/r/Soil

Photograph via snooOG

A subreddit for all things soil, or soil science related.


The Soil reddit

Soil - a natural body consisting of layers that are primarily composed of minerals which differ from their parent materials in their texture, structure, consistency, color, chemical, biological and other characteristics.

Wikipedia: soil


Rules

  • Please keep all discussion to soil or agriculture based topics

  • Please try and post scientifically sound articles (i.e. that include sources) but all soil posts are welcome

  • Feel free to ask general, or homework related questions. We are a small sub, so an answer may take time, but we will try and get to it!

  • No advertising, or corporate promotions


Resources

The Nature and Properties of Soil

Soil Fertility and Fertilizers

An Illustrated Guide to Soil Taxonomy PDF

The Canadian System of Soil Taxonomy PDF

USDA Handbook on Erosion Control PDF

Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis PDF Canadian Society of Soil Science


Related Reddits:

And Check Out the Big List of Related Reddits

/r/Soil

12,783 Subscribers

1

Environmental awareness on soil and wetlands

🌱🎙️ New Podcast Minisode Alert! 🎙️🌱

Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of soil and wetlands in our latest podcast minisode with the Wetlands Conservation Organisation (WCO). 🌍✨

In this minisode, we explore:

The concept of soil and wetlands Their crucial importance to our ecosystem The impacts of soil and wetland health on our environment Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of these vital natural resources and learn how we can all contribute to their conservation. 🌿💧 #Youth4Change #YouthConversations #ClimateSmart #ClimateAction #Agenda2030 #LandDegradation #LandRestoration #Landconservation #SoilHealthMatters #Soilbiodiversity #SoilErosion #AcceleratingActionTogether #TheFutureWeWant #SDGs #UNGA #Tuhifadhimchanga

https://youtu.be/n92upYmB_mU?si=9_u1WSGFCTr89pD6

0 Comments
2024/10/11
21:42 UTC

1

Drying soil in oven?

Hi all

I need to do a soil sample test but it need to be done soon. Presently, I am away from the test area where I collected the soil from. I brought it to my local agway to be sampled and they did a ph test where it was sampled an was given water to be moistened. I need to give it to my local extension office to be sampled again but it needs to be dried. I am away from the sample site and it needs to be tested soon. Can I put it in an oven to dry or would this affect the outcome of the soil test?

2 Comments
2024/10/11
03:20 UTC

0

Gonna dump Sulfuric Acid

I want to bring down my soil pH more permanently and quicker than traditional short term methods. I have a limestone based soil that I'll calculate percentage limestone and attempt to neutralize it with sulfuric acid per pound. It'll be in mostly empty mulch beds of which I'll plant afterwards.

I wanna dump some Sulfuric Acid in my soil, who's with me?

33 Comments
2024/10/08
16:25 UTC

2

drying soil?

i’m doing a research project for a class, and as part of this i’m taking soil samples and testing their salinity levels. i’ll be doing this by drying out the soil in the oven before soaking it in deionized water, extracting the liquid, and using a refractometer to measure salt levels.

my question is, how could i effectively dry the soil in a traditional oven? i’ve never done anything like this before so just not sure how to go about it. thanks!

11 Comments
2024/10/06
22:27 UTC

2

Where do rocks come from?

I have my septic tank pumped every few years. The last time, I tossed out any rocks and put a paver over the hatch location. Today I dug it out again and again pulled out several rocks about half the size of my fist.

Where do they come from? Rocks this size is what I tossed the last time. I'm digging in the same place.

5 Comments
2024/10/06
18:47 UTC

0

Soil Anazlysor College Project

I am a first year undergraduate college student and me and my teammates have decided to make a soil analyzor for our college project. Could you guys tell me how should I start researching, suggestions on which websites to look into to make a soil analyzor.

11 Comments
2024/10/06
06:34 UTC

6

Online intro to soils class

I’m looking for a completely online intro to soils class that I can get university credit for. I am having trouble finding anything. Most want a in person lab which makes sense. Any ideas would be appreciated.

17 Comments
2024/10/04
14:03 UTC

6

How do you measure heavy soil content at home?

I'm currently a high school student trying to analyze my soil for heavy metal content at school. It's for a biology project, and I'm wondering if anyone knows a particular procedure. The one I'm currently looking at is the aqua regia digestion procedure, but I'm wondering if there are other alternatives.

7 Comments
2024/10/03
01:54 UTC

5

Where am I able to find the soil orders for a series in my AOI in Web Soil Survey

I have looked online and through the website help and don’t know how. My class instructor is also not responding. Can anyone please help?

2 Comments
2024/10/02
20:51 UTC

4

Best amendments or fert?

I just got these soil test results in. What would be the best product to apply to amend these micronutrient issues? Would lime work for the high iron?

Zone 7a. Tall Fescue lawn

6 Comments
2024/10/02
00:04 UTC

8

Can fruit trees successfully be grown in subsoil?

