Day 9 of Horticulture:

In today's lesson, we learned about indoor planting and what we can do to improve plant growth when we are planting indoors. One of the things we learned about were light boxes. These are boxes that have been cut in a particular way and wrapped in tinfoil. Their job is to improve and increase the amount of light a plant receives. When a plant is placed in the light box, the light reflects off the tinfoil and onto the plant, increasing the plant's light absorption. After learning about the light boxes we then divided into groups and made our own light boxes. In the picture below you can see the light box that I made. You can also see the pot I made to hold the plant. This was designed using a plastic bottle, newspaper and masking tape. I cut out even sheets of newspaper and wrapped each individual piece around the bottle, sticking it together at the bottom to create a pot shape. I repeated this action seven times until the pot was able to stand on its own. I removed the bottle and then filled the pot with soil, watered it and finally, placed basil seeds into it before placing it into my light box. I plan to monitor the plant carefully over the next few weeks, making sure I water it every two days and hopefully I will soon have a strong and healthy basil plant.

My Light Box:

Day 8 of Horticulture:

In today's lesson we conducted research on soil. Using the computer room I found the following facts about soil; what nutrients it is composed of, examples of different types of soil and the conditions needed for soil in order to begin planting. I found out the following:

The Composition of Soil:

Soil is composed of five major components 

Mineral matter which is obtained by the disintegration and decomposition of rocks.
Organic matter which is obtained from the remains of dead plants and animals. (also known as humus)
Water from the atmosphere and the reactions in soil. (both chemical and physical) 
Air or gases from the atmosphere and reactions of roots and chemicals in the soil. 
Organisms such as worms and insects. 

Pie Chart of Soil Composition:

Types of Soil:

Soil can be divided into the following groups:

Sandy Soils: These soils have a high sand content and they are full of large air gaps. It is a free draining soil which is very easy to work with and it warms up very quickly in the spring. However, it is lower in nutrients as it is subject to very heavy leaching and the soil dries out quickly.

Clay Soils: This is a naturally fertile soil that holds water very well, leaching of this soil is slower and it is darker in colour. However it is hard to work in wet conditions, has poor drainage and is a very cold soil.

Silt Soils: These soils are very fertile soils that retain water well and drain considerably slower than sandy soils.

Peat Soils: This soil is high in organic matter and therefore a very fertile soil that is dark in colour. However, it is an acidic soil that has very poor draining ability.

Diagram of Different Soil Types:

Conditions needed for plant growth:

In order for a plant to grow properly, it needs the following conditions:

1. Correct temperature.

2. Sufficient amount of light.

3. Correct amount of water.

4. Sufficient supply of oxygen.

5. Correct supply of mineral nutrients.

6. Appropriate support to hold the plants upright.

Diagram of the different layers of soil:

Day 7 of Horticulture:

In today's class we began to plant our chosen plants. The equipment we used today included a trowel, shovel, watering can, garden fork and of course the plants we used. 

      We began by creating a space to plant in the courtyard's flower beds. We cleared away all remaining weeds then lifted the topsoil away using a trowel and a shovel. After this we made a hole that was big enough for the plant to fit into. We filled the hole with a small amount of water using the watering can then gently lifted the plant out of its pot by the bottom of its stem. We carefully loosened the roots at the bottom of the plant then placed it into the hole.
       We filled the space around the plant with compost to keep the plant steady and well-nourished. Then we covered the top with a mixture of compost and the soil we had removed to make the hole. Finally, we watered the plant again with the watering can and tidied the space around the plant, removing leftover soil and the weeds we had removed.


            Pictures from My Day of Planting: