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Greenhouse three served as the backdrop for the second Herbology lesson of the term. A long table has been brought in especially for the lesson and is surrounded by stools. Along the table you see a numberof oddly shaped jars and bottles with micro gardens in them. Beneath the long table are jars of various shapes as sizes, mostly consisting of large pickling jars.
Professor Bentley is not yet present, so you're free to take a seat, look around, mind you don't go breaking any rules.
OOC: The lesson has started. If you haven't done so already then please read through the Herbology Rules and Expectations and the SS Site Rules. All SS Board Rules apply. IC rule breaking will result in IC punishment, OOC rule breaking will result in OOC punishment. Please behave appropriately and most importantly... have fun. If you have any questions don't hesitate to send me a PM.
Oohhhhh good questions. Seren was impressed. "Tropical for sure," she replied to Spike, before looking between the boys. "As for creatures and insects, we'll get to that later, but yes, we can't have a biome without all of its components."
Spike nodded, and pushed the container of bog plant seeds out of the way as he listened to Bentley answer about the frogs. As she confirmed they would be including creatures and insects, Spike beamed. "Thanks, Professor," he said with a grin. He couldn't wait for his bromeliads to grow big enough for little frogs to sit in!
SPOILER!!: Beezus
Quote:
Originally Posted by xXxPandora
Beezus took quick notations on the kind of soils as defined by Professor Bentley while she spoke in front. Sandy, silty, clay, peaty and loam. Now which soil would best fit the biome she had in mind? As if on cue, her co-Prefect asked the woman a question mentioning her biome!
"Psst. Spike, I'm also working on a tropical rainforest." She said, tugging on his elbow since he was just beside her. That meant she was going to work on that kind of ecosystem, but if he was also aiming for that one, then maybe they could share the idea. Hmm. Or even better, share the seeds they have among themselves to have diversity in each of their miniature terrariums. They'd both benefit, right?
Also, there was something she wanted clarification on before she could collect soil and start on her task. Hand up. "Excuse me, Professor. From my research, it is said that nutrient poor red soil is the kind usually found in tropical rainforests. Can I consider the silty type for this?" Because rainforests' soil layers were very deprived of nutrients due to the climate associated with it.
Spike was about to go get some soil, when Beezus caught him. "Technically, I'm going for a cloud forest," Spike said. Though still a tropical forest, it wasn't the same ecosystem as a rainforest. Admittedly though, perhaps he should have mentioned that when he asked which biome he should choose, as he was a little worried about how to simulate the high humidity required for the plants to thrive without it getting overwhelmed by algae. He assumed they'd get to that part though, controlling the atmospheric conditions.
"What species did you opt for?" he asked his co-Prefect, clearly interested. They should probably still have some overlap, no?
SPOILER!!: Bentley
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
The Ravenclaw's hand caught her attention, giving her a brief nod and a smile, Seren listened. "Silty... not quite. I'd actually opt for the loam, but mix in a bit more sand. So..." Seren pursed her lips in thought, "... about two thirds loam and one third sand."
Right. So as those students went to collect their soil, she too collected a bucket of loam and returned to her station at the head of the table. "Now! Depending on the shape of your jar, and how you plan to distribute your vegetation, you'll need to start arranging your soil at the base of the jar. Feel free to take it off the bench, and doing it on the floor..." in case their arms were too short. "Once you have done that, you need to start planting your seeds, bulbs or spores... a quick tip, for bulbs and seeds that are bulky, reduce their size before planting."
Spike couldn't help but listen in to Bentley's answer for Beezus. He'd had planned on just using loam, but tilted his head thoughtfully at the addition of sand. Did he need as much as a third of sand, however? He didn't think so, and made the decision then to use about a quarter of sand for balance.
He grabbed a bucket, and filled it with what he judged to be about the right amount of loam, before topping it up with the sand. He carried it back to the bench, before running it through his fingers to both mix up the two soil types, and to break up any major lumps. Now to get it in the jar.
Deciding that desk height was reasonable, Spike began to gently tip the soil into his jar, and pat it down lightly. He wanted an asymmetric effect and thus piled the soil up a little higher on the left than the right. Hopefully this would allow him to highlight the various species contained within. Happy, he brushed his gloved hands off on the thighs of his trousers, and opened his container of seeds.
Yeah I broke that mirror, so what? ll NOT backward ll Official Gryfferin ll Lemon's favourite
Lex just eyed the jar full of dirt. That wasn't supposed to happen. She hadn't meant to actually fill it. Okay maybe she did but not so soon. The seeds were still on the outside of the jar and with all that dirt there was no way to fit them in. Poor seeds. Nowhere to go, stuck right there, forever watching the jar home that would have been perfect for them. Where would they go? Nowhere! Exactly! Which was why she turned the jar over and emptied all the dirt. SHE WOULD GIVE THEM A HOME.
