I’ve started the investigation by planting two varieties of Fast Plants alongside several common flowers and vegetables. I’ll share my observations with you, but the most interesting comparisons, I think, will be between Fast Plants and other brassica vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, turnips, bok choi, napa cabbage, mustard, kale, and so on. There is a nice list of these cruciferous vegetables in the teacher’s guides which came with your kit).

My Plan
I have planted 10 Bottle Growing System (BGS) containers, each with several seeds of a given kind. They were all planted and being maintained together under a 30 watt circular fluorescent light in a Plant Light House. Let’s compare the observed germination data in the Light House with the standard germination data listed on the seed package.

All of the seeds germinated more rapidly than the germination time listed on the seed package. From this first bit of data, it looks like the Fast Plants Light House provides optimal germination conditions. I monitored the temperature in the Light House with a digital maximum/minimum thermometer and the temperature stayed between 78°F and 83°F during the investigation.

I wonder if the seeds would have germinated just as fast if I just kept them indoors, where it is reasonably warm, but perhaps not as warm as in the Light House? Perhaps you will be the one to try that. This would be interesting to compare with seeds left out-of-doors to germinate.

The Challenge!
Your challenge (should you decide to accept it, Mr. Phelps) is to try a similar experiment with other brassicas, which are related to the Fast Plants we have been growing. Will the controlled conditions in your Fast Plants Light House, or under your light bank, speed up the germination of these seeds to times close to the germination time of the Fast Plants?

Gary ;-)