Jennie Gresham, age 11
Project title: Who Makes It Grow? The “Who” are the
various types of manures: rabbit, chicken, goats, pig, horse,
llama, and the control: Miracle-Gro Potting Soil.
Lincoln Elementary Teachers: Miss Triplett, Miss VanSickle,
Mr. Reger (Extended Curricular Services)
Her project consisted of composting
each of the manures listed above to
see which of the compost soils would
stimulate the most growth of the
sunflower plant.
Jennie tested each compost soil for
balance of the following components:
nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, and Ph.
The winning “Who” (or Poo) was
determined by the height achieved by
the sunflowers.
THE WINNER: Rabbit manure: sunflowers grew to 47 centimeters.

Control soil: sunflowers grew to 46 centimeters.

Horse manure: sunflowers grew to 35.5 centimeters

Chicken manure: no germination (too acidic, urine content too high).
When asked why she entered the STEM (Science, Technology, Energy & Math) Expo, Jennie
said, “I like learning how and why things grow or don’t. And it’s fun to do experiments!”
Jennie speaking to a crowd of about 200 at the
FRESH! Food Forum about her project and the
outcome. She’s standing with Captain Compost,
who invited her to the forum.
Below: the young scientist at work
Interested attendees at the
FRESH! Food Forum...
If you want to talk to Jennie about her results, visit her at the Gardens from Garbage booth
at the Farmer’s Market!