With a new level of determination she got to packing the dirt in again. This time she was extra careful to watch after each scoop. No need to have a repeat and offend the seeds.
YES seeds had feelings and they could get hurt. People talked to plants all the time which obviously meant there was some level of understanding. Duh. Plus, she was sure that Professor Bentley talked to the plants and all plants had to start as seeds. Insult the seed and the plant would never grow. It all made perfect sense, yup, it totally did and she was a genius for figuring that out.
Smart!Alexa.
When the jar was half full she thought it was time to place the seeds. She put each of them at an even distance from each other, in a nice little pattern that would be obvious and really prettiful when they finally grew.
Time to add more dirt, yes? She blew each little seed a kiss before she began covering them with dirt. "There you guys go! All good to go!" They were gonna start growing now, right? How long would it take?
__________________
Imma say all the words inside my head____________________________________
______________________________I'm fired up and tired of the way that things are said.
Oichi found the professors answer to her question quite interesting. It seems loam is a variety of Earthy things. Cool! And now I'm about to get started with this crazy biome project. AWESOMENESS!!! With that thought Oichi grabbed her supplies and brought them to her station and prepared them to start her biome.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Right. So as those students went to collect their soil, she too collected a bucket of loam and returned to her station at the head of the table. "Now! Depending on the shape of your jar, and how you plan to distribute your vegetation, you'll need to start arranging your soil at the base of the jar. Feel free to take it off the bench, and doing it on the floor..." in case their arms were too short. "Once you have done that, you need to start planting your seeds, bulbs or spores... a quick tip, for bulbs and seeds that are bulky, reduce their size before planting."
Sierra just looked down at her jar. She wasn't really sure how to go about doing this. She probably should have done a little more research before she just accepted what her mom and dad sent and then came straight to class. She had no doubt they'd sent the right materials. What she doubted was how much she knew about those materials.
She could at least pack the soil in to the jar. She spent the next at least ten minutes lining the bottom of the jar with the soil she'd chosen. She wasn't exactly sure if it was supposed to go in a certain way or not, so she just randomly patted it in until it looked good to her. She looked at it, decided it was the best she could do, then took out her seeds, bulbs, and spores.
The blonde had put all of the soil in his jar and had arranged it just the way he wanted it. Ofim got all of his seeds off of the table and sat back down by his jar of dirt.
Right. Time to actually plant the seeds. He had a few different types. Cat-tails,sea grass, and a pod of mangrove seeds.
Ofim put the sea grass seeds in the soil that was lower than the rest. He then put the the cat-tails on the "bank" of the area of soil in his jar. He added the mangrove seeds on the highest part of the soil. Okay. Now what? WHERE WAS THE WATER? He knew that there was going to have to be water at some point. Maybe the professor would tell them what to do next.
He picked up his jar and moved it back to the table. He sat down and waited
❄Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re❄| ⚕=equivalent exchange=⚕ | pinned ya!
SPOILER!!: STUD!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hermygirl
Spike was about to go get some soil, when Beezus caught him. "Technically, I'm going for a cloud forest," Spike said. Though still a tropical forest, it wasn't the same ecosystem as a rainforest. Admittedly though, perhaps he should have mentioned that when he asked which biome he should choose, as he was a little worried about how to simulate the high humidity required for the plants to thrive without it getting overwhelmed by algae. He assumed they'd get to that part though, controlling the atmospheric conditions.
"What species did you opt for?" he asked his co-Prefect, clearly interested. They should probably still have some overlap, no?
Psssh. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes at him, she replied somewhat mimicking his first choice of word, "Technically, a cloud forest and rainforest have the same properties associated with them. They only differ slightly on some variations." Primarily on the fact that cloud forest don't get as much rain as those in rain forests. Its name basically says it all, does it not?
"For the plants, I've got cecropia tree shrubs, lichens and lianas. You know, the common ones. I'm also planning on using bush babies and leafhoppers for the animal species involved." Well, what do you say Prefect Hutchinson? "What do you think?"
Quote:
The Ravenclaw's hand caught her attention, giving her a brief nod and a smile, Seren listened. "Silty... not quite. I'd actually opt for the loam, but mix in a bit more sand. So..." Seren pursed her lips in thought, "... about two thirds loam and one third sand."
- xxx -
Right. So as those students went to collect their soil, she too collected a bucket of loam and returned to her station at the head of the table.
"Now! Depending on the shape of your jar, and how you plan to distribute your vegetation, you'll need to start arranging your soil at the base of the jar. Feel free to take it off the bench, and doing it on the floor..." in case their arms were too short. "Once you have done that, you need to start planting your seeds, bulbs or spores... a quick tip, for bulbs and seeds that are bulky, reduce their size before planting."
Loam...and sand? Beezus couldn't help but bite her bottom lip. So, her research had been wrong? But she nodded at the woman, and returned the smile afterwards, clearly trusting her expertise. "Thank you, Professor."
