Growing a Carrot from a Carrot
By Brianna Dery
Elementary Category (Grades 4-6)
Experiment | Agriculture
Introduction:
I chose this project because I am interested in how carrots grow. They are tasty and crunchy. I hoped that by doing this experiment I could grow more carrots for me to eat.
Problem Statement:
Can you grow a carrot from a Carrot? What part of the carrot will grow?
Procedures:
I bought a bunch of organic carrots and took one and cut it into three pieces – top, middle and bottom. I got three small Mason jars and put a piece of paper towel in each one. I put each piece into a jar of its own and filled each jar half-way with water. I recorded what happened every day (by me speaking into a recorder) for six weeks. I kept watering them over the six weeks when the water got low.
Results:
At the end of six weeks the top portion had sprouted leaves, but it did not grow a new carrot. The leaves grew and grew and grew. The middle portion went black and moldy. The bottom went black and moldy. The top part grew because it had leaves so it could soak up light and that’s how the carrot got its food. The middle and bottom parts had no leaves so they could not grow.
Conclusions:
While you can’t actually grow a carrot from a carrot, you can grow delicious greens for your salad.
