The Effect of Different Compost Materials on Potted Pea Plants

THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT COMPOST MATERIALS ON POTTED PEA PLANTS HYPOTHESIS If different types of compost are added to potted plants, the plants will grow at different rates and with varying levels of success. The plants with the egg shells will grow at the fastest rate because egg shells provide the most nutrients for the plant. Eggshells provide plants with calcium, and build up a healthy frame and “bones” for the plant to grow. INDEPENDENT VARIABLE Types of Compost LEVELS OF INDEPENDENT VARIABLE AND NUMBERS OF REPEATED TRIALS No Compost (Control Group) Three potted plants Shredded Paper Three potted plants Ground Egg Shells Three potted plants Coffee Grounds Three potted plants DEPENDENT VARIABLE AND HOW MEASURED Height of plant, colour of leaves and how many leaves. CONSTANTS/CONTROLS 1. All pots and plants are identical 2. Same type of seed planted 3. All seeds are planted with the same amount and type of soil. 4. All pots and plants receive the same amount of water and sunlight. 5. Compost is removed and re-applied at the same time. 6. Same amount of compost is planted each week Tea Bags/ Tea Leaves Three potted plants MATERIALS: - 15 Clean pots 15 pea plant seeds Gardening gloves Gardening shovel Watering Can Potting Soil (3/4 of pot per pot) 12 chamomile tea bags (total) 44g ground egg shells (total) 88g coffee grounds (total) 44 g shredded paper (total) PROCEDURE: 1. Clean 15 pots, (arrange in a 5 by 3 position) 2. Label the first row of plants from 1-5 3. Label second row of plants 1-5 4. Label last row of plants 1-5 5. Fill up pot ¾ of the way with soil 6. Place pea plant seed in the centre of the pot. 7. Add another inch of soil on top of pea plant seed. 8. Pat down soil so it’s firm and not loose. 9. Repeat steps 5-8 for all potted plants. 10. Water plants daily. Do not add compost until 24-48 hours after planting. 11. Start adding compost! 12. Plants labelled with 1 should be left untouched and no compost should be added 13. Plants labelled with 2, add 11g of shredded paper 14. Plants labelled with 3, add 11g of ground egg shells 15. Plants labelled with 4, add 23g of coffee grounds 16. Plants labelled with 5, add a single chamomile tea bag to each pot. 17. Leave compost for 7 days and continue to water daily. 18. Remove old compost after 7 days and repeat steps 12-16 with new compost materials. 19. Continue to water plants, change compost, and record growth, colour of leaves, and number of leaves. OBSERVATIONS: - 5/4/2017- Seeds are planted - 5/9/2017- Pea plant seeds are still germinating, and being watered every day. No growth yet. - 5/10/2017- First bud starting to grow on Row 2, Plant 2. Compost is being accumulated and will be planted on the weekend - 5/12/2017- Compost planted. See procedure for amount added. - 5/19/2017Row 2 Plant 2, grown to 1.5cm. Row 4 Plant 2, grown to 2cm. New compost added. Same amount as last week added to each plant. - 5/26/2017Row 2 Plant 2, Grew 1.5 cm more, totalling 3 cm tall. Row 4 Plant 1, Grew 4 cm more, totalling 4cm tall Row 4 Plant 2, Grew 0cm, totalling 2cm tall New compost added. Same amount as last week added to each plant. - 6/2/2017Row 2 Plant 2, Grew 3 cm more, totalling 6cm tall Row 4 Plant 1, Grew 3 cm more, totalling 7cm tall Row 4 Plant 2, Grew 0cm, totalling 2cm tall New compost added. Same amount as last week added to each plant. - 6/9/2017- (final results) Row 1 Plant 1, Started budding, roughly 1cm tall. Row 1 Plant 3, grew 3cm, totalling 3cm tall (approx. 10 leaves) Row 2 Plant 2, grew 5cm, totalling 11cm tall (Grew off to side, not in the middle. Approx. 15 leaves. Has another small stem budding on opposite side of pot.) Row 3 Plant 2, budding, roughly 1cm tall. Row 4 Plant 1, grew 2 cm, totalling 9cm tall (Approx. 15 leaves) Row 4 Plant 2, grew 0cm, totalling 2m tall RESULTS: Growth of Plants with No Compost 3,5 3 3 Height (cm) 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0,5 0 0 Week 1 Week 2 0 0 Week 3 Week 4 0 Time Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Growth of Plants With Shredded Paper 12 11 10 Height (cm) 8 6 6 4 3 2 0 1,5 0 Week 1 0 Week 2 0 Week 3 Time Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 0 Week 4 Growth of Plants with Ground Egg Shells 3,5 3 3 Height (Cm) 2,5 2 1,5 1 0,5 0 0 Week 1 0 Week 2 0 Week 3 0 Week 4 Time No Compost Shredded Paper Egg Shells Coffee Grounds Tea Bags Growth of Plants with Coffee Grounds 10 9 9 8 7 Height (cm) 7 6 5 4 4 3 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 2 1 0 Time Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Growth of Plants with Tea Bags 1 0,9 0,8 Height (cm) 0,7 0,6 0,5 0,4 0,3 0,2 0,1 0 0 Week 1 Week 2 0 0 Week 3 Week 4 0 Time Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial3 Total Plant Growth Over the Course of Three Trials 11 12 9 Growth (Cm) 10 8 6 6 6 4 2 0 No Compost 2 1,5 0 4 3 0 0 1 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 0 0 0 4 1,5 3 6 11 Ground Egg Shells 0 0 0 1 Coffee Grounds 2 6 9 11 Tea Bags 0 0 0 0 Shredded Paper Time No Compost Shredded Paper Ground Egg Shells Coffee Grounds Tea Bags Note: This chart displays the total growth representing all three combined trials per each type of compost. All units are in CM. Row 1: No Compost Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Week 1 May 12- 19 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Row 2: Shredded Paper Trial 1 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Trial 2 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 1.5 cm Trial 3 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Row 3: Ground Egg Shells Trial 1 Amount of compost: 11g Height:0 Trial 2 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Trial 3 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Row 4: Coffee Grounds Trial 1 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 0 Trial 2 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 2 cm Trial 3 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 0 Week 2 May 19-26 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Week 3 May 26- June 2 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: Height: 0 Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Week 4 June 2-9 Amount of compost: n/a Height: Budding Amount of compost: n/a Height: 0 Amount of compost: Height: 3cm Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 3 cm Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 6 cm Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 11 cm Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 11g Height: Budding Amount of compost: 11g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 4cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 