Following as instructed, Beezus brought a bucket with her and filled it with loam soil just as she got another one and used it for the sand, although the latter she only took lesser amount. When she had both, she returned to her workplace, and all ears on the additional instructions, carefully placed her jar on the floor and filled it with soil. Loam and sand, two thirds and one thirds respectively. After mixing, she distributed it on the base of the jar, imaginably having it in half and elevating the other half. She supposed she'd go something that would resemble a platform so it would be easier to work on.
Eliza carefully picked up her glass terrarium and set it on the bench. She could reach into it all right on the table, but it was a little bit awkward to angle your hand down in there like that, so she decided to try the lowering idea.
Okay so...in goes the sand, she thought, scooping up several helpings of sand and plopping them down into the jar. Plop, sift, plop, shake, sift, plop. She had a few inches worth inside the jar, but she wasn't sure if that would be enough. How long are cactus roots? What do they even look like come to think of it...? She added a few more scoops from her bucket of sand and smoothed it all out flat with her hand. It felt cool and relaxing beneath her fingers and she found herself dragging little designs into it with her fingertips, when she should have been adding her seeds. After a few moments of this mini-therapy session, she snapped out of it. Okay seeds, you're next.
Hiss!Roar!Growl!Caw! | Hermione's Double | The Little Three | Alecate
So now it was time to actually do the planting. You had to be careful with a desert environment. For one, this place was used to being very, very hot, and the vegetation there had to rely on finding its own source of water most of the time. Her parents had found her a few varieties of cacti and ferns, though, and Sierra knew both were common in the desert.
She started by using her smallest garden shovel to shift the soil to where she could easily drop the seeds into it. She made sure to make these holes where the most light would get through to the seeds and eventually, the plant. She also wanted to allow rainfall to come through, too. So the holes were situated to reflect just that.
Then she dropped the seeds in, a few in each hole. She filled a nearby cup with some water and then used the water to pour into each hole. When she was done, she patted the soil to fill in the holes. Now, the seeds were tucked safely away. She added a bit more water to the top then patted down the soil once again.
˝ EagleBrain ♥ Creeperdoodle ♥ Raven Dor ♥ Berry ♥ ˝ Team House Elf
SPOILER!!: Mo
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erndearment
As directed by the professor, Mo settled his jar on the floor beside his bucket of peaty soil and began to transfer some it into the bottom. It was probably just like potting a regular plant, and he wouldn't want to pack the soil in too tightly or else his plants would never grow.
As he transferred soil into his jar and spread it evenly around the bottom, he considered how he wanted to distribute his seeds. Like with like, probably, and he wouldn't want tall things all around the outside of the jar, preventing him from being able to see the shorter plants inside.
Plus, he had seeds for a Great Sundew... and a question about that as he worked. "Professor? I have these seeds from a carnivorous plant, a Great Sundew, and... d'you think we're creating a biome that can support that type of plant? Will there be bugs and things in there for it to eat?"
Turning to the Ravenclaw, Seren nodded her head in understanding. "Of course, but we'll get onto that bit later," she said with a wink.
SPOILER!!: Kendall
Quote:
Originally Posted by SecretAdmirer
Sitting back and just taking a moment to eye the soil she had already put in side her jar, Kendall thought once again about if there looked like there was enough there for her plants to grow. Other people had already planted theirs, but then not everyone seemed to have quite as clear of an idea as to what they were recreating. Of course, she still wasn’t entirely sure of the exact arrangement she wanted with her seeds, but at least she knew the basic idea. She wanted a microcosm of Ireland, and that was what she was going to get whatever it took. All she had to do was start. First, though, she added a bit more soil just to be sure there was enough. It altered her little hills and low spots, but that wasn’t as important as getting everything to grow in the first place. Everything was going to end up at different heights no matter what.
Once she decided that her soil issue was taken care of, she slid her container of seeds toward herself and started separating out each kind. In the end, she had a tiny pile of wild asparagus seeds, another of frosted orache, a third pile of brookweed, then the dewberry, bluebells, and lesser butterfly orchid seeds last. At which point she realized that maybe those would need more, but she’d handle that when it came. Either way, she was planning on starting at the outside and working toward the center, and that meant the orache and wild asparagus first. She picked up a few seeds of the orache, and evenly spaced them in a ring near the edges of her jar, but not too close to the sides, and then created a second ring of the wild asparagus inside the first, placing those seeds in the spaces between the orache seeds. Moving on, she loosely alternated brookweed and dewberry seeds inside that ring, ending with bluebells and butterfly orchid seeds near the center. That way there would be space if they wanted to get taller, provided that they grew at all. “Professor Bentley? Is there anything I should add to the soil or anything to help lesser butterfly orchids grow?,” she asked, raising a hand once she’d gotten most of the seeds covered by soil again. She didn’t want to move too far ahead and then have to start over.
