¶ … stimuli can affect plant growth rates, robustness, flowering, and even fruit production. We also know that nitrogen is an important part of plant development, and contributes significantly to the thickness, leaf count, and stem width in most plants. A plant that is nitrogen deficient is generally small and develops slowly because it lacks the nitrogen necessary to manufacture adequate structure and genetic materials. This could leave the structure pale green, because it lacks adequate chlorophyll. On the other hand some plants may grow rapidly when supplied with excessive nitrogen. They develop protoplasm faster than they can build sufficient supporting materials in cell walls. The plant may grow weaker and be prone to more pathogens or injuries while developing smaller fruits or fruits with less seeds (Foyer and Zhang, eds. 2010).
Background- Coffee grounds have long been known to increase compost value and act as a fertilizer in plants. In fact, over 10% of coffee grounds are nitrogen-rich proteins that are typically expressed in an 11:1 ratio, ideal for plants. In addition, there are base oils, lips, and fatty acids that remain in the grounds and are slowly decomposed within the soil, and make bioavailable to the plant roots (Chalker-Scott, 2009).
Research Questions-
1) At what concentration will the nitrates from the coffee grounds produce a healthier plant?...
Height measurements were taken every 10 days for 7 weeks; the total experimental time was 40 days. Aged water and a mixture of 50/50 water and brewed coffee were used to hydrate the plants based on the following table:
A- Water with aged water:
100% soil
1:4 soil/coffee grounds
1:1 soil/coffee grounds
3:4 soil/coffee grounds duplicate
Duplicate
Duplicate
duplicate
B - Watered with 50/50 brewed coffee and water:
100% coffee grounds
1:4 soil/coffee grounds
1:1 sol/coffee grounds
3:4 soil/coffee grounds
Duplicate
Duplicate
Duplicate
Duplicate
Hypothesis- More growth should be apparent within the first few weeks of planting tomato seeds in a moderate soil/coffee ground mixture. Using a…
