Introduction

We started our plant seeds on March 15th:

This went well. All of the seeds were put into seed pucks, and put in styrofoam bowls to grow. People took them home over spring break (2 weeks) and then brought them back. At this time, the majority of the peppers were doing well and could be transplanted in about 2 week.

On May 17th we transplanted the seed pucks into bio-degradable pots:

This also went well. However, by this time about 2/3’s of the peppers had died. Then another student (Kaylee) brought in peppers that she had been growing at home. These peppers were doing incredible. They were very healthy.

On Wednesday, May 22nd we transplanted the peppers into bigger pots, for them to harvest in:

This also went very well. We had 3 pots. 1 clear 4L bucket and 2 brown 20L bucket. In the clear 4L bucket, I included 2 pepper plants, no fertilizer and set it up to get 1 gallon of water an hour. In one of the brown 20L buckets, I included Bone Meal fertilizer, # pepper plants, and set it up for 1 gallon of water an hour. The other brown 20L bucket has 3 pepper plants, Multi-Purpose fertilizer, and is set for 1 gallonof water an hour.

Starting May 24th , plants received 1 gallon water every day:

This was too much water for my plants. Peppers need more heat than water. Plants were then left in the greenhouse for the weekend

On June 3rd we changed the water amount to ½ a gallon of water an hour (in 15mins):

This wasn’t better for the plants. This wasn’t enough water for the plants. The plants were drying out and turning brownish orange colour.

On June 11th we changed the water amount again:

This time we changed it to ⅓ of gallon of water an hour (20mins). This is better for the plants and seems to be a good consistent amount for the plants to grow well.

Research Question:

Will the pepper plants grow taller (in centimemtres) with bone meal (fertilizer), multi purpose fertilizer (fertilizer), or just regular soil?

Results:

Every bucket has 2-3 plants in it. The measurements have been put into an average height per container.

Plant	May 24th	June 3rd	June 11th
A (clear 4L bucket, 0.1 gallons of water per day, in the greenhouse, just soil, no fertilizer)	4cm (high), 1 gallon of water (in one hour)	6cm (high), ½ of a gallon of water (in 15mins)	7cm (high), ⅓ of a gallon of water (in 20mins)
B (brown 20L bucket, 0.1 gallons of water per day, in the greenhouse, bone meal, fertilized)	6cm (high) 1 gallon of water (in one hour)	10cm (high), ½ of a gallon of water (in 15mins)	14cm (high), ⅓ of a gallon of water (in 20mins).
C (brown 20L bucket, 0.1 gallons of water per day, in the greenhouse, all-purpose fertilizer, fertilized)	5cm (high), 1 gallon of water (in one hour)	7cm (high), ½ of a gallon of water (in 15min)	10cm (high), ⅓ of a gallon of water (in 20mins)

Discussion:

Planning:

What went well in the planning and planting stages?

The plants are growing really well. I wasn’t sure if the ice cream bucket would be big enough for my plants, but I decided to put my smallest plants in that one too great the greatest benefit from it.

What did you learn in the planning and planting stages?

I realized that the coconut fibre pots will probably degrate better if i rip them open a bit. So I did. I also learned that the fertilizer is to be mixed in the top ten centimetres of the soil.

What could you have done better in the planning and planting stages? (or what did you wish you knew more about, or what were you unsure of)

I was unsure how to mix the fertilizer but I read the package and figured it out.

What happened that was outside of your control that may have affected your results?

Outside of my knowledge or control, a student was growing her own peppers at home, and brought them to me to plant in the garden for my project. I did not know that she was growing the peppers. This affected my peppers in a positive way because the plants that I had weren’t doing as well as the ones she had brought in.

Results:

How did plants within the same bucket do? Was it consistent or inconsistent?

All of the plants that were in the same bucket, was all about the same height. The biggest difference in one plant compared to the other was no more than 1cm.

What happened when you changed your variables?

My variable was fertilizer. I used a different source of fertilizer in each of my containers. In container A I didn’t include and fertilizer. I used straight soil. For container B, I included a ‘Bone Meal’ fertilizer. For container C, I used ‘Multi-Purpose’ fertilizer. In conclusion, Bone meal had the greatest results in height of the plant, and no fertilizer had the fewest amount of growth in height.

Is there a pattern in your results? What does it show?

Yes, there is a pattern. In container A, their height went from 4-6-7cm. Container B’s height went from 6-10-14cm. Container C’s height went from 5-7-10cm. The highest change in height is 4cm and the lowest height change is 1cm.