What's the Dirt on Compost?

Overview

Objectives/Goals My objective is to find out which works better with plants, potting soil or compost. Methods/Materials Method: Put soil in three of the six pots; Put compost in three of the six pots; Divide four packs of Blanket Flower seeds between the six pots; Bury the seeds until unseen; Saturate soil and compost pots with a cup of water; Move plant inside near light (natural or lamp); Water each plant every day; Measure all six sprouts and record on data table each day. Materials: 4 packages of blanket flower seeds; 6 terra cotta pots; Potting soil; Compost; 1 tray large enough to hold all 6 pots; Water (1cup daily). Results The compost pots all spouted first The soil pots began slowly, but began to catch up The compost pots grew faster at first, but began to slow in growth Over time, the compost and soil pots had almost the same results in plant growth Conclusions/Discussion Given enough time, all the plants reached about the same height Compost and soil compliment each other Compost and soil work better together rather than separately Compost is a nutrient for soil I had a few difficulties with this project. First, it was winter and the temperature outside was cold with shorter days. This winter was also a very heavy rainy season. I wanted to do my experiment outside, but was forced to bring the plants in because of the cold and rain. This caused my plants to sprout late and therefore the experiment was delayed. The seeds selected were supposed to sprout within 5 to 10 days after planting. They spouted eleven days after being planted. One way I would improve my investigation is to specify how many seeds I put in the pot and how deep I bury them. Another way I would improve is to have one set of soil pots, one set of compost pots and one set of a combination of soil and compost pots to make the experiment more accurate

Competition history

• CSEF 2006 Plant Biology · Entry J1626

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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