I didn't know any better and I planted fruit and nut trees on the edge of my property where most or all of the topsoil had been scraped away. They've been in the ground for three years and they're growing but I'm not too thrilled at the rate they're growing at. I regularly mulch with compost and a variety of wood chips. Am I better off just trucking in topsoil and replacing the trees or is it likely they will improve over time with continued topdressing and mulching?

22 Comments
2024/10/01
23:40 UTC

0

How to increase salinisation of soil in a plant pot quick?

I am doing a laboratory experiment with some cereal crops, and i need to raise salt levels in soil for house plants. Do you have any methodology with sources (or without) for doing so? The best method i found is to just water it with salt water.

3 Comments
2024/10/01
07:19 UTC

5

Prepping hills and trees from the soil being oversaturated by water and therefor sliding/falling?

So, I don't see this ever brought up before a storm or hurricane as something you can do to limit damage. The reason I'm asking is because my home is ~20 feet from a rather steep hill which has grass and some shrubs. Also, there are 3 good size trees that would probably crash through my manufactured home like a knife through butter.

One thing I've recently learned is trees can loose their footing after the ground becomes saturated with water and loosens up the soil. Not sure if this is a significant reason they fall during major storms if it's a small contributor in comparison with wind.

But landslides are entirely caused by soaking up so much water as far as I know, so maybe it's a huge contributor to causing a tree to fall.

Is it possible to effectively prepare and reduce the chances of both a landslide and a falling tree by preventing the ground from soaking up water by covering it with some waterproof tarp? Is doing so as simple as covering the areas of concern with cheap blue tarps and laying some sand bags for weight/sealing up hill to prevent water from going under and keep it going over the tarp?

4 Comments
2024/09/30
18:52 UTC

4

Looking at farm dirt vs. urban dirt under the microscope

0 Comments
2024/09/30
04:19 UTC

21

Soil

1 Comment
2024/09/28
05:25 UTC

2

Wondering about this soil sample.

https://preview.redd.it/mu9k2qzg9hrd1.jpg?width=1848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c62d9ecc33853ee09f826b4400896f7c50ef1e3d

https://preview.redd.it/ch5erpzg9hrd1.jpg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=782e53c90cd936f5950e3b60fb5b95dd430fb20c

I took a soil sample from my house. It was very dry and full of little rocks which I picked most of them out. I am pretty sure the bottom layer is sand, but I am not sure if the middle is silt or clay, or if the top is clay or some other type of matter. My guess would be sand bottom, silt middle, and the thin layer on top is clay. I went to the soilweb website for comparison but I am not quite sure how to read the soil profile information. It says Clear Lake Clay, ponded, 0 to 2% slopes. It is 85% Clear Lake 6% Wright 6% Huichica 3% Zamora. Based on that maybe the middle layer is clay? I felt it with my hand and it was slimy clay feeling. Just trying to better understand the soil information. Any help would be much appreciated.

3 Comments
2024/09/28
04:28 UTC

4

New Crowd-sourced Farming Wisdom AI Chatbot

https://soil.im

I built this app to collect and share farming wisdom in an easy-to-use and in-context way. Farmers can share their wisdom and then ask the chatbot for advice based on the wisdom of other real farmers (including references)

23 Comments
2024/09/27
18:20 UTC

2

Labeling Horizons?

Not sure if there are any different layers here. It’s for a geology project and I’m severely struggling and any help is appreciated. Ideally, my professor wanted us to dig or find somewhere that shows the C Horizon but that was a struggle with just a shovel in clay. Located in the Piedmont of NC. Thank you in advance! :)

8 Comments
2024/09/27
11:58 UTC

2

many questions about mt st helens soil

hi, I'm in an intro soils class and one of my assignments is to do a deep dive into my favorite soil. I chose the elkprairie series, just N of Mt St Helens, because I think its neat that all the ash and pumice from the 1980s eruption sits in the top 4 horizons, and I've been there!

https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/sde/?series=elkprairie#osd

anyway I am trying to dissect the horizons and explain why they got the way they are. I'm stuck on a couple things. the texture in the top 4 horizons (C1-C4 from 1980 eruption) goes from loamy sand > sand > sand > loamy sand. my best guess as to why is that the sand is being broken down by the lower horizons below and the foot traffic from above? In other words, why would this stuff turn from sand to loam? I don't have a good gut feeling about this explanation and would love some feedback!

Also the acidity. top 4 horizons are pH 4.6, then (2Ab, 2Bwb1, 2Bwb2, 2Bwb3) 4.4, 4.6, 4.8, and then 5.6. the entire profile's parent material is volcanic ash from mt st helens, but only the top 4 layers are from 1980. I know volcanic ash can be super acidic from the gases in the plume. Would it be safe to say these gasses stuck onto the ash? or? and why does it get less acid lower into the profile? Is the acid from C1-C4 leaching into the lower layers?

help! and TYIA!!

1 Comment
2024/09/26
22:08 UTC

5

What kind of soil is this?

11 Comments
2024/09/26
18:23 UTC

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