At least it’s fun to squish. 🤷♀️
Edit: guys it’s not dog poop. Or if is, I have multiple feet of it everywhere in my yard. It’s clay soil. 😂 amending it has made a difference in some areas already but it’s been a slow process.
Doing this for soil science in school, it seems like in the first jar there's only clay and silt? Unless I'm missing something? It's been a day since it's settled. The second jar has sand at the very bottom but it seems like it has no clay. I wasn't able to sieve the second one so I might have to redo it. First soil was from my woods second was my friends compost. Any help is appreciated!
Hello loyal soilers,
Im looking for a career in soil science or related field that would put a person in a job where they might spend some time outside with their hands in the dirt. My wife works part time and she just is sort of "meh" about her job. she wants to work more hours, but doesn't really love her job, and she wants to do something involving farming, soil, the outdoors....something. She grew up on a farm, loves animals and plants of all kinds, but doesn't want to work with animals or veterinarians because she loves animals too much to see them euthanized every day. She says he dream job is soil scientist, but the length of school needed is intimidating and really just more than she needs or wants to do at this point in her life (mid 30's). Is there a career that is soil science related or similar that she could get into with just farming experience etc, or maybe go back to a community college for an associates in something? would love to hear what soil people do for work that puts them in touch with the dirt but doesn't require a long education. She currently makes around $20/hr (min wage where I live is $15) so as long as it's not like back to the bottom of the ladder doing hard labor and milking cows or something pretty much any pay range is doable.
We have a community well that’s managed by a company and have plans to get RO system but for the time being this is what it is. This quote came from something I was reading about added soul amendments so eventually you only need to water and all the nutrients are there.
I spend a decent amount of time at this park and the erosion has become really apparent. It seems like they made a poor attempt at mulching recently to alleviate this. But clearly they haven't realized that they're causing a bigger problem.
Many trees which they have mulched are in a drainage basin that fills up with multiple feet of water during heavy rainfall. Safe to safe it receives almost the entire park's runoff. This high velocity water has already carried away much of the mulch adding organic pollution to the Vermillion-Teche watershed.
Not only that, trees were very lazily mulched, with mulch up to the root flare in cases (didn't include good pictures of that). Mulch was laid in varying thicknesses around the park. It's obvious that whoever mulched the trees wasn't very knowledgeable.
Granted, erosion is a pretty significant problem in this park. Pictures 3, 4 and 6 show an area in which crews brought topsoil to this slope and left it bare, now starting to show signs of gully erosion. The area beneath the culverts in image 2 show significant erosion, the scouring is almost a foot deep here.
I get that the mulching may have been an attempt to quickly resolve some of their erosion problems. However, it clearly isn't the solution for most areas of the park that are suffering from erosion. And in the areas that would benefit from mulching, like level bare soil underneath oak trees, were not mulched in many cases. Why would they not consult a soil and water conservationist? This is the city spending time and money, polluting our waterways, and not even solving the erosion issues.
Anyway, I'm not an experienced soil and water conservationist but I'd love to hear from others with more experience about this.
The gas company is replacing our 62 year old copper service line with polyethylene. Fine. But instead of replacing the disturbed earth with the dirt that they removed, they’re backfilling it the entire trench and several large access holes entirely with crushed stone. Is this a standard practice? And if so, will it have any negative implications to the trees and grass in the area? Drainage? They claim that another crew will be by in a week or two to skim off the top layer of gravel and replace it with topsoil before reseeding, but I feel like backfilling with that much inorganic material can’t be good for our grass or the 50 ft willow oak tree that they’re digging at the perimeter of the drip line of.
I need a lab to send in my soil because I plan on amending it to grow a perennial rye and Kentucky blue mix on it and am going to be using it as a “lab” golf coarse fairway.
Who do you guys recommend?
Hi everyone,
I'm an intern at University College Dublin working on a new-gen modelling platform called MODASYS, and I'm trying to get people to take my survey—please don't scroll, help me out I swear it's worth it!!
We all know that soil is at the heart of the climate and biodiversity crisis, but the tools we use to model it are often locked behind paywalls or are too complex for daily use.
The MODASYS Platform is trying to change that by developing an integrated agri-environmental system model that actually works for the people using it, like farmers, researchers, and advisors.
We want to make sure this isn't just another good-on-paper, bad-in-practice software. We need your input on:
Take the Survey Here: https://www.modasys.org/survey/
It takes about 10 minutes. Whether you're a PhD candidate in pedology or a land manager trying to figure out the Nitrates Directive, your perspective is exactly what we’re looking for.
Help us build something the soil community actually wants to use!
Hi everyone. I just spent many thousands of dollars putting in trees, outdoor French drain, catch basins, regrading with a layer of (manufactured topsoil) on top. Everything is great except for the manufactured topsoil. It's pure garbage. It's just sand mixed with who knows what. It dries out in a minute. To put it in terms all of us will understand - this manufactured topsoil cannot make mud when wet. I have my virgin topsoil visible in one part of the yard and it makes mud when wet. The difference between the virgin soil and the manufactured "topsoil" is black and white. One is gold, the other is garbage.
I am trying to germinate perennial rye grass. Started last Monday, April 13th. So far nothing. I'm in zone 7a, which I know is better for fall germination, but I've overseeded in Spring before with my virgin soil and never had a problem. I water it multiple times a day and so far nothing.
