Week 12 cont.

Updated sunflower progress graph - check it

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4146642/motionchart.html

Week 12

Afternoon folks,
Some incredible developments this week. Looks like we have our first flower....! Like Fuscia from the flames, George and Karen's previously-deceased sunflower has risen from the (potash)es and brightened up the social room with a pretty pink and yellow number.


Believed to be the first of its kind on the planet, a number of members of department have already made approaches to secure the specimen for research purposes (obviously pending confirmation of the flower's true germinal origin).

However, in the meantime it is just these sort of regenerative, reincarnationist properties that are sparking interest this week. Survival is the name of the game and brute upward growth is just one of many ways to stay ahead....

Given that the sunflower challenge has so far focussed mainly on height, this week takes a more holistic look at what could make the 'sunniest sunflower.' We talking about the Bruce Lee of sunflowers here - one that fuses a whole range of qualities, growth and defence strategies, real-world resilience, aesthetic value, and the sunflower's capacity for wider social benefit. The department is a complex ecosystem after all.

Tall plants, for example, are less likely to be fully-appreciated by admirers on a coffee break if their sunflower heads are squashed against the ceiling. Rob&Iain and Eilidh&Louis have shot to a very impressive 2500mm+, but what use is this if the sunflower itself is out of view? Shorter plants (such as the more modest stems of Rob, Justyna, Shaun and Willie, Donald, Gemma&Adam) are now jostling for position in the lower canopy to spread the sunshine effectively when the flowers eventually bloom.

Not only are the smaller, more compact plants well-placed to spread the love, but they are more likely to survive the real-world test. Take those supportive garden canes away and stick them outside in a force 9 gale, and it would be interesting to see which ones are still standing.....
Florence & Roger have produced a fine and sturdy trunk for this purpose, and Justyna's plant seems to be standing proud at 1320mm with minimal help from a small cane.

And what looked to be a retrograde move by Zara's sunflower is now proving to be a clever growth strategy, the stem forming a clear 'u-bend' enabling it to soak up the rays unobstructed by other plants....



Although George and Karen seem to have reared the first flower, there is still keen interest in how flowering will affect the plants' overall growth. Unflowered buds have now developed on the plants of Sunny, Lesely, Nick, Willie and Rob. How this will affect their prospects is unclear. Some plants look so gangly that any extra weight at the top could see them rueing the day that they didn't adopt the Zara u-bend strategy.

Anyhow, it's clear that the sunflower field is beginning to diversify and perhaps increasingly reflect some of their carers' own qualities..... Here are the measurements this week (coloured entries reflect 'unflowered bud' status).

Adam/Gemma	1300
Amy/Lyndsey	2010
Caroline	1420
Donald	1440
Eilidh/Louis	2500
Eliza/Vic	1975
Emma/Leoni	0
Florence/Roger	2290
George/Karen	80
Iain/Rob/Liam	2570
Justyna	1320
Lesley	1500
Matt	1770
Natalie	735
Nick	1990
Rob	1510
Roman	1290
Shaun	730
Sunny	1920
Willie	1620
Zara	(84)1600

Week 11

Perhaps the post last week was an omen..... there are signs of flowers starting form! But only on the plants of Sunny, Willie and Rob.

These plants are getting MASSIVE, we might need a ladder to measure them soon, but someway to go to beat the world record height of 26ft 4in now that is massive. The pace is still being set by Iain, Rob and Liam closely followed by Eilidh and Louis. Not so good news for Zara's plant which has possibly suffered from lack of support and is slowly trying to form a square....

Hopefully there might be some flower action next week - you'll read it here first.
This link should hopefully work and waste a few minutes of your day - http://db.tt/9thTR3s

Here is the progress as of 12 August:

0 Emma/Leoni

0 George/Karen

60 Shaun

61 Natalie

84 Zara (potentially 154)

118 Roman

120 Adam/Gemma

127 Justyna

134 Lesley

134 Caroline

139 Donald

143 Willie

143 Rob

170 Nick

174 Vic/Eliza

181 Sunny

194 Lyndsay/Amy

201 Roger/Florence

220 Eilidh/Louis

228 Rob/Liam/Iain

Matt ?

