Does Epsom Salt Help in the Growth of House Plants? Project Design Plan

The growth of house plants is a relatively complex process because these plants require various elements in order to grow. Some of these elements that contribute to the growth of house plants include water and some amount of sun light, which are crucial in the health and strength of house plants. Epsom salt has been regarded as an important element for the growth and health of plants because it contains magnesium and sulfur.

Problem Statement: Epsom salt could help a gardener to grow strong and healthy plants without using chemicals though the salt contains sulfur and magnesium. While all plants require water and a certain amount of sunlight in order to growth strong and healthy, gardeners are faced with the need to maximize plant growth as much as possible. As a result, some gardeners utilize different chemicals in order to promote the strong and healthy growth of plants. Since Epsom salt is considered as one of the non-chemical ways of promoting plant growth, its important to examine whether the salt aids the growth of house plants as compared to water alone. This scientific experiment focuses on determining whether Epsom salt helps in house plants growth versus water alone in order for gardeners and plants owners to enhance their knowledge regarding successful plant growth.

Literature Review

The issue of the role of Epsom salt in promotion the growth of strong healthy house plants has been the subject of numerous studies in the field of science. Epsom salt is a simple chemical comprising sulfur, magnesium, and water that is utilized to enable plants have better uptake of valuable nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen during growth. It is also known as magnesium sulfate and considered as one of the most suitable nutrients for plants and gardens (Chalker-Scott, 2007). Epsom salt enhances plant growth through improving seed germination and enhancing the uptake of nutrients. During germination, the magnesium in Epsom salt improves the infusion of seeds with valuable nutrients that in turn develop the cell walls of the plant. Additionally, the magnesium also promotes better uptake of phosphorous and nitrogen, which are valuable nutrients and fertilizer elements. During intensive cropping of several vegetables and fruits, Epsom salt is utilized to alleviate magnesium deficiency. On the contrary, the sulfur in Epsom salt enhances plant growth through improving the production of chlorophyll. Similar to magnesium, this nutrient also works with elements in the soil to enhance the production of potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Therefore, the findings by Chalker-Scott (2007) provide a scientific background for this experiment.

Bender (2017) state that Epsom salt is normally fed to plants that need magnesium such as peppers and tomatoes. The salt is fed to plants through conducting a soil test to determine whether it lacks magnesium or sulfur. The salt is applied in different ways...

In this case, 1 tablespoon per gallon of water of Epsom salt is applied for foliar feeding while soil drenching entails adding ½-cup per gallon of water. These findings provide guidelines for the application of Epsom salt, which will guide the experimental design steps of this experiment.
Experimental Design Steps

1. Two house plants are planted in identical pots using the same soil, similar amount of soil in the containers, and similar depth of hole during planting. The pot which Epsom salt will be utilized is marked for easy identification.

2. A gallon jug is filled with water and 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt added. The solution is applied to the marked pot on a weekly basis. The addition of this solution to the house plant is based on similar procedures of watering the plants.

3. The application of the Epsom salt solution to the house plant is carried out once every week using regular water.

4. The other pot is watered using regular water on a regular basis as part of normal watering of house plants.

5. The house plants are then evaluated in terms of their growth after four weeks of the commencement of the experiment.

Reasoning

The easiest and natural ways of using Epsom plant is the use of potted plants, which provides a simple way of adding Epsom salt solution to enhance the health and strength of the plants during growth. The addition of the two tablespoons of Epsom salt to watering is based on the fact that potted plants require the use of such solution, which is substituted for normal watering once every week (Salt Works, 2017). Adding the Epsom salt solution and substituting it with normal watering once a week helps in preventing overuse of the salt while providing a good basis for evaluating its impact on house plants growth. The normal watering of the other pot helps in providing a comparison of how Epsom salt helps in the growth of house plants versus water alone. The measurement conducted after four weeks of the experiment helps in determining the effect of Epsom salt on the growth of house plants in comparison to the use of water alone.

Sequence of Events

The impact of Epsom salt on the growth of house plants is determined by measuring the growth of the potted house plant after four weeks of the experiment as compared to the potted plant using water alone.

1. Epsom salt is considered to aid the growth of house plants when the plant in which the solution is utilized grows faster and stronger than the one using normal watering.

2. Two tablespoons of Epsom salt are mixed with a gallon of water during watering while the other pot is watered using normal watering procedures.

3. The Epsom salt solution is added to normal watering of the marked pot to avoid overuse, which can be detrimental to a plant’s growth.

4. The growth of the house…