Monday, February 22, 2010

Failed Experiment


Another rainy day for another unfinished topic. On October 29, 2009, I wrote about my ongoing experiment to determine if micro-waved water had any negative effect on plant growth (after reading a claim that it is dangerous for plants and humans). I bought two nearly identical African violets and, all other factors equal, watered Plant A with filtered tap water, Plant B with filtered tap water that had been micro-waved and cooled.

After three months I was surprised that Plant B of the micro-waved water had held its bloom longer and had grown slightly larger, though both plants still looked healthy. Across three more months my surprise increased as Plant A became visibly distressed (see photo) and subsequently wilted and rotted in the pot.

Clearly, something other than water must have been wrong with Plant A from the time of purchase, because all other plants in the house thrived on the same filtered tap water, not to mention a lifetime of houseplants that have done the same.

Will buy two more African violets and try again. dkm

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Deb yay you're back and you've done two posts without me knowing! haha I've added your blog to the side of mine so when you post, it will pop to the top of the list and I will see it. I'm looking forward to reading about the half-bird carcass!