Monday, February 16, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Soil Experiment #1
Soil Fractional Analysis - find out the percentage of clay, sand and silt in your soil. This will help you know what you should add to make ideal conditions for vegetables to grow and thrive. It will also give you an idea of how much and how often to water.
You will need: a shovel (preferrably sharpened), a trowel, 2 or 3 quart sized jars with lids, a measuring cup, marker, a clock or watch, dishwashing liquid, water
Dig a hip-wide hole three feet deep. The soil will change colors as you dig down. Make a separate pile of the different layers. First will be topsoil which contains the most organic matter. It should be 6 - 12 inches deep. If you get to a place where it is very difficult to dig and no roots have penetrated the layer, then stop digging. Chances are you have hit solid clay.
Take one pint of soil from a layer. Put it into a jar. Use separate jars for each layer. Remove any roots or rocks. Break it up as finely as possible.
Use the marker (or masking tape) to mark the depth of the dirt on the jar.
Fill jar with water to within one inch of the top. Add one teaspoon of ordinary dishwashing liquid.
Seal the jar and shake hard. Shake for 5-10 minutes. Shake until every little particle separates from every other little particle.
Stop shaking and immediately set the jar in a place where it will not be disturbed, preferrably in bright light.
After exactly 2 minutes, look closely (you can use a flashlight). Whatever soil has settled on the bottom is your sand fraction. Mark the depth on the side of the jar.
After 2 hours from the time you stopped shaking, take another look. Make another mark. That is your silt fraction.
Whatever is left floating in the jar is the clay fraction and a little organic matter. It could takes days or even weeks for the water to become clear again and all the clay to settle, so it's best to just compare your second two marks with the original mark to see your percentages of soil particles.
Adapted from Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food In Hard Times by Steve Solomon
You will need: a shovel (preferrably sharpened), a trowel, 2 or 3 quart sized jars with lids, a measuring cup, marker, a clock or watch, dishwashing liquid, water
Dig a hip-wide hole three feet deep. The soil will change colors as you dig down. Make a separate pile of the different layers. First will be topsoil which contains the most organic matter. It should be 6 - 12 inches deep. If you get to a place where it is very difficult to dig and no roots have penetrated the layer, then stop digging. Chances are you have hit solid clay.
Take one pint of soil from a layer. Put it into a jar. Use separate jars for each layer. Remove any roots or rocks. Break it up as finely as possible.
Use the marker (or masking tape) to mark the depth of the dirt on the jar.
Fill jar with water to within one inch of the top. Add one teaspoon of ordinary dishwashing liquid.
Seal the jar and shake hard. Shake for 5-10 minutes. Shake until every little particle separates from every other little particle.
Stop shaking and immediately set the jar in a place where it will not be disturbed, preferrably in bright light.
After exactly 2 minutes, look closely (you can use a flashlight). Whatever soil has settled on the bottom is your sand fraction. Mark the depth on the side of the jar.
After 2 hours from the time you stopped shaking, take another look. Make another mark. That is your silt fraction.
Whatever is left floating in the jar is the clay fraction and a little organic matter. It could takes days or even weeks for the water to become clear again and all the clay to settle, so it's best to just compare your second two marks with the original mark to see your percentages of soil particles.
Adapted from Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food In Hard Times by Steve Solomon
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Helping friends
We are in the planning stages for two dear friends' kitchen gardens. This will be their first vegetable gardens and they are both excited and inspired. We are blessed with an early spring season here in Texas. We can start planting as soon as Feb. 15. We will take advantage of the occasional warm, dry winter day to dig the gardens. I will be following the advice of Steve Solomon in his amazing and technical book, Gardening When It Counts, John Seymour's timeless classic, The Self-Sufficient Life And How To Live It. And, of course, the king of Texas organic gardening, J. Howard Garrett and his book, Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening. Another book I love is Gaia's Garden: A Guide To Home-Scale Permaculture, by Toby Hemenway and John Todd.
Both gardens are in suburban backyards, so we have to use raised, intensive beds. I will post pictures and update what we are doing as we go along.
Both gardens are in suburban backyards, so we have to use raised, intensive beds. I will post pictures and update what we are doing as we go along.
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