2 cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 7cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 2 cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 23g Height: 9cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 2 cm Amount of compost: 23g Height: 0 Row 5: Tea Bags Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Amount of compost: 8g Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8 g (1 bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost:8 g (1 bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost: Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8g (1 bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8 g (1 bag) Height:0 Amount of compost: Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8g (1 tea bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8g (1 bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost: Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8g (1 tea bag) Height: 0 Amount of compost: 8g (1 bag) Height: 0 DISCUSSION: According to the United States EPA, 20-30% of waste streams are made up of organic waste such as food residue and lawn clippings. This “waste” is incredibly useful and can be used as ingredients in compost. Compost should have a well-balanced mix of both nitrogens and carbon, or greens and browns. A ratio should be well-maintained between the number of nitrogen and carbon ingredients. Pea plants are sensitive to compost that have a lot of nitrogen, they also prefer compost that is rich with phosphorus and potassium. Eggshells have a decent number of nutrients in them, for example, a study was done that showed the egg-shell infused water 4mg of calcium and potassium as well as traces of phosphorus, magnesium, and sodium, this concludes that egg shells are great for pea plants. Coffee grounds on the other hand, have a lot of nutrients as well, but also have a lot of nitrogen, which pea plants do not like. A strong contender for best-fertilizer is the shredded paper, since pea plants benefit from wood/wood chips. Shredded paper also has a lot of carbon (which is why it burns so easily). Tea bags are the least-useful scientifically. They do not produce a lot of nutrients, but do help with oxygenation and producing a vibrant and healthy plant. CONCLUSION: This experiment investigated the different materials in a household that can be used as a compost ingredient, to provide plants with nutrients they need to be able to grow faster and healthier. In order to study the problem, 15 pea plants were planted. Then, four different types of compost were added to each row of potted plants: Shredded paper, ground egg shells, coffee grounds, and tea bags. Results showed that one of the plants that had shredded paper grew to be the tallest, reaching 11cm, it was also the fastest growing plant. However, only one shredded paper plant grew. The plants planted with coffee grounds had a higher success rate, 2/3 plants grew and one plant grew to be 9cm. Egg shells and tea bags proved to have the lowest success rate, egg shells only had one successful plant that only grew to less than approx. 1 cm and plants with tea bags as compost did not have any successful plants. This negated the hypothesis that adding compost to pea plants would largely benefit their growth and height and that eggshells were the best compost to use. From the information gathered, compost did not greatly affect growing rates and height. The plants with no compost did not grow as tall as the plants with compost, but the compost-less plants grew at a steady rate and with a higher success rate. This is most likely because pea plants specifically prefer less nitrogen and because most of the compost ingredients had higher levels of nitrogen (such as the coffee grounds). Compost should be a mix between different ingredients and by only using one ingredient, it proved to be difficult for a pea plant to grow. Another problem that occurred during this experiment was that the compost blocked the sun from being able to provide the pea plants with the nutrients it needed. As observed, one of the pea plants (composted with shredded paper), grew off to the side, not in the middle of the pot, like it attempted to before any compost was added. This could also be a factor that affected the plants that did not sprout at all. For pea plants, specifically, compost could benefit growth, however from data collected, the compost could also be harmful and not beneficial to the plant at all. Which compost had the best result, is arguable due to different success rates, but regardless, using no home-made composts would yield the healthiest results. To extend this experiment, the ingredients could be mixed together to create a new form of combined compost. The results could be compared to this experiment, and determined whether the combination of ingredients benefited the plants more or if the results are similar. Furthermore, store bought compost could be added to plants and then compared to the singleingredient compost, and the combined compost. This would be a fascinating study to pursue, since the world of plants is incredibly captivating. This project can be used in the real-world since agriculture is a huge industry. Compost is used frequently in farms and to grow food. By creating compost from ingredients in a common household, less food waste is produced and healthier plants are grown. This experiment is also important to study because it teaches how to improve plant growth without harming the plant itself. Gardeners should be incredibly careful with what they put in their gardens, especially if they plan to consume or sell the products. Compost can be harmful more than it can be helpful. Questions about the experiment include whether the results would be affected or more conclusive if a different type of plant would be planted (such as a sunflower or a rosemary plant). Would that affect the growth? The height? Whether the plant was harmed or helped? Does the time of year that the seeds were planted affect how fast and the success rate of growth? Why did some of the seeds not grow? Why did some plants have a steady growth rate whereas others spiked and did not grow further? Finally, if the experiment was to be repeated, more trials should be run by planting more pea plants. By only having three trials, it was difficult to conclude whether or not the compost was helping the plant, or if the plant on it’s own was just healthier and was not affected by the compost. The experimental design should also be improved by watering, adding compost, and recording results at the same time each week/day. In conclusion, this study was interesting and informative about how households can reduce their food waste and improve plant living conditions.