1997 Results

The following document outlines the results of the 1997 project,
"Effectiveness of Bio-Activators and Chemicals on the Process of
Vermicomposting."


    The results shown in the bar graph displaying the
percentage of material composted by the first four days of
testing were not completely unexpected.  The material in the
soil subjected to rock dust was composted more than any other
materials; the percentage material composted in soils mixed in
the other six chemicals were significantly lower.  The second
highest percent composted was 7.88%, tested in the soil with
the "Super Hot" activator and energizer.  The percentage of
material composted in rock dust soil was over three times that
of material tested in "Super Hot" soil.  The only other materials
touched at the first check were that in the untreated soil and
in "Compost Maker" activator(6.63% and 4.15%). The remaining
four chemicals did not improve the rate of compost, compared
to the constant(untreated). 

    The graph illustrating the percentage of material composted
by the second check showed the same trend, save that the
material in the sugar II bin was composted 15.75%.  Compared
to the 17.3% progress of the constant, the rock dust and the
"Super Hot" activator accelerated the rate of vermicomposting
significantly, at 93.05% and 62.64% eaten, respectively.  There
was a very small percentage, 0.25%, of progress in the material
in "Brown Leaf" activator.  Material in "Compost Maker"
activator also showed improvement as it was composted 9.35%,
from its previous 4.15.  At this point, sugar I, flour, and
baking soda(all 0% eaten) showed evidence of slowing down the
process of composting when compared to the rate of
composting in the untreated soil test.

    Results in the bar graph at check three(12 days into the
experiment) showed that several chemicals did much to
increase the rate of vermicomposting.  In comparing other
data, we find that the material in rock dust soil has been
99.99% composted.  "Compost Maker" activator had successfuly
aided composting at a rate of 69.36.  The data for the untreated
soil and sugar II soil showed that these chemicals have
assisted in composting close to 50% (52.12% and 45.86%,
respectively).  The flour had yet to assist in the rate of
composting, and we definitely believe that it is actually
hindering the rate of decomposition. The rate of sugar I is still
behind that of the constant, but it made progress in this check
to assist in composting 36.07% of the material.  Baking soda
aided more than at previous tests, for the squares measured at
an average of 35.55% eaten.  The "Brown Leaf" activator still
had shown virtually no signs of its commercialized
effectiveness, at a mere 1.07% decrease of original material. 
"Super Hot" activator and energizer, on the other hand, had
already surpassed the rate of rock dust, for 100% of the
material was composted.  This product proved its effectiveness
as a highly used commercial product.

     After sixteen days of testing,(at check four) rock dust and
"Super Hot" activator had aided the worms in composting 100%
of the material in the bin.  "Compost Maker" activator materials
measured at 92.32%, the constant at 80.44%, while sugar I and
II followed close behind at 79.99% and 76.91%, respectively. 
Baking Soda was not far behind at 70.52%.  The material in the
flour-subjected bin finally started to be vermicomposted. 
39.8% of the material was gone; this was a significant jump
from 0% at check three(twelve days).  We believe that the
warnings concerning the harmful effects of flour on the worms
were justified.  Though not as harmful as some sources
indicated, flour did have a negative effect on the rate of
vermicomposting.  One possibility to explain the jump in the
percentage composted is that, as explained in last year's
experiment, worms need an adjustment period to adapt to a
new and potentially harmful condition, such as the
introduction of flour in the bin.  "Brown Leaf" activator, at the
fourth check, had helped to compost only 5.66% of the material,
farther behind than even the flour.  This, we believe, is
because it was meant for more organic composting(such as
breaking down leaves not processed paper) as well as the fact
that commercial products are not always sucessful at the
things they clain they are.

    The final check of the three-week test period did show some
promising results in terms of finding chemicals that might
speed up the rate of vermicomposting.  At the same time, some
results were not as encouraging.  Flour reduced the rate of
vermicomposting in the worm bin, at 70.12% eaten, where as the
material in untreated soil was 100% composted.  The material in
sugar I was 100% gone, as were the materials in the
constant(untreated) soil, and the soils subjected to "Compost
Maker" activator and baking soda.  Therefore, sugar I did not
speed up nor slow down the rate of vermicomposting.  Sugar
II, however, was only 93.45% gone, which was less than the
percentage composted in the untreated soil.  As stated in the
hypothesis, we expect the two bio-activators to produce
impressive accelerations in the rate of vermicomposting.  This
hypothesis was proven correct in the case of "Super Hot"
activator and energizer, but incorrect in the case of "Brown
Leaf" activator, as of the third check.  The material placed in
the soil treated with "Super Hot" activator and energizer was
composted at the greatest rate; by the third check, it was 100%
eaten, compared to the constant at 52.12%.  The rock dust
demonstrated optimistic results as well, as it appeared to
speed up the vermicomposting process. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                        Extension: Plant Growth Results
    The first three days of testing the plants in untreated,
sugar I, rock dust soil, sugar II, flour, "Brown Leaf" activator,
and "Super Hot" activator, showed no plant growth. 
    On the fourth day, plants in all three soils did show some
growth; differences among the measurements were very small. 
Disproving the hypothesis, the sugar I plants grew at a faster
rate than the plants in the other soils, at an average of 0.51
cm.  Plants in the rock dust, expected to be the most effective,
showed the least amount of growth, at 0.02 cm, on average. 
Untreated constant soil produced 0.21 cm of plant growth. 
    Day five of the plant experiment began to prove our
hypothesis concerning the rock dust soil because the plants's
grew to 1.67 cm, higher than the plant growths in the
untreated(0.72 cm) and Sugar I(1.14 cm) soils.  
    The sixth day continued to show plants in rock dust soil
growing at a faster rate, compared to the sugar I and the
constant(untreated).  While all three heights were within a
centimeter of each other, the plants in rock dust soil grew to
be 2.89 cm, taller than the other two.  Plants in the sugar I soil
grew to 2.08 cm, and the plants in the untreated soil lagged
behind, at 1.58%.
    In observance of the next four graphs, we concluded that
the rates of growth in all three soils were consistent. Rock
dust was the most effective in aiding plant growth in
vermicomposted soil, ending with 6.52 cm plant growth at day
ten. Sugar I soil produced 4.73 cm plant growth, on average,
by the tenth day, and the untreated vermicomposted soil aided
in growing 4.28 cm.