My favorite plant experiment this summer involves a $1.49 batch of purple petunas I bought in distressed condition from the Grocery Outlet Store. I put half of them in a 3-hole Aerogarden planter with a years old lamp that is not optimal, but still puts out some light:
The other half I put in dirt in the inner chamber of one of my hydroponic planters indoors. This was to ensure drainage. The widow sill is rather dark, so I did not expect much from that half of my experiment.
Surprisingly, the plant in dirt flowered first, within just a few days,
It took the Aerogarden plants several weeks to flower, as I had to pinch them back because after the transfer to water all the bus withered and turned brown. But once they started, they just kept going whereas the dirt plant slowed down, although they do still have a few blossoms.
As you may know, petunia flowers are edible, so part of my experiment involved a taste test. There was no difference in flavor between the water grown petunias and those grown indoors in dirt. Petunia blossoms are not particularly tasty when eaten alone, but I think they are a good complement to egg dishes. After trying them with different kinds of foods, I decided that they go best with chocolate. Peanut butter works, too, especially chocolate peanut butter. By the way, here is a photo of my French Toast with Strawberries and Petunias.