Appropriate grades or age groups:
K - 5

Estimated time to complete this project:
3-4 Weeks

Materials:
pots
seeds
soil
compost
dirt
ruler
log book and pencil

Instructions:
1) Research the differences between compost, soil and dirt and have your child create a hypothesis on which of these three organic substances will promote the fastest growth. Research a plant that your child wants to use in this experiment so as to understand what the plant will need, e.g., how much water, sunlight, temperature, etc.

2) Purchase three pots.

3) Put soil in one pot.

4) Put compost in another.

5) Put dirt in the last.

6) Add seeds to each pot.

7) Record growth in height with a ruler every three days for one month in your logbook.

8) Use a graph to chart out the observations of your plants?growth.

9) Was your hypothesis correct?