Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Terrible Avocado Experiment: The Genesis


 Well after much work and toil, and waiting for the avocados to ripen so my mom and sister would eat them, the experiment has finally begun. 4 avocados are now sitting in their cut up aluminum cans ready to sprout into the world. In case you have forgotten, or are too lazy to click a few times and look for yourself, I will recap what the experiment consists of. One avocado is sitting in my window sill. The other three are sitting just outside my bedroom, one inside a plastic container (a makeshift greenhouse), the second in a can with just water, and the third in a can with good quality soil and some water. The three avocados that are in water are also in the water at varying depths to test if the immersion has anything to do with growth. One is nearly completely submerged, one is only about 1/3 under the water, and the remaining is somewhere in between. The avocado that is most immersed is in my window sill, the middle is outside uncovered and the least is in the "greenhouse." But you don't have to take my word for it... here are some pictures!

These are the four avocado seeds in their four perspective soda cans, each can approximately 9oz in size. From left to right it goes like this. A: in my window, deepest submersion; B: outside with no cover, middle submersion; C: outside with cover as shown, least submerged; D: Outside with no cover, submerged in water and good quality soil.







This is a close-up of Can A













Can B













Can C













And you guessed it, Can D












Now, my personal hypothesis, based on absolutely no specific research or special knowledge of botany (study of plants in case you didn't know), I'm going to say the one in the "green house" will do the best, simply because it is not drowning in water and it will get plenty of sun without losing water. Anything that evaporates will condense and come back down, while the others will lose any water that evaporates. I will water them on a regular basis, but that is my theory for now. Updates will be posted every Sunday and Wednesday by 10pm. Wish me luck, and feel free to share any ideas or theories you have as well.