We are just kicking off our study of hydroponics. Previously, students completed a KWL chart for the class - what they KNOW, WANT to know and later, we will complete what they LEARNED. Everyone agreed...we didn't know much about it! We've set some learning targets in our PATS notebooks and we have goals!
Sample photo from our Wick System at the End of Week One
(We were visiting Mars during the first week)
Sample from Week 2
Conference Week this week...I've taken pictures of everyone's growth (although a couple aren't germinating). We'll have to try and discover why!
Week 3
Looking good...students came into see their plants. We have some concerns about the mold growing on our wicks. Hmmm...
Week 4
It was Spring Break this week...when Mrs. Flo came by to take photos, something had happened to the plants. We'll have to talk when we meet next week to see if we can figure it out!
Week 5
4/12/13 The classes were able to see their hanging wick systems...in most of the pots, the plants have been resorbed into the vermiculite. The mold has covered the surface of the nutrient solution. Hmmm...a class discussion was in order. We looked at our hydroponic pots, our geoponic example and a model created and tested by a student that uses acrylic yarn instead of a cotton wick. Both the geoponic system and the yarn model are growing without mold in the bottom.
The wick systems that we were growing seem to be overrun with mold (and leaving the classroom today!). We had several thoughts about what caused the sudden loss of our plants. Could it be the mold stealing the nutrients from our solution? Was the mold in cotton wicks? (The yarn sample is not molding). Is it the new brand of nutrient solution? Hmmm...we're going to try again to see if we can have a better outcome.