Sunflower Journal

28th February - Today, the sunflower seeds were planted in the pots. Two
seeds were planted in each pot. The sunflowers were not watered on this day.
The pots were placed under the roof of W block, facing the east.
1st March The coffee grinds, being the independent variable, were added to
pot 1 today. No growth had occurred at this stage.
2nd March Both pots were watered. At this stage the pots were still placed
under the roof of W block, facing east.
3rd March Both pots were watered again. No noticeable growth had yet
occurred.
7th March Today, the sunflowers were relocated to the green house. They
were placed in an ideal spot for growing sunflowers, yet they would still
receive some shade and protection. In pot one, one seed had sprouted to be 3-
5cm tall with two leaves on the stem. The seedling was bending over as the
name tag had blown and pushed it over. Again, the sunflower was watered.

Pot one left and pot two right Close up of pot one, seedling is shown slightly bent.
9th March During care class, Alannah was sent down to water the pots. At
this stage the second seedling in pot one had sprouted with a total of two
leaves. It was still smaller than the first seedling. The first sunflower that
sprouted had grown a total of 4 leaves, two big ones and two little ones. There
was still no indication that pot twos seedlings had sprouted.

(Pot two right & pot one left) Close up of pot one

10th of March Both pots were watered. No notable changes as it had only
been one day since the last check-up.
14th of March Over the past 5 days, we received a large amount of rain. This
was then followed by a really sunny day. These conditions benefited the
sunflower which resulted in a large growth. The images that are shown below
exemplify this, as the soil looked damp and in a healthy condition to benefit
the sunflower. Again, only pot one received this extreme growth and pot twos
seeds had yet to sprout.
Pot one showing rapid growth Pot one showing size of seedlings

17th of March - Received a lot more rain and it was too rainy to go visit the
sunflowers.
20th of March The sunflowers were visited today as over the weekend, we
received a lot more rain. The sunflower had survived even though it rained a
lot. A little growth had occurred. At this stage, pot two looked as if no growth
was going to occur.
23rd of March Tejal and I visited the sunflower. It was noted that the
sunflower had grown, which was a benefit of the recent rain. Additionally, it
was a really sunny day which provided the sunflower with some much needed
sun.
24th of March I decided that the sunflower needed a check-up. The amount
of rain received was still having an effect on the sunflower and the soil. The
images shown below are an example of the rain, as 5 mushrooms were
beginning to grow, only in pot one. These mushrooms were going to be a
massive problem for the still growing sunflower, as they would consume all the
nutrients from the soil, meaning the sunflower was endangered.

Pot one with 5 mushrooms growing

Pot two, still no growth

Pot one at the back and pot two at the front

28th Of March Oni and I came up to visit the sunflower today. The photos
below, show that the sunflowers soil no longer contained the dangerous
mushrooms. The soil looks dry and hard as we have not received much rain in
the past 4 days. However, it can be noted that the plate in which the sunflower
pots sit in, are full of previous rain water and soil that has fallen out of the pot.
Still no growth in pot two.

Pot two on the left & pot one on the right

30th of March 150mL of rain fell due to tropical cyclone Debbie. Major
flooding occurred. However, I was unable to visit the sunflower as school
had been cancelled due to the wild weather.
31st of March Today we had wild winds with gusts up to 100km an hour.
Again, I could not visit the sunflower as school had been cancelled.
Altogether, I will be unable to visit the sunflower for another 2 weeks as it
is now the holidays. Therefore, no water will be delivered to the
sunflower so it will have to rely on natural rain and water.

20th of April Today, the sunflowers were brought back to the first floor
of W block. The sunflowers had survived the extreme weather conditions
and were looking as if the past two weeks of sun, with little natural water,
was starting to make them nutrient deficient. This is the main reason for
the yellow leaves shown in pot one.

Pot one on the left & pot two on the right

21st of April Both pots were watered twice today, once in the morning
and once in the afternoon. This was because the weekend was coming,
meaning we wouldnt be able to the sunflowers again until Monday.
24th of April Since Friday, it can be noted that some of the leaves on
both sunflowers, are either dead or dying. A likely reason for this would
be the fact that we have been unable to water the sunflowers over the
weekend. This results in the sunflower not receiving vital nutrients to
continue growing.

Pot one on the left & pot two on the right