Karla Mitchell
1/10/11
My experiment is how different types of organic material such as, sand, manure, or peat moss affect the water absorbency of soil. This topic appealed to me, because I wanted to discover what type of organic material can help farmers’ crops grow faster. First, I will be gathering all my materials and placing them separately on the table placing a saucer under each pot. Then, I will label one pot, sand, and under the word sand I will be adding the words, 500 grams. Then, I will be labeling on three separate pots, ¼, ½, and 3/4 peat moss. Next, I will be labeling two different pots, ½ and ¼ cow manure. On a separate pot I will label this, 125 grams of manure mixed with 375 grams of sand. After labeling all these pots separately, I will place the coordinated amount of different types in the pots. After adding and mixing the different types of soil I will add 1 liter of water to each pot. After waiting for twelve hours I will use the saucer to measure how much water came out, then subtract it from how much was added. I expect for the cow manure to absorb the most water, because it is an everyday organic material that many farmers use to keep their crops healthy. I will be conducting this experiment in the backyard of my home. I will be using mostly the internet, and possibly books from my school library. I hope to learn different types of organic material framers can use to help their crops grow faster, or be healthier.