Soil Sampling

As we jump into our new unit on sustag, we begin to focus in on fertilizer and soil and how to sustainably and correctly care for soil and the soil that is in our one-bed gardens. In the past Reading Log, we read about what additions and amendments can benefit the soil and how fertilizers and compost can improve soil structure and rotate nutrients throughout one beds and gardens. To further our understanding of what makes up the soil and see how nutrient-rich it is, we began a soil test sampling/testing the soil in our one beds that we will be working on throughout the next week. A Soil Test is a process where nutrients are removed from the soil and measured for their plant available content within the sample. In this case, we were testing to see what percentage of the soil is sand, compared to clay, and silt. And as an end result, we will also determine the amount of amendments that make up the soil sample such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium as well as finding the pH of the soil. We also completed a "feel test" with a ball of soil and determined what type of soil we had in our bed based off of if the ball of damp soil began to ribbon. After completing this assignment, we will have determined what nutrients make up the soil that is in our one bed and how we can amend our soil to benefit the surrounding crops and organisms.

Georgia Bennett