Materials
Hydroponics set up:Set up
trays for starting seedlings
2 shallow trays
2 buckets
perlite and vermiculite
2 lengths of plastic tubing
fittings for the plastic tubing
nutrient solution
Soil set up:
trays for starting seedlings and seed pots
deeper, larger trays
soil
watering can with water
"MiracleGro" fertilizer
General set up:
grow lights
support system to hold tomato plants up
Procedure
(We started 80 soil seeds at Kate's house, and 80 hydroponics seeds at Cynthia's house. When these seeds germinated, we picked out the best of them and had 20 plants in hydroponics solution at Kate's house and 20 plants in hydroponics solution at Cynthia's house. We also had 20 plants in soil at Kate's house and 20 plants in soil at Cynthia's house.)
1.Set up hydroponics system.
drill a small hole at the bottom of a shallow tray, and low on the side of a bucket
attach fittings to holes and connect with tubing
fill shallow tray with perlite and vermiculite
mix nutrient solution and put in bucket
2.Set up soil system.
put soil in small plastic containers with holes in the bottom
put small plastic containers in tray so water will not escape and flood the house.
3.Start seeds.
put several seeds in a small plastic pot with soil in it, using 16 pots in all
put 50 seeds in shallow tray containing hydroponics solution
when seeds have germinated (takes 7-10 days), transplant the plants that are the healthiest into larger setups for both hydroponics and soil systems
4.Set up grow lights
5.Feeding of plants:
water plants in soil when necessary, about every 3 days
flood hydroponic trays with water in bucket for 30 minutes twice a day
6.Measuring plants
measure height every 3 days
measure width and length of leaves every 3 days
3 days
observe color and general appearance of plants every 3 days
7.Record observations
Nutrient Solution:
We used 20/20/20 fertilizer mixed with water.