
Garlic Chives and Crowding
Easy
Does crowding slow down plant growth? You plant garlic chives seeds in five pots at different densities. One pot gets just 2 seeds, while another gets 50. You water them all the same way and measure their height each day for 10 days.
The crowded pots sprout faster at first. By day 6, all pots reach about the same height. After that, the less crowded pots pull ahead and grow taller.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that as the population of plants in soil increases, the rate of growth of the plants will be reduced.
Method & Materials
You will plant garlic chives seeds in 5 pots with different numbers of seeds in each pot. You will measure the height of the plants in each pot and calculate the average height.
You will need 1 packet of garlic chives seeds, 5 pots, soil, water, and a ruler.
Results
The experiment showed that initially the plants in pots with more seeds grew faster than the plants in pots with fewer seeds. However, by day 6 the plants in all the pots had grown to almost the same height. From days 7 onwards, the plants in pots with fewer seeds were taller than the plants in pots with more seeds.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it shows how the number of plants affects their growth rate.
Also Consider
Variations: What would happen if the experiment was continued over a longer period? What if different plants were used? How about changing the mix of plants?
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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