This experiment required 30 Alaskan Pea seeds, 3 pots (4 1/16in x 2in), two 60in Vigoro Sturdy Bamboo Plant Stakes, one API Nitrate (〖NO〗_3^( -))Test Kit, one API Phosphate (PO_4^(-3)) Test Kit, half of one bag of 3.7L bag of Earthgro: The Natural Choice Potting Soil, 10 Red Wriggler Earthworms (Eisenia foetida), 2 mesh strainers (1 small, 1 big), one 400mL beaker, 4 glass tubes, one 12in ruler, Garden Clippers, Greenhouse, Greenhouse Thermometer, Greenhouse Watering Can, and a Sink, 4 Paper Towels, and a 3inx2in rectangular container. I labeled the 3 pots with orange tape, 1 was labeled experimental phosphate, 1 was labeled experimental nitrogen and the last one was labeled control. First I obtained 3 pots and one 3.7L …show more content…
I then prepared 4 dampened similar sized paper towels that were placed inside of the pots to prevent the escape of the red wiggler earthworms. I poured the soil evenly into the 3 pots until the soil filled ½ of the pot and patted down the soil evenly. Next the 2 mesh strainers were used to shift through the soil that the red wriggler worms were being contained in, the small mesh strainer was used to gather the dirt from the container and then the dirt was poured into the big mesh strainer and shaken until a worm was found, if not another scoop of dirt was shifted through until in total 10 worms were retrieved. 5 worms were put into the experimental nitrogen pot and the other 5 were distributed to the experimental phosphorus pot. Once all the worms had burrowed into the soil the rest of the pots was filled until the …show more content…
With each spot made I put my finger in and make a hole for the seed to go into, then place the seeds into the holes, and covered them with dirt. Took the rectangular container into the Greenhouse and positioned the plant so it had a maximum amount of sunshine. Checked in on the plants every day and record the date, day, temperature, germination, watered, and time. Once a week I performed the API Nitrate (〖NO〗_3^( -))Test, one API Phosphate (PO_4^(-3)) Test, these tests are performed differently. To perform the Nitrate test I filled the API 5ml test tube with the sample, then 10 drops from bottle #1 and shook the tube so the 10 drop were evenly distributed throughout the solution. Then bottle #2 was shook for 30 seconds and then I added 10 drops to the 5mL test tube and shook the 5mL test tube for1 minute, and waited 5 minutes for the solution to settle and compared the color of the test tube to the freshwater nitrogen color card to determine the levels of nitrogen. The test tube was then cleaned out in the Greenhouse sink until the previous solution was cleaned from the glass tube. For the API Phosphate (PO_4^(-3)) the only steps that were different was that I had to add 6 drops of bottle #1 and bottle #2, and instead of shaking bottle #2 for 1 minute I just directly put 6 drops in the 5mL glass tube. Also instead of