Seren peeked into the bottom of the girls jar. "Not for the moment, wait for the next step."
SPOILER!!: Dylan
Quote:
Originally Posted by THE Govoni
With his soil arranged and prepped, Dylan was ready to start adding the living aspects. Carefully lining all the different mini-jars and containers up on the table for easy access, the Slytherin put on his concentration face. It was TIME to create an ECOSYSTEM!
First things, first...The Host plant that his gillyweed was going to feed off of. This was in one of the bigger containment jars, a basic shrub he'd gotten for the purpose of his plant's food. Twisting the cap off, Dylan lifted it up, loosening up its roots so that he could allow it to thrive for a period of time in the jar. After doing so, he reached a hand down into the jar and dug a hole. Then the Slytherin was settling it down into it's new home. Making sure the roots would be able to breath and get nutrients, he patted the soil around it...ensuring that they were covered.
Next...he'd grabbed the tiny jar that housed his flower seeds. Dylan figured they could grow and be food in the future...if this all worked out. Meh, he was hoping to be on the right track here...Really, he'd never done anything like this...SO, yea. Digging out some random holes scattered around the bottom, he littered them with the seeds...and then quickly covered them with dirt. So, there would be BEAUTIFUL flowers; lilies, daisies, other randoms he'd gotten sent to him. His mother had helped him out there...
Then it was time for bugs...Yes, yes. Bugs. Everyone knew that bugs added their own unique fertilizer to soil...So, he'd gotten some worms and caterpillars. If he seen butterflies about to happen, he could remove cocoons. Hmmm, on second though...he'd ask Professor Bentley about that in a minute...She'd know if they were a good idea or not...Perhaps it could be helpful? He didn't know...
The wild guesses didn't end there! He'd also brought along some toadstools and spores...but Dylan wanted to check before added those things in. He didn't want to ruin what he already had done...SO, those would go in after question time.
Picking up another bigger container, it was time to add the main aspect of this whole ecosystem...The precious gillyweed. It was fresh and unhavested...So, slowly opening up the container, he carefully plucked it up and lowered it into the jar. He held it close to the shrub, hoping it'd do something like....latch on? Maybe? He wasn't sure how this part worked...Maybe it wouldn't do it while he was looking?...
Eyeing the finished work, the Slytherin suddenly had another idea. "Professor, what if I wanted to add a small body of water into my ecosystem? Like...a mini pond?" There was that one side that didn't have seeds of anything in or on it. "Also...with what I have going on, do you think toadstools would be a bad idea?"
Seren pursed her lips, her eyebrows narrowing... giving her the appearance of a fish... "I recommend not including a water feature... particularly because this is your first attempt yes?, and because it's incredibly tricky getting the proportions right. Just stick to the land ..." or things could get messsyyyy, and not in the fun way.
Good. Good... good. Things were looking GOOD.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
Shoe!Girl │ Rebel Ravie │ Confundus Queen │ RP Addict
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Seren peeked into the bottom of the girls jar. "Not for the moment, wait for the next step."
Good. Good... good. Things were looking GOOD.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
Kendall had practically held her breath as Professor Bentley had walked over to her little work area and peered down into her jar, half-expecting to hear that she was completely crazy and shouldn’t even try to be growing her butterfly orchids at all. Or maybe just be told that they weren’t going to be able to be grown with her other seeds, but then she hadn’t really said what plants she was trying to grow. She’d just said she was aiming for something like the Burren, like her home, but maybe the professor would recognize the extra seeds she’d still had out in their little piles next to her jar. Either way, she’d glanced up at her as she’d spoken. “Okay,” she said. Apparently she just had to wait until they move d on to the next step.
Which was done not too long after the professor had walked away from her, although it still hadn’t really answered her question. They’d been instructed to add fertilizer, but she wasn’t sure if there was anything specific she should use. She still stood up to start heading for the storage cupboard, but she raised her hand at the same time. “Um, professor? Is this the part where I add something to help my orchids grow? I still don’t really know what I’m looking for, or if there’s a specific fertilizer for those that’s different from the one I should use for my other plants.” She just knew all of those plants grew at home in Ireland, but that didn’t mean she’d ever actually grown them before. Wild plants didn’t need fertilizing. At least, she figured they took care of themselves, and either way, she was completely confused.
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♥♥♥♥ It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me, at tea time, everybody agrees
...It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero ♥♥♥
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
OOC: Moving on in approx 24 hours.
Uhhh.... elbows in? West eyed his elbows in confusion. Why? What trouble could his elbows possibly get in just from getting stuff from the store cupboard? And now he was conscious of his elbows. That was weird. Did she think they would walk around all like chickens or something? He was baffled. But y'know. Fertiliser.
He got up and kept his elbows in. And then discovered that getting anything from a cupboard with your elbows in was harder than it sounded. Somehow he managed it though and shuffled back to his seat to fertilise and to water. The water would come from his wand of course.
