Germination Station

 Recently I had the opportunity to help a young friend, Caroline and her friend, Anna, with a second grade Science Fair project. Titled Germination Station, the objective was to determine in what medium seeds best germinate. We chose a wet paper towel, Jiffy Seed Starting Mix and Pro Mix potting soil. Their hypothesis was the Jiffy Seed Starting Mix would produce quicker germination because if was finer than Pro Mix and was formulated for seed propagation.

After planting basil seed in 5 cups each of Jiffy Seed Starting Mix and Pro Mix potting soil, and placing seed on a wet paper towel, they were placed in a clear plastic container and set on a warm propagation mat.

On Day 5, the sprouts could be seen breaking out of the seed in the moist paper towel





By Day 6 germination had occurred in all medium. As the week progressed, the seedlings in the Pro Mix appeared to be larger and healthier.

The girls learned, it doesn’t take soil for seeds to germinate and just because a product is formulated for a particular purpose, it isn’t always better.

What did I get from the project? An opportunity to spend time with a couple of adorable little girls and share my enthusiasm for growing things.