Hypothesis

Tomato plants grow better in worm compost than in peat moss

Apparatus

• Tomato Seeds
• Film Canister
• Egg Cartons
• Yogurt Container
• Can of Beans
• Gro-Lite Fixture
• Books for Stacking
• Worm Compost
• Peat Moss
• Perlite

Procedure

1. Get dried tomato seeds from Granny
2. Save them in film canisters in the freezer until ready for planting
3. Fill half the egg cartons with worm castings and compost from worm bin, the other half with a mixture of peat moss and perlite (roughly 50/50)
4. Plant seeds in a divot about half a centimetre deep, three to a pod
5. Cover them over and gently pat down
6. Place under Gro-Lite using books to raise them up if necessary
7. Water the compost plants with compost tea and the peat moss/perlite plants with plain tap water

Results

The plants that were planted in worm compost are about twice the size of the ones planted in peat moss. That said, I planted some of the leftover seeds in a yogurt container and some in an old can of beans. The yogurt container had a mix of compost and peat moss and the bean can had mostly peat moss and perlite but was given some compost tea. The yogurt container is doing the best by far and the bean can is a close second.

Conclusion

Straight up worm compost seems to yield bigger plants than peat moss and perlite. The verdict is still out on taste. Container size seems to be a more significant factor in determining plant size than growing medium. Deeper containers are much more effective than egg cartons. Maybe because they reflect the light on all sides?