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
Okay she needed to add fertiliser and water.. yet which one first? She did not know, yet she assumed the fertiliser. She walked over to the supplies cupboard and waited her turn, all the while looking in the stores cupboard for the desired fertiliser. After scanning all the lables she found the right one... yes, it was taller then what Sarah at her current height of 5'1 could reach. She looked around for someone tall enough. Oh yeah, West, he was super tall that was just one of the reasons why Sarah crushed on him, not only was he clever, handsome and fun, her was also TALL, yet Sarah was trying to stop crushing him so after he was taken by her friend Bliss, yet no avail . "West" she said to the tall dude, "could you by any chance give me a hand? I need that fertiliser" she pointed to the one she needed, "yet it is too high for me, yet you can reach it. So is it possible that you can get it for me?"
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princesspower
Okay she needed to add fertiliser and water.. yet which one first? She did not know, yet she assumed the fertiliser. She walked over to the supplies cupboard and waited her turn, all the while looking in the stores cupboard for the desired fertiliser. After scanning all the lables she found the right one... yes, it was taller then what Sarah at her current height of 5'1 could reach. She looked around for someone tall enough. Oh yeah, West, he was super tall that was just one of the reasons why Sarah crushed on him, not only was he clever, handsome and fun, her was also TALL, yet Sarah was trying to stop crushing him so after he was taken by her friend Bliss, yet no avail . "West" she said to the tall dude, "could you by any chance give me a hand? I need that fertiliser" she pointed to the one she needed, "yet it is too high for me, yet you can reach it. So is it possible that you can get it for me?"
Hmmmmm? West looked up from his fertiliser and elbow-related ruminations when Sarah said stuff.
WELL he suppppooooooooooooooooosed he could help. Even if it meant (apparently) tucking his elbows in again and whatnot.
"Yeah, sure, how much do you need?" If he wasn't in class, probably he would insist on like, payment. But he didn't think Professor Bentley would approve of that. Also, Sarah was nice and stuff. It couldn't hurt to be helpful.
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
Hmmmmm? West looked up from his fertiliser and elbow-related ruminations when Sarah said stuff.
WELL he suppppooooooooooooooooosed he could help. Even if it meant (apparently) tucking his elbows in again and whatnot.
"Yeah, sure, how much do you need?" If he wasn't in class, probably he would insist on like, payment. But he didn't think Professor Bentley would approve of that. Also, Sarah was nice and stuff. It couldn't hurt to be helpful.
So he will help.. great! "Thanks mil, About..." she eyed her jar and the things in side it, "this much" she showed him with her thumb and index fingers. "Please" she added.
Now that was awesome.. Maybe she should water it before, like just in case? She took out her wand and casted the transfiguration spell and water jetted out from her wand and into her jar. She stopped soon after, not wanting to flood the jar. She would still water it after she added the fertiliser.
lives in a hobbit hole || Ern and Touz's Nuzzle || roflysst || looking at a seed packet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Princesspower
So he will help.. great! "Thanks mil, About..." she eyed her jar and the things in side it, "this much" she showed him with her thumb and index fingers. "Please" she added.
Now that was awesome.. Maybe she should water it before, like just in case? She took out her wand and casted the transfiguration spell and water jetted out from her wand and into her jar. She stopped soon after, not wanting to flood the jar. She would still water it after she added the fertiliser.
Out of the goodness of his heart and all that, and with elbows tucked in, West went back to the store cupboard and grabbed the indicated amount of the fertiliser that Sarah specified. Good? Enough? He brought it over and deposited it on their work bench and then with an affable sort of grin, went back to his own biome stuff.
Where was he? Oh yeah! Water.
Wand out!
__________________
love is like a letter wrote :: and life is like an envelope
be careful who you give it to :: they might not give it back to you
There's some good in this world and it's worth fighting for| LOTR|Whovian|Sherlock Fan
SPOILER!!: Professor Bentley
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
Alyssa looked up from her planted seeds when Professor Bentley began to speak. So they now had to water and fertilize their seeds. Seeing that her plant was of the aquatic variety, Alyssa got up and stood in line waited to pick up her fertilizer and mooncalf solution from the stores cupboard. When it was her turn, she slowly measured out two drops into a dropper, and scooped up some fertilizer with her trowel, before returning to her workstation. Before adding the fertilizer and the moon calf solution, she noted down in her journal the steps she had taken and were supposed to do next.
Text Cut: Steps to Plant Aquatic Seeds
1. Enlarge jar with Engorgio spell.
2. Fill jar with loam soil.
3. Plant seeds.
4. Water seeds.
5. Add pinch of fertilizer
6. Add two drops of moon calf solution.
Placing the dropper and fertilizer on the workstation, Alyssa took out her wand, pointed it against the inside of the jar and said, "Aguamenti" while concentrating on the flow of the water streaming out of her wand.
