Soil Type Scifair Projects

Soil

Soil comes in a variety of types. The ingredients in soil impacts what plants will thrive and what plants will die in the soil.

Objectives/Goals

Have you ever planted a garden and wanted to produce fruits and vegetables at a faster rate? Many farmers spend countless dollars on fertilizers, hoping to accomplish this. I have found that wood ash produces a strong plant faster than the average store brought fertilizers.

Water & Soil Microbes

Methods/Materials

The 1/4-cup of wood ash contaminated with pesticides was mixed with two cups of soil to produce a quick germination rate, as well as a long thick taproot. I contaminated two piles of wood chips one with pesticides and the other with gasoline. Then the wood chips were burned, and the ash was used as a fertilizer. I filtered out the large debris, and then two radish seeds were placed in each plant box and covered with their specific type of soil.

Results

Within 2.9 days, the seeds covered by the wood ash that was contaminated with a pesticide germinated. The plant was thicker and taller than the control group.

Conclusions/Discussion

This project contributes to the agricultural industry because it is efficient in the way it produces results quicker, and is cost effective. My original objective wasn't confirmed because the results didn't support my hypothesis. 3rd party contributor