Levi decides to examine the effect of fertilizer on the growth of tomato plants. He chooses four plants for his experiment and applies varying amounts of fertilizer to the three of them. He does not apply fertilizer to one plant. Over a 15-day period, the plants receive fertilizer on Days 1, 4, 7, 10, and 13. Levi measures the height of all of his plants with a meter stick on Days 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. He also makes sure to hold all experimental factors constant except for the fertilizer. Which statement describes what Levi did to prepare the control group in his experiment?