She didn't want the water to spray out and end up displacing the seeds she had already planted, hence the reason why she had pointed the wand at the side of the jar. She wanted the water to slowly stream down and gradually fill her jar without causing too much disturbance to the soil and the planted seeds in them.
When she had filled the jar with enough water, just so that the seeds were totally submerged in them, Alyssa ended the flow of water by saying,"Finite."
Last edited by FireboltAvis88; 02-21-2013 at 03:58 PM.
Reason: Correcting coding
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Quote:
"... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
When it was his turn to collect fertilizer, Jory did so and then returned to his workstation. As he wasn't creating a water biome, he wouldn't be needing the mooncalf solution.
The badger picked up his wand and aimed it at the jar. "Aguamenti!'' He controlled the flow so that there wasn't a whole lot going into the jar at once because it would disturb the sand and seeds. Besides, the seeds wouldn't need too much water anyway... "Finite!''
Now to add the fertilizer. Jory scooped up some of the fertilizer with his trowel and added it to the jar, making sure this was also evenly distributed."Done!'' He now updated his notes and waited for further instructions.
Out of the goodness of his heart and all that, and with elbows tucked in, West went back to the store cupboard and grabbed the indicated amount of the fertiliser that Sarah specified. Good? Enough? He brought it over and deposited it on their work bench and then with an affable sort of grin, went back to his own biome stuff.
Sarah watched West as he reached the shelf and took down the amount of fertiliser she required. She nodded as he brought it back to their workstation. "Thank you ever so much!" she said a smile.
She then scooped the ferteliser into her jar and patted it out evenly.
That was good, having fertiliser would increase the odds of her plants actually growing considering that she probably misplanted some of them.
"Professor" she said "my plants need some shade considering that they come from a woodland biome. Is there a spell one could use to imitate the effects of a tree's shade?" just thinking out of the box you know!
She took out her wand again,
"Aguamenti!" she casted again watering the jar a for a few brief moment before casting finite. She definately did not want to flood her jar
Post 2 - Planting plus fertilizer and question for Bentley
Now that she had enough sand in her jar, she carefully pulled the cactus seeds from her bag and nudged them into the granules. She was about to add the rest of the random desert seeds she'd gotten in an assorted packet when she felt like she was missing something. What did she say? she thought, tapping her chin with her index finger as if that would somehow stir her thoughts back to the surface. Hm....seeds...jar...Oh, reducio!That's right. It would need to be a lot bigger of a jar if I put these in at regular size. They might grow right out of the top! She unplanted her seeds and sat them on the table, instead of in her palm as she wasn't so sure she wouldn't miss the little things when she cast. "Reducio!" she said while pointing at each of the seeds she intended to plant. That's better. Now they'll be all cute and small. She smiled a little to herself and poked them back down into the sand. How deep they needed to be though she wasn't sure.
And now Professor Bentley told them to add fertilizer and water their plants, but...How do we know they NEED fertilizer? And how much water? Will I kill my desert plants if I use too much? She needed some guidance in this area. She walked up to the professor quietly, hoping that if she was quick and polite - she wouldn't be too much trouble to help out for a moment. "Professor Bentley? I um, I chose desert plants and I was just not sure...how much fertilizer or water to give them. Will I drown them if I use too much?" She thought it was a good question, especially since she had no clue how to care for plants.
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Alyssa was about to add the pinch of fertilizer to her jar when she recalled what the professor said and got confused. The Professor had said to water and fertilize their seeds but then she had said for those with water biomes to add water and add two drops of moon calf solution for fresh water biomes. There was no mention of fertilizing it. So was the moon calf solution the substitute for the fertilizer?
Since hers was not a salt water biome, Alyssa hadn't picked up the saline solution. But that wasn't what confused her. Was she to add the pinch off fertilizer as well as the moon calf solution, or just the solution? Alyssa decided that she'd check first rather than guess and make a mistake by over fertilizing her seeds.
So she raised her hand and asked,"Professor I have a fresh water biome. I added the water, but do I need to add the pinch of fertilizer AND the two drops of moon calf solution or is the solution a substitute for the fertizer and I won't need any fertilizer?"
Last edited by FireboltAvis88; 02-21-2013 at 09:45 PM.
Reason: Rephrasing question
Right, time to get going. "In your seats please," she started, quickly checking to ensure the students hadn't broken anything or themselves. "Welcome, I trust by now you have all figured out the nature of our lesson today?" It was a rhetorical question, and really, if any of them didn't know, then perhaps they ought to spend more time in DADA.. learning to become more vigilant. "So we'll hop right down to business, today is a solely practical lesson, I will guide you through the steps of producing your very own miniature biome terrarium. But first of all, could you please take out any seeds, bulbs or spores you have collected in preparation for this class, if you haven't done so already."
