To determine the total capacity of the storage container, we first calculate how much fertilizer is added over a total time period.
Initially, we know that the farm deposits 1.5 ft³ of fertilizer every week. After 5 weeks, the amount of fertilizer in the container is:
\[ 5 \text{ weeks} \times 1.5 \text{ ft}^3/\text{week} = 7.5 \text{ ft}^3 \]
Now, we add the given 15 ft³ of fertilizer after 5 weeks to check for consistency. This indicates that there may have been additional fertilizer already in the container before the 5 weeks began, since the direct addition from those weeks alone accounts for only 7.5 ft³.
Next, after the 5 weeks, it takes an additional 14 weeks for the container to be filled. In those 14 weeks, the amount of fertilizer added is:
\[ 14 \text{ weeks} \times 1.5 \text{ ft}^3/\text{week} = 21 \text{ ft}^3 \]
Now, let's calculate the total volume of fertilizer in the container after the entire period (5 weeks + 14 weeks):
The total amount added over the entire 19 weeks (5 weeks + 14 weeks) is:
\[ (5 + 14) \text{ weeks} \times 1.5 \text{ ft}^3/\text{week} = 19 \text{ weeks} \times 1.5 \text{ ft}^3/\text{week} = 28.5 \text{ ft}^3 \]
However, since we already established that there were 15 ft³ in the container after 5 weeks, the total capacity of the container after the additional 14 weeks would be the original 15 ft³ plus the 21 ft³ added during the last 14 weeks, resulting in:
\[ 15 \text{ ft}^3 + 21 \text{ ft}^3 = 36 \text{ ft}^3 \]
Thus, the total capacity of the storage container is:
\[ \boxed{36 \text{ ft}^3} \]
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