Effectiveness of Bio-Activators and Chemicals on the Process of Vermicomposting
Abstract
This experiment was designed to determine which of the eight selected
bio-activators and chemicals could effectively assist in the process of
vermicomposting. The overall practical application of this experiment was
to contribute in one of the developing solutions to current waste-
management problems. Vermicomposting, using worms to decompose
waste, is one of the more promising ways of reducing garbage. For this
experiment, three squares of plain copy paper(10cm X 10cm) were placed
in each vermicomposting unit wherein the bedding materials had been
treated with one of the eight selected substances. The data used for the
constant was extracted from last year's experiment, "Effectiveness of
Vermicomposting on Various Household Materials," in which common
paper and fabric products were tested to determine the rate of
decomposition in a vermicomposting environment. The results of this
year's experiments were as follows: "Super Hot" activator was the most
effective in assisting vermicomposting, closely followed by rock
dust(crushed glacial rock). The two concentrations of sugar did not
speed up the process for the worms required time to adjust to the
unusually high levels of sugar in the bins. Flour and "Brown Leaf"
activator significantly extended the amount of time required to compost
the material in untreated soil(the constant). As an extension to this
project, we tested bedding souls and worm castings treated with each of
the six substances on plants. Results seemed to correlate directly with
those of the main experiments, though all plants did significantly better
when grown using castings from chemically-treated bins rather than
castings from the untreated one.
Purpose
Methods/Materials
Results
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