This experiment tested the growth rates of barley plants in either potting soil or pine soil, with and without the plant nutrient Miracle-Gro. The researchers planted single barley seeds in four pots, two with pine soil and two with potting soil, one of each including Miracle-Gro. They measured the growth of the barley plants weekly over eight weeks, finding that the barley grew fastest in potting soil with Miracle-Gro, reaching over 47 centimeters tall.

1. Growth Rates of Barley in Potting and Pine Soil, with and without Miracle-Gro Matt Aber Arri Brown Sherry Land Nicole VanLear Kelley Patterson Ricki Lee Stautz December 2009

5. Tons of barley is produced and harvested every year throughout the World, Especially in Northern locations Such as America

6. The uses of barley vary widely from being malted for beer… … to being used in breakfast cereals

8. Our experimental units included both potting and pine soil. Potting soil can come in different consistencies depending on the desired type of plant. Ferns prefer moist soil Cactus prefers sandy Venus Flytraps prefer low nutrients

9. Pine soil is not very high in nutrients and because of the high number of needles that provide acidity and rooting problems, few plants can efficiently grow in it Hydrangea Azalea

10. We also incorporated Miracle Gro in our experiment Miracle Gro is said to aid in efficient and speedy plant growth due to its high content of nutrients, however experiments have been run in the past that disprove this…

11. The first step in our process was to measure the consistency of each soil and record our results

12. Next we had to measure the weight of the seeds in order to evaluate the dry mass growth over the course of the experiment

14. Over the next 8 weeks we measured the growth in each pot weekly, recorded our results, and took notes of any significant changes

15. The growth of our barley was incredible. Week 1 Week 2 Week 8

16. Approximate Growth Rates 10/9 10/16 10/23 10/30 11/6 11/13 11/20 Pot A: 8cm 13.6cm ~18cm 22.5cm 26.7cm 34.29cm 37cm Pot B: 2.6cm 15.2cm ~22cm 29cm 37cm 38.9cm 47.2cm Pot C: 10.2cm 17.9cm ~30cm 41cm 46cm 49.7cm 52cm Pot D: 10.5cm 19.6cm ~29cm 37cm 43cm 46.5cm 47cm