SOIL PRACTICALS - Maximillian Wolfson

Practical 1: Soil Composition of our soil sample

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AIM:

To observe and interpret the composition of sand, clay and 

silt particles in your sample of soil

INSTRUCTIONS:

         

Work out the soil composition of the soil that we wish to use in your Window Gardens.

Results:

Test Tube :

a)    Sand layer thickness =   1,50 cm

b)    Clay layer thickness =  1,93  cm

c)    Silt layer thickness = 0,2  cm

d)    Other = 0,4 cm

OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

What have you discovered about the composition of 

your soil?

This is what we have discovered about the composition of our soil.

Our soil is made up of very similar amounts of sand and clay. There was a very thin layer of silt and above that was the water. Our water was fairly murky with a thin layer of different material, including humus.

What is the importance of air and humus content in your soil?

The importance of humus in soil

The fertility of the soil increases due to humus. That makes humus in soil very important for agricultural needs. It also helps absorb and retain water in the soil. Humus encourages the increase of soil organisms which help make nutrients available to plants and it permits better aeration and drainage. Garden waste in the form of compost is a great source of humus and this is why it is important to have your own self-sustainable compost heap. Leaves, grass clippings, weeds, spent flowers and vegetable plants and even vegetable waste from the kitchen may be thrown into a compost heap.

The importance of Air in soil

Like all other organisms, the organisms in the soil need air. Whether they be plants (roots), microorganisms or insects, they still need air to function properly. All these organisms in the soil are essential to the health of the soil and therefore it is very important that we have air in the soil to keep these organisms alive and health.

What does this mean for the plants your Window 

Garden?

We have determined that our current garden soil would work 

very well in our window garden.

It could use more humus and we will achieve this by adding 

more of our homemade compost.

Before

 After

Practical 2: Soil Classification and Texture of our soil

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AIM:

To classify the type of soil you are going to use for your 

window farm and get a better idea of its texture and 

particle size.

INSTRUCTIONS:

· Help classify our soil by feeling its texture and noting the particle sizes.

OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

 Describe the texture of your soil samples?

 Sample 1 was a bit sandy and seemed a tiny bit moist. It contained large clumps of soil and twigs. It had very small particles.

Sample 2 was very sandy and had no particles other than sand. It did have quite a bit of variation in the size of the soil particles. Some of the soil particles were big and other were small.

Sample 3 was quite sandy and also contained pieces of grass and larger soil clumps. However, the majority of the soil was made up of small particles.

2.     

      How would you classify your soil sample 1 and 2?

Sample 1 we would classify as a loamy soil.

Sample 2 we would classify as a river sand soil.

3.   Explain the relationship between soil texture and soil water retention?

The relationship between the soil texture and the water retention is that the smaller the soil particles are, the more water it retains.

 What does this information about your soil texture mean for your window gardens?  
                                         

In our window garden it would be ideal to use soil that retains more water. Therefore we would use sample 1.

From left to right: garden soil, river sand, clay soil

Top: moist clay soil. 

Right middle: moist river sand

Bottom: moist garden soil

Top: moist clay soil. 

Right middle: moist river sand

Bottom left: moist garden soil

Practical 3: Determining the water retention capacity of your soil.

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AIM:

To determine the water retention of your soil sample

INSTRUCTIONS:

·      

   Test the water retention capacity of our soil. 

RESULTS:

Table 1:

 

Soil  sample	Mass of soil (cm3 or g)	Amount of  water that  drained into  glass beaker  (ml)	Amount of  water  retained  by the soil  (ml)
1 school  soil	80	71	29
2 home  soil	80	39	61

OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

 Which soil sample retained more water? How much more did it retain?

Sample 2 the one from home. The soil retained 61ml of water.

 Which soil sample retained less water?

Sample 1. The one from school.

 Can you explain why there may be differences in water content between the two soil samples?

There may have been larger sized soil particles in the soil that retained less water. There may have been more humus, which helps with water retention, in the soil which retained more water.

 Do you think that a high level of water retention in a soil is likely to be beneficial or harmful to plants growing in that soil? Suggest a reason.

I think it will be helpful as we will not have to water the plants as much and will make use of all the water we give it. It allows the plant to last longer on one watering because it has a bigger supply of water to use.

 What advantage would soil with a high amount of organic matter have over soil with a low amount of organic matter, as suggested by the results of this experiment?

A soil with a higher amount of organic matter will be able to hold the water in the soil a lot better than a soil with less organic matter.

Other benefits of soil with high amounts of organic matter:

§  plant would thrive

§  roots would grow extensively,

§  the soil would resist erosion and compaction

 What value is there in knowing the water content of your soil in your window garden?

We will be able to know how much water our plants have required through
out the growing process. It also allows us to experiment with different soil to test which soil would work better.

 

The residue

Timelapse of the process

Video of the start of the practical

The preparation before we start

CONCLUSION:

All soil is different and that means that the soil results that 

one person had can be very different to what another person 

had. Almost everyone ended up with different results for 

water retention. In the end we all learnt the importance of 

water retention in order for successful window gardens. We 

learnt that when we choose our soil we must consider how 

much humus and air it contains. If we can bring all these factors together then there is an improved possibility of a successful window garden. We can conclude that our soil from home is loam soil and retains more water than our school soil. Our home soil could do with more humus but that can be fixed by adding compost. This means that overall our home soil would be very good for our window farm.


Maximillian Wolfson
Comment:
So far our group has worked very well together. We had slight work allocation problems in the first blog due to communication problem. For the second blog we were better organised and we resolved our problems. For the second blog we all communicated really well and made sure we did the blog way before the time in case there were any problems. One way I think that we could improve our group is by using our time in class more productively so we don't have as much homework.


DECLAN WATLING
COMMENT:
I think the group has been working well. We all have our strengths in the respective divisions of the project. We all communicate really well and that make sit much easier to contribute to the project. I will say that each member must trust one another to do their bit.



Nicholas Powell
Comment

Our group is functioning brilliantly, we did have some problems completing the first blog but in the end we all did the work required of us. We all carry our own weight and work productively, although we could make better use of class time. I look forward to continuing to collaborate with this group.