Test and Harvest Plant Update

Harvest Plants

The spinach germinating in this container were planted March 19, 2013. They started germinating after 15 days. They were the first thing I planted and were not primed or pre-germinated. That seems to be why they took twice as long to germinate and continue growing at a slow rate. I thinned them into rows on April 8 2013. 

Test Plants

These spinach plants were grown from a seed in a glass bottle on a wet paper towel. Once the fuzzy roots came in, in the bottle I transplanted them into this cup. They took 1/4 of the time to grow to the same height as the control group above. These plants were squashed and poured out to the side (only a little) on April 6th causing the germinating seeds to bore deeper into the soil when replaced upright. I thought that permanent damage had been done because they were transplants and sensitive to begin with but they have continued to grow at a rapid and healthy rate. 

These spinach plants were primed or soaked overnight in tepid water and planted. They took about 7 days to germinate and since have grown taller than both the pre-germination and control groups above. They may be taller than the pre-germ group because they were planted in shallow dish under little soil. These plants were uprooted on April 6th by the wind. The soil cracked and the plants were replanted in there cups a few hours after the fall. I thought that it would cause permanent to deadly damage but they have continued to grow and at a rate that supersedes the control/harvest group.

These radish seeds were primed and planted. They have grown at a rapid rate and are now showing a second set of leaves after 5 days. They are on there 9th day of growth overall. These fell out of there cup on April 6th and were replanted immediately after falling. I thought that they would die from the uprooting but have continued to show growth with the aforementioned leaves. The growth may have come a little slower than it was supposed to because of the fall but the fall was not terminal to the plants. 

The 3 germinating spinach plants are  in the ground in what I have called the "Faerie Garden." The soil was not amended or watered except for when planted. The rain we've received since there sowing on March 19 2013 is the only water they've received. The seeds were not primed, scarified, or pre-germinated. They took an extremely long time to germinate, about 20 days and are smaller than any of the other plants but they did germinate. According to everything I read they should not have been able. The test was successful, I was able to germinate seeds in shaded, rocky, muddy, sandy, and clumpy soil*.

* Even though the test was to find out if I could get the control group seeds to germinate in unknown poor soil with little care and I've gotten the results for that test I'll continue the plants growth to further test the theory of resilience in spinach plants.