Sunflowers/Begonia/Marigolds
- the answer lies in the soil.
Clearly a plant looks like it does because of its
genetic make up. But we all know that if you give uniform seed
to different gardeners each will end up with a plant which is
more or less vigorous, bigger or smaller, stronger or weaker
than the rest. So what is it that makes a plant grow taller or
bigger or just different from others? How much difference do
you think the compost or soil really makes?
We used seed and plant plugs to grow Sunflowers
(Giant Yellow), Begonia (Roxy Scarlet) and Marigolds
(Spanish Brocade) in two composts and three soils, coded A -
E:
A
|
a sandy loam soil with added Growmore
fertiliser at 4oz/sq yd
|
B
|
a sandy silt loam with added Growmore
|
C
|
a clay loam with added Growmore
|
D
|
a multi-purpose peat-based compost, no
added Growmore
|
E
|
a soil/peat-based J Innes No 2 compost,
no added Growmore
|
Sunflowers
were sown June 18 and pricked out into 8 inch pots.
Begonia plugs were planted out in 5 inch pots on June
26.
Marigold seed was sown June 18 and seedlings transferred
to 5 inch pots on July 8.
We took photos on Sept 3 (Sunflowers and
Marigolds) and Sept 30 (Begonia) .You are challenged to match
the five photos with the five soil/composts: |
