Dirt Homework
1. Soil Composition
Match the following options with their corresponding numbers on the soil composition diagram below. Once you are done, you can check your answers at the bottom of this page. Your match choices are:
Match the following options with their corresponding numbers on the soil composition diagram below. Once you are done, you can check your answers at the bottom of this page. Your match choices are:
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2. Manual Soil Test Activity
Go out into your yard and collect a sample of soil. A few tablespoons should be enough. Moisten the soil and try to form it into a ball, rolling it between your fingers and palms. Using the list below, try to identify which soil you have in your garden.
- Sandy Soil will not form a ball when rolled between your fingers, and will crumble easily. The consistency will be 'rockier' than other soils.
- Silty Soil is smooth to the touch, almost soapy-slick. When rolled between your fingers, this soil will leave dirt on your skin.
- Clay Soil feels sticky when moistened, and will easily form a ball or sausage-shape when rolled between the hands or fingers.
- Peaty Soil, like sandy soil, will not form a ball when rolled. If you have peaty soil, you will be able to squeeze water out of it, like you would with a sponge.
- Saline Soil is identifiable by sight, as it usually has a white film or cover on the top. If you have this type of soil, you may notice that your plants look 'singed' or burned, and are growing poorly. Young leaves are especially vulnerable to this 'leaf tip burn' that occurs in plants planted in saline soil.
- Loamy Soil, the ideal soil type, is smooth but partly gritty, and will form a sticky ball that crumbles easily.
3. Mason Jar Soil Test Activity
Try the Mason Jar soil texture experiment described in this module. What is the composition of your soil according to this test? (The video can be found here: Mason Jar Soil Test).
4. Garden Center Field Trip
Go to your nearest garden center and take a stroll down the fertilizer section. What fertilizers do they offer? Are there a majority of liquid or dry fertilizers? Does your garden center also offer organic material that can be added to your garden, like compost? What is the cost difference between these options? Write a paragraph or more about what you find and store if for future reference.
5. Create a Personalized Fertilizing Schedule
Make a list of some of the plants you know you have in your garden (or all of them, if you're up to the task!). Then, research which fertilizers are best for those plants, and begin to create a fertilizing schedule you should adopt. If you need help designing your notes and schedule, use the Fertilization Schedule on the printables page under the Dirt module.
Answer Key
Soil Composition
- Air
- Minerals & Particles
- Pore Space
- Water & Dissolved Nutrients
- Organic Matter
- Soil Solids
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