That way, they could all get on with the show... and get a little dirty. "Need I remind you that you should all have your gloves on, ready for when we start."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Slipping on her own gloves, Seren observed as the students got their things together... it was like clockwork. Brilliant.
It amused her, to see the responses of most of the students as she got the lesson underway. What were they expecting? Story time? More discussions? After all, their previous lesson wasn't exactly practical. They didn't get the opportunity to get their hands dirty... and that was such a shame.
"Good. Now the first thing we'll need to do is prep our vessel. If you have your own jar you'd like to use, feel free to do so... for those that didn't elect to get your own... there are plenty available beneath the table. So first thing first... everyone select a jar, and you'll need to enlarge it using the engorgement charm, engorgio. For those unfamiliar with the charm, please seek help from a peer or myself." And well... she would have offered up Althea's assistance, but having not consulted the woman at the beginning of the lesson, it probably wouldn't be appropriate. Still, she looked to her two guests... the other one she wasn't really familiar with, though she was familiar with the name, Ivy. Naturally, a name like that, she would remember.
After performing the spell on a jar she had placed in front of her, she began wandering along the length of the table, observing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Things were running smoothly, so smoothly in fact, that she felt as though any intervention on her part would only serve as a distraction. So she wouldn't distract them, nope.
Once she was certain that everyone had their jars and had enlarged them, she returned to her position at the head of the table, ready to carry on. "Great! So now that our vessels are at size that we can work with, we need to establish its foundation." And this is where things would get tricky. "Soils... vary just biomes vary, so it's important to consider which biome you have selected to create and which soil type will meet its needs."
"There are five primary types of soil. These are ... sandy, silty, clay, peaty and loam," she announced, in a clear and projected voice. "Sandy soils drain rapidly, so this suits drought resistant plants and plants which do not require copious amounts of nutrients..."
"Silty soil retains moisture, drains poorly and is cold and compact... or poorly aerated."
"Clay also retains moisture and is composed of smaller particles. It's sticky when wet, but smooth when dry. It's rich in nutrients and is cold when wet but warm when dry... also becomes hard and compact when dry."
"Peaty soil is high in organic matter which makes it very nutritious. Though it's not very good when heavily saturated, once drained it's a fantastic growing medium... though when dry it can become a fire hazard. Peaty soils have the ability to hold water in dryer months, thus protecting the roots."
"Loam soil... is a herbologists best friend. When unsure, loam is a suitable option as it's a balance of silt, sand and clay. It's dark in colour and is soft, dry and crumbly to the touch. It retains water and plant food but it drains well, and air moves freely between soil particles down to the roots."
It was the King of soils... in her opinion. Great for novice herbologists who had no idea what they were doing.
"Based on those characteristics, your first task is to identify which soil will best suit your biome. Once you have decided, come up here, grab a bucket and collect your soil." She indicated to the back wall just metres behind her where five piles of soil sat, labelled, with a tower of red buckets beside them.
"If you're unsure, raise your hand, and I'll assist you."
A part of her wondered if any of the students did research into their biome of choice, having had to select one to collect seed, bulb or spore material.
OOC: The lesson will move on in approximately 11 hours.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Right. So as those students went to collect their soil, she too collected a bucket of loam and returned to her station at the head of the table. "Now! Depending on the shape of your jar, and how you plan to distribute your vegetation, you'll need to start arranging your soil at the base of the jar. Feel free to take it off the bench, and doing it on the floor..." in case their arms were too short. "Once you have done that, you need to start planting your seeds, bulbs or spores... a quick tip, for bulbs and seeds that are bulky, reduce their size before planting."
OOC: This task should take a minimum of 2 posts to complete to be eligible for full participation credit. The lesson will continue in approx 24 hours.
At Professor Bentley's prompting, Ethan pulled on his dragonshide gloves and pulled out the seeds and rhizomes he had collected for today's lesson. As he arranged the edelweiss seeds, wolfsbane roots, a small cutting of moss campion, alpenrose rhizomes, the root of an alpine clover, and several medium-sized rocks on the table in front of him, he looked up to listen to the next set of an instructions. An Alpine biome was what he was going to create.
He thought he had been prepared, but apparently not as well as he thought. Ethan did not bring a jar with him. Luckily Bentley had some extras for the class to use in that instance. The sixth year bent down and peered under the table. Selecting a tallish, rotund one, he set it upon the table and cast Engorgio on it. He glanced at the botanic materials he had brought, then back at the now-enlarged jar. Hopefully it would be big enough to contain everything he wanted to do in his ecosystem.
Next was the soil. Ethan listened as Bentley spoke of the different kinds she had and he thought over which would be best to use. He knew Alpine soil was quite rocky and drained quickly. It often was sandy as well, so he opted for the sandy soil. The Ravenclaw walked to the front of the greenhouse and took a bucket, shoveling in the sandy soil. Once he had enough, the boy carried the bucket back to his workstation.
