Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

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andy10917
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Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » October 10th, 2009, 11:17 am

I've decided on this winter's lab project (last year's was fine-tuning the micronutrient levels/spreadsheets, and the homemade soil conditioner). It involves exploring and testing the use of natural plant hormones, vitamins and micronutrients to enhance root growth, affect apical dominance, branching, overall growth, quicker germination and faster ending of dormancy. I'm concentrating on KBG.

Is anyone other than me interested in following the progress and results? I'll probably set up a blog or something for the detailed stuff, but does anyone want to read the less-detailed stuff?

Also, if there are any other "closet scientists" out there that can commit to two months of basement science, let me know.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by simpson » October 10th, 2009, 12:22 pm

what do i need to buy?

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MorpheusPA
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by MorpheusPA » October 10th, 2009, 12:28 pm

Ditto.

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andy10917
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » October 10th, 2009, 12:41 pm

Not much. Some styrofoam or plastic cups, a couple pounds of potting soil and a fluorescent workbench fixture with warm/cool bulbs (you're probably already have it for starting garden plants). I'll provide 1/16 lb of seed, a teensy amounts of stuff to put into a $2 spray bottle, but I won't tell you what the things you're putting down are until we're done (a single-blind study). You grow the grass in cups and track which ones did best with "substance A" or "substance B".

And then you get the Nobel Prize for Science. Maybe. Maybe not.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by Ohio2112 » October 10th, 2009, 2:08 pm

Sounds like fun.
Count me in!

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by cactus » October 10th, 2009, 6:14 pm

What are the temperature requirements?

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andy10917
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » October 10th, 2009, 7:30 pm

I dunno. My basement stays around 60 degrees, and it stays maybe 5 degrees warmer under the lights. That's what I'm going with.

I'll be doing some control experiments between now and Christmas. After Christmas, those things that show a little promise (translation: don't kill the grass) will be sent to others to repeat experiments and find the best dosages.

Here are some things that I'm looking into (alone and in combination):

- Gibberellic Acid
- Thiamine
- Brassinolide
- Indole (IAA and IBA)
- Benzylaminopurine
- NAA
- Triacontanol

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by nothing0 » October 11th, 2009, 7:54 pm

I'm in if you need more people.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by MorpheusPA » October 11th, 2009, 8:11 pm

Where in the name of the Bright Powers are you getting this stuff at an accurate enough concentration to test?!?

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andy10917
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » October 11th, 2009, 11:02 pm

Canada, I hope.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by mattya » September 21st, 2012, 12:18 pm

I take it none of these things worked?

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » September 21st, 2012, 8:33 pm

Hah!! That's funny. It has become a three-year obsession. The number of hours on this is high enough that I'm afraid to count them.

Oh, by the way - they work very well.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by mattya » September 22nd, 2012, 12:57 am

All of them? No data to share yet? :P

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andy10917
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » September 22nd, 2012, 8:59 am

I can't think of any that "don't work". The issues are whether you want the effects they create. Do you want elongation, apical dominance, faster growth, slower growth, top growth, root growth, or the ability to break dormancy sooner?

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by bernstem » September 22nd, 2012, 9:10 am

Let me see... Slower top growth, faster root growth, increased tillering and rhizome production with darker color. Gibberellin inhibitors seem to give some of those effects, but the impact on tillering and root growth is nominal at best while there is likely no impact on rhizome production (which seems a bit at odds with the data on root growth, but it is biology so it often doesn't make sense at first pass).

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andy10917
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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by andy10917 » September 23rd, 2012, 10:22 am

I won't be publishing the concentrations of auxins that work well for me, as I'm giving them to my sons for products for their web store. There will be auxin products they will be selling.

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Re: Winter (Lab) Project: Natural Grass Growth Hormones

Post by simpson » September 23rd, 2012, 12:27 pm

I'm still waiting on the one we talked about Andy. Production date still on for October?

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