I can't afford to pay someone to remove the top 3 inches and lay down a 3 inch layer of virgin topsoil. If I had the time I could do it myself by hand, but I don't. It's a heck of a lot of work as well. Maybe 3,000 square feet of area, which for a layer of 3 inches would be about 750 cubic feet of virgin topsoil, which would be approximately 27 yards of virgin topsoil. Plus I would have to remove the same amount of the existing bogus manufactured topsoil first, so it would be approximately 54 yards of soil - removing and laying down. There must be a better way.
I know there are amendments they use in Australia to turn their sandy soil into a more clayish soil. I'm a little afraid of that only because I don't know of anyone doing this so I don't have any examples to follow. I've thought of sprinkling virgin soil on top and using a scarifying attachment that I have for my de-thatcher. Both of these remedies would potentially mess up the grading the landscaper's worker did, which was done beautifully.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Wondering if anyone may be able to provide some guidance for me on this …
I’ve been pricing soil to fill four raised beds that I’ve already half filled with sticks/wood etc. Going to order 2 cubic yards for good measure just in case.
One mix I priced out from a company is $20 more expensive, and the only difference is that there is sand added to the top soil/compost mix. My question is are there any massive benefits to sand in raised bed soil? Is $20 extra just too much for some sand when top soil/compost is just fine?
Planning to plant : tomatoes, tomatillos, sweet & hot peppers, onions, cucumbers, zucchinis, beans, melons if that makes a difference in anyone’s decision making.
Hi! PSA: This is an AI generated image I prompted with my original ideas. I’m getting a lot of hate for using AI to generate an image. I’m a visual learner. That was my only MO for creating an infographic of my ideas. If that is offensive, I apologize.
I’m a biology student in Arkansas researching spent mushroom substrate (SMS) as a possible soil amendment, and I’d love feedback from the soil science side before I design a larger pilot.
My broader question is whether SMS could help support recovery of disturbed clay-heavy soils, using cemetery soil disturbance as one possible real-world case study.
The issue I’m looking at:
- heavy clay soils
- compaction after disturbance
- poor drainage
- bare patches / failed grass recovery
- low organic matter
- repeat reseeding and maintenance problems
In my own smaller research, I used SMS that was somewhat fresh, not necessarily fully composted, and saw promising signs:
- increased microbial activity
- improved soil structure
- more stable pH
- support for nutrient cycling
Now I’m thinking about a pilot using disturbed clay soil with different treatments, possibly comparing:
Possible measurements:
- soil respiration
- pH
- moisture retention
- infiltration/drainage
- bulk density or compaction
- plant establishment
- root growth
- visual surface recovery
- organic matter over time
My questions:
I’m still in the question-building stage, so critique is genuinely welcome.
Hi r/Soil!
I see a lot of people enthusiastically talking Soil in this group! Are you up for a story that may interest all of us?
Stay with me for a bit :)
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March 21st, 2022. A 65 year-old lone motorcyclist on an impossible journey.
Some thought that this was a crazy idea. Some felt that it was a joyride of sorts.
Many thought he may not make it alive. Including himself.
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Let's keep the person aside for a bit. Because the movement that he took up is not about any one person.
It is a movement that transcends all divisions and unites 8.3 Billion of us and the generations who are yet to be born.
It is a movement about a crisis that poses an existential threat to not just Human Beings but to all Life on this planet.
This is the story of the #SaveSoil movement.
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UN agencies were saying two things for the longest time.
Action was urgent. Yet Soil Extinction as an issue was treated as a fringe topic in many international forums.
Until the #SaveSoil movement changed that.
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The 100 day awareness campaign
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The main objective of the #SaveSoil movement is not spreading awareness, or engaging in Sloganeering, or fighting any Government.
The main objective is to activate policymakers across the world to enact the right policy solutions for Soil Rejuvenation.
The main solution being to bring back 3-6% of organic matter by bringing the land under shade from vegetation & enriching the soil through plant litter and animal waste.
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A lot has happened in this 4 years and a lot more needs to happen.
A line from the #SaveSoil movement struck me deeply - "How big a change happens in the world simply depends on the number of people who push for it."
It's great to see a lot of people in this group doing their bit for Soil Rejuvenation.
It's important that all of us come together to urge our political leaders to enact the right policies for Soil.
Being the voice for Soil can be as simple as spending a few minutes sharing about #SaveSoil on our Social Media and through our little conversations with family, friends, and co-workers.
Today is the time. Let's make it happen.
#SaveSoil
Pulled up a garlic plant from my garden and thought this was a really cool visual of how roots respond to soil conditions.
You can clearly see the roots clustering and growing into the darker, almost black section of soil. That area is much richer in organic matter compared to the lighter, drier soil around it. It’s more crumbly, holds moisture better, and is likely where most of the microbial activity is happening.
The contrast made it pretty obvious that roots aren’t just spreading randomly — they’re actively growing toward the most favorable environment. In this case, that means better structure, more nutrients, and more biological life.
This bed has been amended with compost over time, and I’m guessing this darker zone is where a lot of that organic material has broken down and accumulated.
Curious what others think — would you say this is mainly driven by moisture gradients, nutrient availability, microbial interactions, or a mix of all three?
