Welcome to Kasia and Andrew's magical soil blog! I hope you enjoy the enthralling experience that is reading about our quests through the world of experimentation with soil samples. To start off, some background knowledge is required. Soil is the upper layer of earth in which plants grow; a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles. Soils consist of four major components: minerals (inorganic compounds), organic compounds, water, and air. The relative proportions of these four soil components vary with soil type and climatic conditions.
There is a stark difference between what most people would consider"dirt" versus what is "soil." Dirt is what you find under your fingernails. Soil is what you find under your feet. Think of soil as a thin living skin that covers the land. It goes down into the ground just a short way. Even the most fertile topsoil is only a foot or so deep. And soil is more than rock particles; it includes all the living things and the materials they make or change.
The formation of soil happens over a very long period of time. It can often take thousands of years to form! Soil is formed from the weathering of rocks and minerals. The surface rocks break down into smaller pieces through a process of weathering and is then mixed with moss and organic matter. Over time this creates a thin layer of soil. Plants also help the development of the soil by attracting animals, and when the animals die, their bodies decay. Decaying matter makes the soil thick and rich. This continues until the soil is fully formed. The soil then supports many different plants and other life.
Soil texture refers to the size of individual soil particles. This affects how water and air flows through the soil. Large particles mean that water can drain easily, while small particles hold water longer. Sand features the largest particles. Water can travel freely through this type. Plants that love water may have a difficult time surviving in sand, since the water drains quickly. Sand can come in standard, coarse, fine and very fine grades. Meanwhile, silt particles are smaller than sand, but larger than clay. Silt can hold some nutrients, but clay has the smallest particles. Since they are so small, they are close together in the soil, which can make it difficult for water to travel through. However, clay often has a loam has an equal amount of sand, silt and clay soil particles. This is considered the optimal soil for many plants since it features the positive characteristics for each type of soil texture. Color and texture both indicate which minerals are broken down and present in the soil. Depending on the rock that weathered to create the soil, it can be either very fertile or not so fertile.
The soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity in soils. pH is defined as the negative logarithm (base 10) of the activity of hydronium ions (H+ or, more precisely, H3O+) in absolution. It ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. A pH below 7 is acidic, while above 7 is basic. Soil pH is considered a master variable in soils as it controls many chemical processes that take place. It specifically affects plant nutrient availability by controlling the chemical forms of the nutrient. The optimum pH range for most plants is between 5.5 and 7.0, however many plants have adapted to thrive at pH values outside this range.
The soil present in Lake Zurich is primarily of a more silty composition, as we live in a temperate forest area with high nutrients. Soils of Hawaii consist of a loam that is fairly even with all three types of soil, Georgia would have a silty composition much like here, and Arizona would have a sandy composition. Georgia may also include some sand at is touches the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, Lake Zurich would have a soil composition similar to that of Georgia (including the sand as we are moderately close to Lake Michigan) as well as some similarities to Hawaiian soil, but would be considered drastically different than that of Arizona where the climate is so different.
A farmer should be very interested in soil analysis because his main job is to grow crops on his property. Soil testing is an important management practice on all farms, whether growing vegetables for fresh market or pasture for livestock. It’s nearly impossible to determine what a soil needs to be productive without a soil analysis. There are many types of soil analyses available depending on what information you are seeking. The most commonly requested analysis is for nutrient content, though you may wish to know what organisms are working in your soil, if there are pesticide residues or determine the particle size analysis.
We hope that you enjoy our blog as we document the process of determining just how awesome or horrible the soil in Lake Zurich truly is!
- Kasia
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