Soil

Practical 1: Soil Composition of our soil sample

Activity 1
By Jake

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 you wish to use in your Window Gardens.  Refer to soil practical 1.
·         Upload your results, observations and interpretations onto your blog.
Results:
Test Tube :
a)    Sand layer thickness =    1.5                   cm

b)    Clay layer thickness =       0.5                 cm

c)    Silt layer thickness =        0.4                  cm

d)    Other = __0.1__________cm

OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:
1.         Take a photo of your soil composition and upload onto your blog.  
2.         What have you discovered about the composition of your soil?
            __it is comprised of different layers _
3.         What is the importance of air and humus content in your soil?
            ____it needs to be there for the soil to be rich and healthy
4.         What does the air and humus content mean for the plants your Window Garden?

            __it gives them the nutrients they need 

Practical 2: Soil Classification and Texture of our soil


OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

      1. Describe the texture of your soil samples?

Our Sandy Loam was very gritty with hard pieces of rough sand grains
Our Sandy Clay was also gritty although it also had a softness to it after rubbing it for a while

      2. How would you classify your soil sample 1 and 2?

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

           The softer the soil and the less gritty the more water it could retain.

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

This means we should have gritty soil for the plants that need less water (the plants on top) and softer soil for the ones that need more water (the plants on the bottom)


 



Sandy Clay
Sandy Loam


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

AIM:
To determine the water retention of your soil sample
INSTRUCTIONS:
·        Test the water retention capacity of your soil.  Refer to soil practical 3.
  • Upload your observations and interpretations onto your blog.

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 Loamy Soil
100
100
60
2 Sandy Soil
100
100
90

OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS:

Questions:


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

Loamy soil. It retained 30ml more than the sandy soil.

  1. Which soil sample retained less water?

The sandy soil

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

Soils have differently sized particles which will make a difference to how much air there will be in the soil. When water is poured into the soil, the air will be replaced by the water.

  1. 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. 
           Yes, it is beneficial as the plants will have more water to use to grow, and thus grow better and faster. 

  1. 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?

The plants will grow better as it has more nutrients in the soil with more organic matter.


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

Knowing the water retention capacity of our soil will help us to decide what soil to use for our plants, as if our plants need a lot of water will use a soil that has a high water retention capacity. 


CONCLUSION:
Can you identify your soil types based on the evidence of the experimental results?
What can you conclude about the different soil type’s water retention capacities?

Yes you can because the loamy soil retains water better than the sandy soil.


Loamy soil compared to sandy soil. With the darker liquid Loamy soil. This shows nutrients have dissolved nicely in the soil 
Sandy Soil
Loamy Soil
Loamy Soil on the left, sandy soil on the right



We can see that the loamy soil water is less than the sandy soil as the loamy soil has retention




Based on your soil practical research, describe whether 

the soil you tested would be suitable to grow vegetables 

in your window garden and why?

Yes, the loamy soil because it is very good at retaining water and plants will grow better because of all the nutrients and organic matter.


















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