Natural Fertilizer Science Projects
Every farmer from some fifty years ago – whether a farmer of large acreages or urban vegetable gardener, knew that to produce healthy plants, you had to improve the soil. If the soil is weak, your plants will be weak. And if your plants are weak, then they are more susceptible to insect infestation.
While some people think that home vegetable gardening is a bit on the expensive side, others – the smarter ones – think of it as a sort of natural fertilizer science project. Think about it. If home gardening is all about the soil, then should you not be paying more attention to cultivating the soil than to anything else? And natural fertilizers, as opposed to chemical fertilizers, encourage microbial life in the soil, keeping it healthy for plants to grow.
Seaweed
There are many low-cost methods for making your own fertilizer. One of the easiest and best is manufactured from seaweed.
As your natural fertilizer science project, prepare several trash bags. You will use these as container for collecting kelp from areas along the Pacific Coast. After collecting enough kelp, empty them into a 55-gallon drum, fill it with water, and then cover it.
You will know if the seaweed is beginning to decompose from the color of the water. If it is brown, then it means that decomposition is successful. This natural fertilizer science project may take some time since it would take about two months before the seaweed can fully decompose. When that happens, take some amount of the liquid concentrate inside and dilute it with water for spraying or pouring around your plants.
You can also combine this natural fertilizer science project with the addition of fish emulsion. Plants sprayed with this mixture seem more insect repellent, and generally show some renewed growth. The only pitfall to this natural fertilizer science project method is that you may smell something fishy and oceany around your garden. The smell, however, usually lasts for a day or two after application only.
Earthworm Compost
Another one of the easiest fertilizers to make comes in the form of an wormery . For your natural fertilizer science project involving earthworm compost, dig a pit in a convenient place in the garden. Add kitchen scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc. into the pit. As earthworms process these scraps, you will soon have a rich, black amendment for your garden.
Add your compost in volumes of about 10% into your garden. Generally, that is all that is needed to increase the health and insect repellency of your trees, vegetables, and other garden plants.
Eggshells
Another idea for a natural fertilizer science project is eggshells. You have probably heard of “liming” a garden or lawn, right? If you haven’t, liming is just the process of sprinkling some lime or calcium carbonate throughout the garden. Plants love this. But did you know that eggshells are 93% calcium carbonate?
For your natural fertilizer science project then, don’t dispose of those eggshells just yet. In addition to calcium carbonate, they also contain about 1% nitrogen, about half a percent of phosphoric acid, and other trace elements that make them practical raw materials to use for a natural fertilizer science project.
