Purple Vienna). This plant is generally grown in the early spring or late summer, and should be planted in a spot with lots of sunlight. When planted, it should be provided with plenty of water. If grown properly, Kohlrabi should grow form about six to twelve inches.

Purpose

       The purpose of this lab was to see if different varieties of soil would affect the growth of our plant. The soil we used for this experiment was regular composted soil, sand, Perlite (which is a genetically modified material that is supposed to help the plant grow), and Vermicule (which is just like Perlite, but it is a different brand).

Hypothesis
       If the type of soil affects the development of Kohlrabi, then the regular composted soil will have the largest growth rate of the plants.

Materials 

• 8 pots
• Beaker
• Kohlrabi seeds
• Composted soil
• Sand
• Perlite
• Vermicule
• Water
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Paper
• Sharpie

Procedure 

1. Collect all materials.
2. Fill the first two pots with 140ml dirt. With the other six pots, fill them with 110ml dirt and the other 30ml with the added materials (sand, Perlite, and Vermicule).
3. Mix the soils with the added ingredients together.
4. Dig a small hole in the middle of the pots about 1/4-1/2 inch down. 
5. Place six Kohlrabi seeds in the hole and bury them lightly.
6. Label the pots with your names and what type of soil is in the pot.
7. Water these plants every other day (except for weekends) with 30ml of water. 
8. Observe and record the heights of each of the sprouts as often as possible.

  Results
 



Analysis
        The data shows the growth rate of all of the eight plants that we observed for a two week period. The Vermicule number 2 is the plant that grew the largest, and the control number 2 started to wilt after that amount of time. All the other plants have done fairly well over the course of two weeks, and they will most likely grow to be full size soon.

Conclusion
      The data shows that the control (regular composted soil) did not grow the largest or fastest. The Vermicule seeds are the biggest and are looking the healthiest, therefore; our hypothesis was proved incorrect. To improve our experiment, we could have made sure that the other groups variables were not affecting the growth of ours, and we should have also watched our plants more often to make sure that they were not wilting or dying.