Make A Compost Pit
You will need the help of a grown-up or older brother or sister to make this, and it has to be made outside. Remember to follow all the science project steps.
You will need the following materials:
a part of the garden/ a large wooden box (a large plant box will also do)
soil
dead leaves, dead sticks, old paper, coffee grounds
freshly cut grass, green leaves that have fallen
potato sack
string
Instructions:
If your parents let you use one part of the garden, get some help and dig to about a foot and a half deep, an area about 4 feet by 3 feet. If you are using a container, fill the bottom of your container with about three or four inches of soil.
Put a layer of dead leaves, dead sticks, old paper, and coffee grounds on top of the soil.
Sprinkle just a little bit of soil on top.
Next put the freshly cut grass, green leaves that have fallen, and any other garden scraps you may find (just don't put in animal poop)
Cover this with a layer of soil, this time enough to that you can't see it.
Wet the soil and make sure it is moist.
Cover the pit or container with a potato sack and tie it down with string, but not too tight.
Check on you pit or container after two weeks. Remove the sack, and with a shovel, dig up the soil to give it a good mix. You will notice that it doesn't smell very good, and it may see a bit warm. This means that the soil is decomposing the materials you put in. This means, it is turning the leaves and stuff into soil too!
Cover it up again, and check on it every two weeks.
When everything is black and earthy soil, you can now use your compost as fertilizer.
Concept Explanation:
Soil is one of the things that covers the earth. When plants die, the soil turns these things back into soil to help other plants grow. If you followed the science project steps correctly, this activity shows us how materials are biodegradable, how soil can help our plants, and how trash can be something useful.
