Compost vs. Fertilizer: I TESTED growing Peppers & Tomatoes with both - here are the results!

Experimental Setup

• Environment A:
  • 100% sterile store-bought seedling mix (Promix).
  • No additional nutrients or fertilization.
  • Hypothesis: Plants will struggle due to lack of nutrition.
• Environment B:
  • 50% Promix and 50% compost.
  • Incorporates organic matter rich in nutrients and microbes.
  • Hypothesis: Plants will grow significantly better than Environment A.
• Environment C:
  • Same as Environment B (50% Promix and 50% compost).
  • Added one handful of worm castings and one tablespoon of 444 organic fertilizer in each transplant hole.
  • Hypothesis: Plants will grow even better due to increased nutrients and microbial life at the root zone.

Results

• Environment A (100% Promix):
  • Peppers yielded only 4 fruits; plants appeared unhealthy and struggled.
  • Tomatoes yielded 67 fruits; better than expected but still limited due to lack of nutrients.
• Environment B (50% Promix, 50% compost):
  • Peppers yielded 12 fruits (300% increase compared to Environment A); plants were taller and healthier but not thriving.
  • Tomatoes yielded 74 fruits; better growth than Environment A but not as significant as with Peppers.
• Environment C (50% Promix, 50% compost, plus worm castings and organic fertilizer):
  • Peppers yielded 38 fruits, with healthy foliage and many flowers indicating further growth potential.
  • Tomatoes yielded 94 fruits (32% increase over Environment B); plants were productive despite appearing shorter due to heavy fruit load.

Key Takeaways

• The addition of compost significantly improved plant growth and yield.
• The combination of compost, worm castings, and organic fertilizer led to the best results, indicating the importance of organic matter and nutrients in plant health.
• The presenter plans to continue using compost and organic fertilizers in future gardening endeavors.

Featured Researchers/Sources

The video does not specifically name any researchers or academic sources; it is based on the presenter's personal gardening experiment and observations.