This is our second week in Professor Iskanders’ Soil Mechanics Lab. This week we germinated alfalfa seeds with water in a jar. We then planted them in several different transparent soil conditions. We analyzed their growth each day and noticed some key differences.

We are testing to see which transparent soil sample is the most beneficial to alfalfa seed growth. We are adding different materials to stabilize the composition of the aqua beads and still maintain the soil transparency.

We spent this week making different samples for our experimental groups. Some of them did not work. We placed a metal mesh to keep the alfalfa seeds from getting buried in the transparent soil. This experimental set up did not work because the mesh kept the seeds from obtaining water and nutrients.

We then placed the alfalfa seeds in aqua beads and added just water in two of the containers, which served as our control groups. The remaining two containers to the right had fertilizer. This set up was a lot more successful for alfalfa seed growth as you can see below. The alfalfa seeds grew and the growth is much more visible due to the transparency of the soil.