In a greenhouse at Iowa State University, tomatoes and salvia grow in pots made from bioplastics.
The corn and soybeans so abundant in Iowa could someday replace many of the plastic pots and flats at your local garden shop.
Researchers at Iowa State University set about to create pots for plants that were not made from petroleum products and that could biodegrade. They started with a corn-based bioplastic and tried a number of different formulas. Some of those included a polymer made from soybeans.
"The plastics that had a soy component were consistently leading to plants with darker green leaves or to growth that was enhanced compared to containers that didn't include a soy component," says Bill Graves, an ISU horticulture professor and associate dean of the graduate college. He says further study revealed that microbes from the plant and soil placed in the pot worked to release pent-up nutrients in the soy ingredient.
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