Homeschool Creations

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Simple Science: The Plant Winners and Losers

Admit it. You all have been waiting anxiously by your computer screens to discover the results. Ok, really not, and I’m sorry it took me an entire week to get the results posted {grins}. Will you forgive me?

You all were fairly mixed on your opinions of which plant was the winner vs. loser in our little experiment! My hubby {being the official powers-that-be} got an up close and personal look at the three plants and cast his vote too.

And for the record, he didn’t know which plant was which either, so he was an impartial voter. I didn’t hand out flyers for a specific plant before he voted, nor did I wear any “Vote for X Plant!” stickers during the process. I’m just sayin’…

All that said, he voted right down the line ~ #1, #2, and then #3 based not only on growth, but also color.

A few more pictures of the flowers before and after.

Before…

Pansies before

After…

Pansies After

and another after…

pansies after 2 

The results… So that I would be able to keep track of which plant was which {and still keep the water types a secret…} I fed the plants water alphabetically:

Plant #1 ~ filtered and boiled water, brought to room temperature

Plant #2 ~ filtered water brought to room temperature

Plant #3 ~ filtered and microwaved water, brought to room temperature

I wasn’t sure how the plants would fare during the time of the experiment, so you might notice that plant number 2 {the one that received the filtered water only} started out a bit behind the curve. It was the ‘runt’ of the plant litter, so to say.

When the experiment was done, plant #1 {boiled water} was the tallest and flowering the most, plant #2 was doing well and flowering, and plant #3 wasn’t flowering as much.

Were the results what you expected? Truthfully, I expected much more ‘defined’ results with this and DO want to do it again, but with different plants all at the same time {i.e. two or three different plant types}. We’ll have to see if we have time later this year to do it again!

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14 Comments:

  • Interesting!

    By Blogger Rebecca, At May 16, 2010 at 9:39 AM  

  • Makes me rethink using the microwave so often!

    By Blogger Cindy, At May 16, 2010 at 10:21 AM  

  • I didn't cast a vote, but this doesn't surprise me on the results. When my hubby was in biology in college we sat up an experiment similar, but trying to force a plant cutting to root.

    By Blogger Debbie, At May 16, 2010 at 10:31 AM  

  • Hmmm, I knew that the microwave zapped all the nutrients out of food, but I didn't really think about it having the same effect on water! I think we may try this same experiment!!!! Thanks for sharing the results...and for making us wait so long!! ;-)

    By Blogger Mama Jenn, At May 16, 2010 at 11:50 AM  

  • YOu've definitely had me thinking and searching around for some more info. I have this experiment on my list to try after our winter.

    By Blogger Kylie, At May 16, 2010 at 4:58 PM  

  • Thanks for the results. I had fun waiting for the outcome. Love your blog!!!

    By Blogger Unknown, At May 16, 2010 at 5:00 PM  

  • Hmmm...... So, I just got my Apologia Zoology book, and they agree with you on repeating the experiment. I'd probably repeat it as well. Still very interesting to see.

    By Blogger Ticia, At May 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM  

  • So fun! By the way, I love the new look of your blog. I just learned how to make menu bar from the confessions blog. Great look:)

    By Blogger Erin, At May 17, 2010 at 10:51 AM  

  • So does this mean I have to start boiling all my water before feeding my plants? Ugh, they barely get watered as it is LOL!

    By Blogger Confessions Of A Homeschooler, At May 17, 2010 at 11:42 AM  

  • hmm so basically boiled and regular filtered did the best while microwaved seemed to have make the plant malnourished. The microwaving doesn't surprise me. However the boiled certainly did. What did the kids think of the plants afterwords?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At May 17, 2010 at 12:38 PM  

  • Interesting, my dear Watson, very Interesting!

    I'm still hoping you'll join us over at Making Memories Monday one of these days. You are certainly creating some great memories for your family!

    By Blogger Jennifer, At May 18, 2010 at 12:41 AM  

  • I didn't know that microwave is so harmful. Makes me want to rethink how often we microwave things. Interesting experiment.

    By Blogger Natalie PlanetSmarty, At May 19, 2010 at 8:52 AM  

  • I was telling my grandmother about this experiment and that I wanted to try it too. She said my great grandmother used to water her plants with the water from boiled vegetables, it might be interesting to add that one too.

    I started watering the plants that we started growing with it. Since I am making all of Juilette's baby food I am always steaming veggies and have water left over.

    By Blogger Michelle, At May 19, 2010 at 3:38 PM  

  • I was telling my grandmother about this experiment and that I wanted to try it too. She said my great grandmother used to water her plants with the water from boiled vegetables, it might be interesting to add that one too.

    I started watering the plants that we started growing with it. Since I am making all of Juilette's baby food I am always steaming veggies and have water left over.

    By Anonymous Michelle, At December 15, 2010 at 1:03 PM  

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