A Potential Replacement for Phosphate: A Study in the Effects of Sourdough Starter on Basil Plants and Soil pH

Grade:

9

Teacher:

Michael Frank

My project is about whether sourdough starter makes a good fertilizer for basil plants. I chose this project because most fertilizers use phosphate, a non-renewable resource that ideally we should move on from and I wanted to see if the sourdough starter could replace it. I found that no, sourdough starter doesn't increase the height at all, but it does lower the pH of the soil in moderate amounts. My project is important because even though it did not affect the growth of basil plants, it is now crossed off as one option on the list of potential replacements. Keywords: sourdough starter fertilizer; phosphate replacement; basil.

Project presentation

Research paper