Medium and Germination Success Study

Research Question:

Which medium do seeds germinate better in?

Procedure:

1. Fill two cups ½ full with vermiculite, two cups ½ full with perlite and place a coconut fiber disc in two cups.
2. Place the cups in a tray. Fill the tray with water to the level of the media.
3. In one cup of each medium type, plant five radish seeds. In the other cup of each medium type, plant five snow pea seeds.
4. Record the number of seeds that germinate each day.
5. Calculate percentage germinated after three weeks.

Data:

No seeds germinated in the coconut-fiber medium within the three-week observation period. One hundred percent of the radish seeds germinated in the vermiculite, whereas 0% of the peas germinated in this medium. In the perlite, 100% of radish seeds germinated and 80% of the peas germinated.

Conclusions: In this study we tested three different media to determine which provides the best conditions for germination - perlite, vermiculite and coconut fiber. In a simple experiment with radish and peas, the perlite provide the best conditions for germination. The higher water capacity of the other materials appeared to allow the peas to mold and rot, even when the water table was well below the media surface. To better tell which medium is ideal for growing, we would have to test more seeds.