Which soil is best for growing plants? How do we know?
If your students are involved with a science fair, it’s ideal that the experiments you do have variables and can potentially even solve a real-world problem.
Help kids complete the which soil is best for growing plants science project using these steps.
For this seed sprouting science experiment we wanted to know what kind of soil was best for sprouting seeds.
My kids created a seed sprouting science experiment to determine the best kind of soil. It’s the perfect addition to your spring STEM activities!
How to Do a Seed Sprouting Science Experiment
In this seed growth experiment, kids will learn which type of soil is best for growing plants. Read the questions below to learn how to turn this into a complete seed sprouting science fair project.
Seed Germination Experiment Science Fair Questions
Here are some questions to ask if you want to use this experiment as a science fair project! If you are currently looking for science project ideas, you’ll want to check out our list of elementary science fair project ideas and classic science fair projects!
- What soil is best for seeds?
- How do seeds grow?
- Can seeds grow in sand?
- Does the type of soil affect how fast a seed grows?
Supplies for the Seed Sprouting Science Experiment
- Easy-to-grow seeds (we used corn seeds)
- 4-6 types of soil
- Small jars or pots (we used mason jars)
- Paper towels
- Plastic bag
- Pencil
What You Need for a Science Fair
You’ll want to have these supplies on hand before doing your science fair project. Shop the included Amazon storefronts to make things easier and don’t forget to download the free science fair planning checklist before getting started!
Science Fair Project Planning
When you’re planning your project, you want to keep everything organized. Click the image below to get my free science fair project checklist so you can start organizing your project from the start.
You may also want to check out this list of science fair project research supplies.
Supplies for a Science Fair Project
There are so many supplies for science fair projects that are individual to each project, but if you want a general list of possible supplies and inspiration for your project, check out my selection of science fair experiment supplies on Amazon.
Supplies for a Science Fair Presentation
Your science fair presentation is important! It should look presentable and eye-catching. Check out this list of my favorite science fair presentation supplies.
How to Do the Seed Growing Experiment
Select a handful of seeds to pre-sprout between layers of damp paper towel inside a plastic bag. We placed our bag over the top of our refrigerator and they sprouted in about five days. This made the experiment yield faster results when we did it with the kids.
Fill your containers with the same amount of your soils. We filled our jars half-way with sand, flower potting soil, vegetable potting soil, dirt from the yard, and a mixture of half-sand/half-potting soil.
Plant three or four seeds in each container. We did three seeds per jar in case some refused to sprout. Use a pencil to push the seeds into the soil.
Water your seeds with the same amount of water per jar. We used about 1/2 a cup per jar.
Place your jars in a sunny location. Our seeds started to sprout leaves within on week. After two weeks, we compared soil types.
My kids thought that the vegetable potting soil would be best for the corn, which proved to be true. The surprise soil, however, was the sand. We thought that the sand would be worst for growing seeds, but our sand seeds were the second-most developed of the entire bunch.
Seed Germination Experiment Results
According to a planting guide we read after conducting our experiment, sandy soil is actually recommended for growing corn. We will keep a close eye on our sand plant to see how it changes and if the pure sand or sand/soil mixture will be best for the corn plant over time.
The worst soil for our corn seedlings was our yard soil, which is clay-heavy, not ideal for growing corn. Only one of the three corn sprouts we planted grew leaves.
More Plant Science Experiments
Egg Shell Garden Science Project
How to Make a 3D Model of the Parts of a Plant