Week 10

First and foremost, a big thank you to Shaun for his regular blogging and meticulous data analysis throughout the month of July! August is upon us... sh*t just got real.

There’s been a bit of a ‘buzz’ surrounding the competition this week. And I’m not referring to the inane chatter that emanates from the tea room during lunch. No, ladies and gentlemen… I’m talking about THIS:

A photograph I took of the beast.

"I've never seen anything like it!" said Geoff Hancock. This, esteemed zoologists, is Calliphora vomitoria: the bluebottle. It seems to have taken a fancy to our beloved sunflowers, perhaps attracted by the smell of decay wafting from Natalie's shrivelled leaves or the graves of Leoni/Emma and George/Karen's unfortunate plants. In response to sightings of this beast, the Graham Kerr building has been swarming with entemologists all day.

This week brings even more exciting news: the sunniest sunflower crown, held by Eilidh/Louis for the past two months has at least been toppled! Rob and Iain are now sitting strong (a good 4 cm ahead) in first place. Louis "the gloryhunter" Kitchen is said to be so distraught that he left Glasgow this morning to go trekking through central Europe, in search of a stronger, continental flower.

Speaking of flowers.... they are flowers, aren't they? I mean, they do produce flowers. At some point. In theory. Hopefully before they start hitting the ceiling. Maybe next week's update will be more colourful....

Here's a run down of the scores:

0	Emma/Leoni
0	George/Karen
57	Natalie
59	Shaun
103	Adam/Gemma
109	Justyna
111	Roman
112	Lesley
116	Caroline
123	Willie
124	Rob
130	Donald
133	Matt
140	Zara
146	Sunny
147	Eliza/Vic
155	Nick
170	Amy/Lyndsey
190	Eilidh/Louis
194	Iain/Rob/Liam

(Forgot to measure Florence/Roger's, will update ASAP!).

Week 9

We start this update with a bit of sad news. It seems that another sunflower plant is now pushing up daisies. It was a race well ran for Emma and Leoni’s plant, but in the end a split stem plus a bit of splotchy leaf disease proved too much for the little guy. RIP:

You shall be missed.

In happier news, the battle for the tallest plant continues to be intense, with Eilidh and Louis once again coming out on top and just ahead of Iain et al. Eilidh and Louis also take this week’s prize for fastest growth rate, averaging an amazing 3.86 cm/d! Florence and Roger managed to stay near the lead as well, though it’s worth noting that their growth rate is declining precipitously and is now less than half of what it was two weeks ago. Have they been falling down on their watering regimen? Have they stopped singing to their plant? Only they know for sure.

Sunny and Tiziana admire the plants.

Here are the heights for July 29, 2011. Shoutouts to Ashley and Siobhan for assisting with the measurements this week.

Adam/Gemma	800
Amy/Lyndsey	1460
Caroline	1030
Donald	1250
Eilidh/Louis	1740
Eliza/Vic	1300
Emma/Leoni	0
Florence/Roger	1520
George/Karen	0
Iain/Rob/Liam	1700
Justyna	1000
Lesley	990
Matt	1150
Natalie	550
Nick	1290
Rob	1140
Roman	1040
Shaun	590
Sunny	1200
Willie	1070
Zara	1230

Week 8

It’s been a big 7 days for the sunflower competition, with the plants growing an average of over 21 mm/day over the last week! Eilidh and Louis still sit atop the leader board but their spot is being seriously threatened by the team of Iain, Rob, and Liam. In fact, Iain et al. have had the highest growth rate the past two weeks (37.14 mm/d this week). When compared to that of Eilidh and Louis (34.29 mm/d), it is reasonable to expect that we may have a new leader a week from now.

