Question
So if I used the materials I listed, would their be some kind of deformity in the tomato
growth?

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Followup To
Question -
I'm working on my science project, and I decided to do one on how different types of home
*salt, soda, vinegar* fertilizers work on the growth of tomatos.. I was wondering, is there
going to be some type of mutation in the tomatoes?
         
         Thanks
         ~Eric
Answer -
You will have to try and note the results.

Just a few notes to start you off:

plants live by converting carbon dixoide (from air), water and essential nutrients into plant
foods using the sun's energy as an energy source. The plants - as opposed to humans and
animals - produce their own energy (carbohydrates) and synthesize their own proteins, etc.

The essential elements needed for the process is what we call fertilizer. you can compare it
to raw materials used in the production of food/energy.

The reason they are called "essential" elements is because the plants need them to grow and
function. Without these essential elements the plants may experience disease, malformation
or die.

Some of the key essential nutrients are Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, Sulphur,
Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manganese, Boron, etc. Fertilizer is materials which contain some
or all of these nutrients, e.g. epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) contain two essential nutrients
for plant growth: sulphor and magnesium. Potassium Nitrate contain Nitrogen, Oxygen,
Potassium. When in water, these materials dissolve into the individual nutrient molecules
which the plants can take up through the roots. Organic fertilizers (like manure for example)
does not dissolve in water but must first be broken down by microbes in the soil. Only in
the simple (chemical) form can the plants take up the essential nutrients.

Table Salt (sodium chloride or NaCl) consists of Sodium + Chloride. When mixed in water it
seems to "melt" but in reality the water molecules simply pull the "complex" salt molecule
into smaller "sodium" and "Chloride" molecules.
If either sodium or chloride were essential plant elements (e.g. needed for plant growth)
table salt would have been a good fertilizer. Since plants do not require sodium or chloride,
it has no fertilizer value, but can actually harm the plants. Chloride can interefer with cells in
the plants. Also too much salt in the soil and the water inside the plant roots will be drawn
out of the plants instead of flowing into the plants. This also happens when you use
"fertilizer salts" such as potassium nitrate, epsom salt (magnesium sulfate), etc and if too
much is added you get what they call "burning". In reality, the plant is starved for moisture
which is critical to all processes inside the plant.

Therefore, depending on the volume of salt you add to the tomatoes you may find
mutations in the leaves due to chloride toxicity, or you may find leaves and stem turning
brown and shrivelling up due to too much salt.

Vinegar has no essential elements needed for plant growth either, but it's use can have
positive or negative effects on the plants - not because of fertilizer but due to another
factor. Vinegar is acetic acid which is fermented beyond the alcohol stage. The acid in soil
will lower the soil pH. the pH scale runs from 4 to 14 with a middle of 7. The cells in our
body has a balance around pH7. Most plants grow best at a slightly acidic level (ph 6.0-6.5)
but there is exceptions. If the soil is "sweet" (e.g. contain a lot of bases such as calcium) you
can succesfully lower the soil pH with vinegar. If the soil is balanced (pH 7.0) or acidic
already, you can damage the plants by adding vinegar. Even if you correct a pH level in the
soil from an inoptimal high (say 8.0 pH) to a preferred (say 6.5 pH) it can damage the plant
if the change is done too quickly.

Therefore, you may see plant death or foliage/fruit damage depending on the amount of
vinegar you add, the existing pH level and how often you add it.


Soda (soft drinks ?) are water and sugar. Sugar is fine if you have a need to build the
mircobal herd in the soil. Take the example above where I mentioned that manure is an
organic fertilizer that needs to be broken down by mircobes in order for the tomatoes to
take up the individual fertilizer molecules ? Say you planted your tomatos in sterile soil and
added a bit a manure on top. The manure would eventually break down as it contain
microbes by itself, but the process could take time. To speed up the process, if you add
sugar (energy) the microbe population could build marginally faster and release the fertilizer
molecules faster. I doubt, however, you would notice a real difference as it is a long process
and to see the difference you would have to run two idential projects with the only
difference being the soda.

Overall, neither vinegar, soda or table salt (sodium chloride) are fertilizers. They are
materials which can affect plant growth, but they don't contain essential nutrients needed
for plant growth (the definition of fertilizers).

E.g. the 3 items you mention are not fertilizer. they do not contribute any essential elements
the plants need to produce foodstuffs.

A better comparison would be to run 4 tomato plants from seedlings to fruit bearing plants
using 3 types of different fertilizers:
- one plant not fertilized (comparison plant)
- cow manure
- bone meal
- miracle grow (15-30-15) synthethic fertilizer

The cow manure has different composition of key essential nutrients than bone meal and
miracle grow and the science project could be to determine a) what is the difference in
ingredients in the 3 types of fertilizers, and b) based on the experiences with the plants,
which combination best support tomato growth, and c) why is it ?

My suggestion

Kenneth

Answer
The materials listed are not fertilizers. It is not possible to say if the use of same would lead to deformity. Please read my last reply again for how the materials are expected to affect plant growth. I would suggest that you use "real" fertilizers if you want to gauge plant response rather than materials which are not fertilizers. What I am trying to say, your science project question is really not very well formulated/thought through (sorry!!).

If you asked me if you could build a brick house using wood and if would stand up to high winds, I would not be able to answer you correctly because even if it could stand up to high winds, it would not be a brick house if you use wood. That is in a nutshell how you have formulated your project.