MY PLANTS. Biological & Biomedical Sciences Essay.

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My Plants
One the greatest feeling in life comes when you start something, give it your best, and see it grow. While dealing with plants, the same thing happens. You start a garden, spend time and money on it, and eventually enjoy the ambience or feel it gifts your home. This particular exercise was quite fulfilling for me. I got to learn a few things about the plants I grew and also understood the aspect of owning something. A sense of ownership can be a motivator in life, and while growing my plants, I did feel a sense of ownership which pushed me to make sure they are aptly taken care of. Provided herein is a progress report with the timeline of how my three plants, sweet mint, radish, and the marigold flower, fared. Elements such as light, water, soil, compost, fertilizer, pest, diseases, among others, will also be elucidated.
Marigold Flower
The marigold flower is quite cheerful. It brings its rich color and ambience with it and makes everything look better. Only a few flowers bloom better than the marigold flower. Before planting this flower, it is crucial to know the types because they grow differently. The most common types are the French marigolds and the African, also known as the American and Mexican marigolds. Knowing the differences in these types is crucial because as I was acquiring the seeds, I was told that they require different procedures. For my case, I decided to go with French marigolds.
Progress Timeline
In the first week of September, I acquired the seeds and prepared the garden. I chose a cool area where the seeds would not be subjected to direct sunlight. The soil was moist and fertile, but I decided to reinforce it with granular fertilizer as I was digging. The soil type was a mixture of loam and sand, and upon testing the pH of the soil, I discovered that it was a little acidic. The pH was around 5.5. This took me two days to complete. The ground was set for planting.
On the third day, I sowed the seeds after making sure the soil was moist enough. Also, I planted them 2 inches deep and kept them 2 inches apart. I had the option of growing them in containers but decided to use the garden.
The other days of the week were mainly left for observation. The following week, I noticed some small seedlings sprouting off the ground. I had read that marigolds sprout after a few days, and I was worried that they were taking longer after the 4th day.
In the second week, I noticed the sprouts coming off the ground.
However, by the start of the 3rd week, I noticed that they were leggy. The plants were not as strong as I expected them to be.
I decided to pinch off the top of the plants and observed how they would respond to the same. I wanted to give them room to blossom and bloom well.
Every other day, I watered the plants. In the 4th week, I added some fertilizer after I noticed some white element on the leaves of the marigold plants. I believed that these would go away after I added the fertilizer. However, these elements spread to other leaves.
In the 5th week, I noticed that the leaves were turning color, and some of the plants were withering. To me, this meant they did not have enough water, so, I kept watering the plants. But, the more I watered them, the more they withered.
By the 6th week, my expectation was that they would have bloomed. However, the plants had grown leggier and did not look like they would survive. It is crucial to note that the garden was well lit. Natural light was not a problem, but still, the results confirmed that there was something I was doing wrong.
By the 7th week, which was towards the end of October, I had given up on my marigold plants. None had shown any signs of blooming, and I felt I had done my best....