Among the lowest growth rates this week were the team of Gemma and Adam (8.57mm/d) and Natalie (also 8.57mm/d). Saddest of all, however, was Shaun, who actually managed a negative growth rate (-1.43 mm/d), probably owing to the amputation of the dead and gangrenous section at the top of his plant.

Interestingly, growth rate shows a strong linear relationship with size:

A special mention goes out to Nick, whose plant showed the highest growth rate for its size (i.e. showed the largest positive residual… this contest is being run by a bunch of nerdy scientists, remember). At the other extreme is Sunny, whose plant showed the lowest growth rate for its size (other than a certain plant that was surgically altered). Time to step up the watering, Sunny!

Also, we've received a pic of the sole entry from the vet school from Matt. It looks as though he's the first to utilize the "anchor to a wall with rope" technique. Lookin' good!:

Here are the scores as of June 22, 2011. Special shout-out to Winnie Boner and Nick Beevers for help with the measurements this week, and Donald Reid and Ashley LeVin Last week. The plants are getting so big now that measuring is a 3 person job!:

Adam/Gemma	700
Amy/Lyndsey	1230
Caroline	940
Donald	1120
Eilidh/Louis	1470
Eliza/Vic	1100
Emma/Leoni	800
Florence/Roger	1370
George/Karen	0
Iain/Rob/Liam	1440
Justyna	910
Lesley	930
Matt	970
Natalie	520
Nick	1090
Rob	1030
Roman	990
Shaun	590
Sunny	1040
Willie	930
Zara	1050

Week 7

Can you believe the competition has been going for 7 weeks now? A few plants are now over a meter tall with several more about to pass that milestone in the coming days.

Brightening up the social room

Lovely leaves

Is it possible to have too many teabags?

Several competitors have re-potted their plants to gain an extra edge. Eilidh and Louis continue to dominate the competition and are sending a clear message that they mean business with the addition of their new 3 meter support stick. The team of Iain, Rob, and Liam have made a serious move to second place after being in the middle of the pack two weeks ago. At the other end of the spectrum, Shaun’s pitiful looking plant is no longer in last place amongst the living – that dubious honour now belongs to Natalie. Tragically, however, after a spirited two weeks in which it displayed the highest specific growth rate of all plants, the top of Shaun’s plant has completely wilted and it looks as though death could be imminent. Could foul play have been involved?...:

An overnight tragedy... seems suspicious.

Also of note to competitors: you may want to move your plant away from Donald’s plant as well as Emma and Leoni’s because it looks like they have contracted some sort of nasty-looking leaf disease:

Donald, Emma, and Leoni: nasty looking (their plants, that is)

Here are the heights (in mm) as of July 15, 2011:

Adam/Gemma 640

Amy/Lyndsey 1030

Caroline 810

Donald 960

Eilidh/Louis 1230

Eliza/Vic 920

Emma/Leoni 710

Florence/Roger 1140

George/Karen 0

Iain/Rob/Liam 1180

Justyna 750

Lesley 780

Matt 700

Natalie 460

Nick 860

Rob 850

Roman 880

Shaun 600

Sunny 940

Willie 810

Zara 890

Week 4

Unfortunately this week's update is both belated and brief, due to the madness of the "I'm a Scientist, get me out of here!" competition that I've been tied up in! Luckily I won, so it was all worth it... my sunflower might not agree. Thanks again to everyone who humiliated themselves contributed to this video, which has gone viral!

Here's the scores as they stood on Friday 24th June:

0	George/Karen
185	Shaun
225	Matt
230	Natalie
270	Lesley
300	Adam/Gemma
320	Justyna
410	Rob
415	Nick
420	Donald
420	Roman
420	Sunny
450	Caroline
450	Emma/Leoni
450	Willie
480	Eliza/Vic
490	Iain
490	Zara
570	Florence/Roger
610	Amy/Lyndsey
630	Eilidh/Louis

Week 3

I'm sorry to begin this week's update with the sad news that George and Karen's sunflower is no longer with us. One mourner has left a wreathe of daisies in its place. RIP.

Gone but not forgotten.

