FREE ESSAY ON COMPOST COLUMN

COMPOST COLUMN

"Compost Column"
The purpose of this project was to make a comparison of two different columns using
different ingredients.
I made a hypothesis that two columns would decompose at a slow rate depending on the
environment, heat, water, air etc. And at the end I would end up with soil in both the
columns. 
I used several ingredients in the making of my column; I used leaves, grass clippings
(fresh), and pawn water. To make the column I followed the attached instructions.
Equipment used: Scratch awl, triple beam balance, P.H. tester, stirring stick, scissors
and knives. 
For results refer to calendar attached.
Differences in temperature, light and moisture had a major effect on the column. If I had
too much water it would kill the microbes, If I had too little it would kill the
microbes, so it was important to keep it as wet as a rung out sponge. If the temp. Was
too high it would dry out and I would have to add more pond water to the column to keep
it stable. If it had had any light it probably would have dried out faster but also would
have given it heat to help to microbes grow.
Bad odors also occurred from rotting grass, which produced an ammonia smell.
During decomposition I predict the grass, and leaves will form into soil by decaying, and
maybe there might be some fruit flies.
The outcome was somewhat successful, there was some decomposition of the columns and I
ended up with a quarter soil and 3 quarters still decaying material. It was not exactly
as I predicted but it did show some relation to my hypotheses, there was some
decomposition and heat and water did make a difference. 
I made several mistakes during this project, that may have resulted to the column not
fully decomposing. I did not put the same number of air holes in both the columns to
increase the air flow, did not put the exact same amount of ingredients, and the grass
dried out before I could get all of the ingredients in the column. 
Bibliography
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