Chia Seed Lab
By Will Fulton and Carrie Gorman
Our Purpose
To find out how fast the chia seeds will grow when being soaked for 72 hours prior to being planted.
Our Hypothesis
If the chia seeds are kept in water 24 hours before planting, then they will grow slower because they will not have had enough nutrients to survive.
Variables
Experimental/Independent Variable: Time seeds spend in water before being planted.
Dependent Variable: Speed in which the plant grows. Will be measured daily.
Control Variables: Light, time planted, amount of seeds planted in each cup.
Extraneous Variable: Sunlight throughout the day.
Shortened Procedure
We soaked chia seeds in water for 72 hours then planted them and then planted regular seeds and measured their growth. We took data on the speed the plants both grew.
If we were to do the lab again, to better further our knowledge of this topic we could do more research and then find a way to take data over the weekend. Maybe try to do more cups for experimentation. Also, make sure the plants are getting the same amount of water every week.
Results So Far
So far, the seeds that were not soaked are growing faster. That could be an effect of human error or, maybe the water caused the seed to not germinate and it had delayed growth since it had to wait until the water had left its shell.
Conclusions
From our results, we can conclude that soaking the chia seeds before planting them does not help by getting the plants to grow faster.
Research
Our research shows that if a chia seed is frequently watered, it may not grow very well. From http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_saco6.pdf ,
“Chia requires full sun, good drainage and only enough water to become established. Do not plant chia near lawns and other plants that require frequent watering.”
“Chia is quite drought tolerant. The plants will tolerate some moisture during the growing period but should not be watered frequently.”
- “Reduce watering frequency after the seedlings emerge.”