What else is new this week? Well, as predicted, many competitors have chosen to support their stray seedlings with a stick. It doesn't always work out though....

Rob might want to invest in some string.

In other news, Shaun Killen has returned from his jaunt in Japan (with an array of unusual and disturbing gifts). Will this homecoming spell a change for his (equally unusual-looking) plant? Meanwhile, a couple of competitors are going to new measures for that extra inch. Do sunflowers prefer tea or coffee? Maybe Eilidh/Louis and Emma/Leoni hold the answer!

A tea-rrific idea?

Since I neglected to set any rules at the start of the competition, the use of teabags etc. is acceptable. I would like to make it clear now, however, that fertilisers are strictly banned... so put that MiracleGro away!

Here's a run down of this week's scores (with the exception of Matt, who has taken his sunflower to the vet school... it's GK Vs Garscube now!):

George/Karen	0
Shaun	85
Lesley	174
Natalie	175
Adam/Gemma	195
Justyna	225
Rob	272
Zara	272
Roman	273
Iain	275
Caroline	278
Willie	280
Sunny	282
Nick	295
Donald	300
Emma/Leoni	319
Eliza/Vic	340
Florence/Roger	365
Amy/Lyndsey	405
Eilidh/Louis	445

Special thanks to Nick "the underdog" for his excellent photography.

Week 2

Greetings gardeners - can you believe it's the second week already?!

After a worrying start, I'm happy to report that both Shaun and Adam/Gemma's seeds have now germinated (although Shaun's leaves are somewhat decrepid). Congratulations, you're back in the game!

Left: Shaun's - a little on the runty side but hanging on. Right: Adam/Gemma's successful seedling

A few contestants have "twigged on" to the fact that their seedlings could do with a bit of extra support (see below).

Many people, however, are just letting nature run its course ....

Eilidh/Louis are still taking up the lead with Amy/Lyndsey not far behind. Things are more interesting further down the score board: Donald has jumped 6 places from 11th to 5th. It's been a disastrous week for Rob, who lost his position at 4th place to Florence/Roger and is now 9th in line to sunniest sunflower glory. Willie and George/Karen have also lost ground this week, with yours truly, Adam/Gemma and Justyna making gains. Times, they are a-changin!

Here's a run-down of this week's scores (in mm):

Shaun	40
Matt	58
Lesley	85
George/Karen	85
Adam/Gemma	102
Natalie	105
Zara	135
Justyna	150
Willie	160
Nick	170
Emma/Leoni	170
Caroline	172
Rob	174
Sunny	175
Iain	176
Roman	177
Donald	180
Florence	180
Eliza/Vic	191
Amy/Lyndsey	240
Eilidh/Louis	250

Week 1

Nine days after planting and the competition is well and truly on! Among the first to germinate were Eilidh Spence (who has now teamed up with Louis Kitchen... interesting move, Louis - do we have a glory-hunter on our hands?), Willie Yeomans and duos Florence McGarrity/Roger Downie and Amy Schwartz/Lyndsey Stewart. So far, there has been much variation in the degree of watering administered, with some (Caroline McGillivray?) choosing to flood their pots and others opting for the 'bone dry' or 'neglected' approach. Eilidh is currently in the lead, with her plant standing at an impressive 120 mm. Two seeds, in the hands of Adam Cross/Gemma Jennings and the notoriously competitive Shaun Killen, have yet to germinate. Is the competition over for them? We'll just have to wait and see(d).

Scores to date (numbers are plant height, in millimetres):

0	Adam/Gemma
0	Shaun
7	Matt
20	Zara
31	Justyna
34	Lesley
43	Natalie
55	George/Karen
62	Nick
65	Caroline
65	Donald
66	Emma/Leoni
68	Willie
75	Iain
75	Sunny
76	Eliza/Vic
80	Florence/Roger
83	Rob
85	Roman
105	Amy/Lyndsey
120	Eilidh/Louis

Game on

Seeds planted.... and so it begins! Good luck everyone.

(Just in case there's any doubt, this is what you're aiming for.)