Ethan set his enlarged jar onto the floor and began scooping in the soil. He set a few of the rocks in as well, then covered them with more soil. Next came the roots and rhizomes since those needed to be planted deepest of the specimens he brought (once he reduced the size of the alpenrose rhizomes), and he arranged those between the rocks and into the soil. He added more soil, then the moss cutting, and also sprinkled in the edelweiss seeds. Another sprinkling of soil to cover and he was ready for the next step.
SPOILER!!: Bentley
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Good. Good... good. Things were looking GOOD.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
OOC: Moving on in approx 24 hours.
Fertilizer and water.. right. Ethan knew that his alpine flora thrived on not having too much water, so he wanted to take care not to over-water them. A gently spoken Aguamenti produced a mild stream of water from his wand which he soon stopped with a Finite as soon as the soil was damp enough for his satisfaction.
Still wearing his gloves, Ethan then got in line for the next step. When it was his turn, he took a handful of fertilizer and brought it back to his botanical jar. He sprinkled it on top of the soil, working it in lightly with gloved fingers. Ethan took his gloves off and laid them on the bench next to him. He then reached down to pick his jar up from the floor and set it up on the table so he could better see inside. Not much going on yet, of course, but he couldn't wait to see how it would develop.
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Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. [B
"Thank you.."[/B] now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertilizer. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropriate amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertilizer items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
OOC: Moving on in approx 24 hours.
See, he knew that she'd not forget about watering the plants. That was like planting 101!
Right. Waiting his turn in line. Fun stuff. He wanted impatiently tapping his foot so he could get what he needed.
Finally it was his turn. Right. Okay. He gathered the fertilizer, saline solution and the moonwhatever it was that he needed to put in his biome.
Check.
He headed back over to his to his jar with his supplies. He added a bit of fertilizer. Right, water, okay. What was that spell for water? SHOOT. Agua something. Aguamento? No. Not that. He sat there scratching his head trying to remember what the heck it was. OH! It was Aguamenti. He sure hoped so. "Aguamenti!" he said with a little hesitation as he pointed his wand at the jar.
It worked. He finally got the right amount of water and added the other supplies to the jar.
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So fertilize and water then. Okay. And what was that elbows in thing about? Unless it was just an expression........? Deciding that it really didn't matter, Sky walked over to join the cue, and when it was her turn, grabbed some fertilizer. Once she had that, she headed back to her station and jar, shaking her head and smirking at the two girls who had 'forgotten' about the Wingardium Leviosia charm and were asking one of the Slytherin boys to get their fertilizer for them. Hey, it was cute. And totally obvious what was really going on. But anyway, nose back to her own jar (figuratively, of course). She sprinkled the fertilizer all over the soil, crinkling her nose at the smell. Then, water. Aiming her wand inside the jar, she cast the spell. "Aguamenti!" Canceling the spell before she overwatered her soil. And waiting for the next instruction.
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SPOILER!!: Professor
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Good. Good... good. Things were looking GOOD.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
OOC: Moving on in approx 24 hours.
This was the part where Lex got really happy that she wasn't creating a water biome. It all sounded kinda complicated...even if that was because she was only barely listening so this lovely biome that she'd chosen proved to be very useful. No extra water and saline...whatever that was.
She watched them trickle into the line to get the fertilizer and joined the line too. This was apart of the whole showing love thing and if plants were anything like stars then she was going to need to make them feel extra loved. No need to have them not grow or anything.
When it was her turn she took a good amount then went back to her spot where she began adding it all over. A bit there...some in that corner...a little right there....
DONE!
OH! But the water! "Aguamenti!"
Now the little ones would be nice and happy, yes?
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Text Cut: Professor!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heartbreaker
Good. Good... good. Things were looking GOOD.
Returning to her spot, she cleared her throat, waiting for the students to settle down. "Thank you.." now, where were they up to? Oh! right!... "... now that we've planted our lovelies, we need to show them some love, so remember to water them, and add a pinch of fertiliser. For those of you creating water biomes, you'll need to fill your jars with water and the appropraite amount of saline solution - if you're water body is of salt water quality. Fresh and salt water biomes should include two drops of mooncalf solution."
Well what where they waiting for? Oh... right. "All fertiliser items and saline solution may be found in the stores cupboard. Line up, elbows in, one at a time!"
Sierra had already thought to water her creation. As a seventh year, it was pretty much etched in her mind to water seeds after you'd planted them. She did need to add a pinch of fertilizer, though. "Professor?" she asked, and then she turned her gaze to a Ravenclaw girl who'd asked the same question she was about to ask. "I chose a desert biome, too, so...what type of fertlizer do I add?"
Was a desert biome even one of the options? She hoped so. Plus, if a Ravenclaw had done the same thing, it couldn't be bad, right? They were the smart ones.
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The Greenhouses: Herbology Lesson Two 
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