Just had a thought; has science looked into genetic modification of soil microbes as a way to improve their impact on soil health? It's a terrifying thought that we can play with DNA already, but it seems this tech could be applied to soil science.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

World Soil Day is just around the corner—this 5th December, let’s take a moment to appreciate the foundation of life: soil. 🌏 This year, we’re raising awareness about soil security and its critical role in combating food crises, biodiversity loss, and climate change.

In October, the Global Soil Security Summit, hosted by the University of Sydney, brought together global experts to address the stark reality:

• 40% of the world’s soil is degraded today, and this could rise to 90% by 2050 if we don’t act now.
• Soil loss and degradation threaten biodiversity, food production, and even human survival.

As Professor Alex McBratney, a leading soil expert, said:
“Without urgent action, the combination of climate change, deforestation, and unsustainable farming practices could lead to a crisis of food production and environmental collapse.”

The Summit launched a groundbreaking global initiative, Aroura—a soil security thinktank aimed at fostering innovation and collaboration worldwide. 🌱

Soil is home to nearly 60% of all known species, but its degradation puts up to 80% of plant species and half of all bacteria species at risk. Yet, soil is often overlooked in science and policy discussions.

Let’s change that. 💚

👉 Follow us on Instagram at u/soil_security_summit to learn how you can contribute to securing our soils for future generations.

Together, we can create a sustainable future—starting from the ground up. 🌿
#WorldSoilDay #SoilSecurity #SustainableFuture #GlobalSoilSecuritySummit

I live in Southern CA and was thinking of starting a fun project gathering used coffee grinds, eggshells, and banana peels from local coffee shops/markets.

I'd prep them (dry, pulverize) and create a mix of the 3 to sell to residents (plan on selling below the cost of any fertilizer you could get online) to amend their garden soil. Around here it's very loamy /clay stuff so I thought a simple organic mix would be a positive addition to gardens.

Is this recipe/mix helpful at all? Are there things to consider I haven't mentioned?

I'm about to start working on the most important project I've ever had and i need advice.

The plan is to add different concentration solutions of Pb(NO3)2 and ZnSO4 to uncontaminated soil and monitor the behaviour of Lumbricus terrestris (basic earth worms) for a while. Then i am hoping to get access to the lab so i can measure the level of heavy metal bioaccumulation in their tissue. I bought my worms 2 weeks ago and i kept them in a peaceful little box in order for them to acclimate and avoid research errors.

100 ml of distilled water + 5,5g of each metal - i will split this concentrated solution into 4 of 100%, 50%, 25%, 12,5%.

My problem is my teacher is pretty vague and i am basically doing this on my own with no prior experience., so i could use some advice. What i decided to do is

-measure the parameters of the soil before contamination (its written on the bag xd)/ should i also measure granulation, is that relevant to the quantity of solution i need to add?

-create an observation sheet for the behaviour of the worms (movement, their preffered region in the box, color, habits). Should i add anything else?

-should i test on 10 worms each? for how long?

-???????? what else

The context for this paper is ecotoxicological impact of heavy metals on soil and organisms and i picked worms because they represent an essential part in terrestial ecosystem and fertility of soil.

I’ve tested a bunch of different sites and depths on my farm. This photo is of a jar that’s been sitting for three weeks now. As you can see, the orange clay layer still hasn’t settled. The sand is obvious, and I assume the gray layer above that is silt, but what is the dark brown I’m seeing in between? And why is it taking so long for the clay to settle out?

Testing for E.coli in soil

Hello everyone! I am wondering if anyone has experience or knowledge about these 3M Petriflim Coliform/E. Coli count plates. I am trying to figure out how much soil I add to water and the amount of time I let the mixture sit before placing the water sample on the plates.

Here is my conundrum. We recently purchased property and want to plant an edible garden, however, I do not know if the area is possibly contaminated and would rather be safe than sorry. The area we want to plant an garden is rather large and on the same side of the property as the septic tank and to pay for soil tests for the entire area, would be rather costly. I have taken many science classes and think I can do some home testing with a little guidance. I came across those plates that would allow me to take many samples of the area at a more reasonable cost. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I had a smelly individual (my super uncle) in my car and he left soil, mud, or mould in my blue 2018 subaru outback tan interior driver assist package

So I have Cocopeat, Perlite, Peatmoss, Organic Fertilizer, Chemical fertilizer NPK20-20-20, Urea, CalMag solution, and normal soil.

I want to mix the ultimate soil in a large quantity like 200 liters or sth, in order to always use it from now on whether for seedling or transplanting or or…etc. Can you help me with it 🥹.

What is the mixing ratio of each do you suggest 👉🏻👈🏻?

And I know some will say “its different for each plant”, but I wanna do it anyway, so tell me please.

Thank you all,

Hello, I am a soil-based entrepreneur spitballing ideas right now for sediment erosion control and would like to know if a certain idea would be interesting to you all....

For those who deal with erosion control, what would you think about a new biodegradable mat that contains native seed mix in the bottom-most layer of the mat, so that when it comes into contact with sediment, it can promote vegetation growth? The idea is to mesh the phases of short-term erosion control hold and long-term vegetation planting. For a less abrupt transition and a stronger, firmer soil overall.

Would you purchase this product instead of just a normal erosion control mat? If so, how much more would you be willing to spend on it? Any and all answers are appreciated. Thank you!

Hi Everyone! A few weeks ago I seeded my rock hard soil with a mixture of Crimson Clover and Daikon Radishes. I think my spreader setting (1) was heavier than it should be BUT it’s GREEN, but seems to be growing sort of slowly. I am new to both cover crops….should I fertilize it to get a bit more growth? Thanks for any assistance! Also, STILL working on getting wood chips. In a pretty rural area so the last drop took a year. 😬

I am reviewing some of my old notes on cation exchange capacity and attempting to anchor my understanding of clays in terms of geological processes. In reading about the formation and structure of clays, I found myself asking questions that seem to indicate some fundamental misunderstandings on my part.

My impression is that clays are formed from the weathering of silicate minerals, as part of various rocks... phyllosilicates can crystalize from igneous activity directly, then weather to smaller bits of phyllosilicate until they are classed as clays? I suppose other classes of silicate minerals.. tectosilicates like feldspar.. also originate from igneous activity, and can be chemically weathered to release SiO4, which can independently bond together to form clays, or attach to preexisting compatible clays?

That simple series of confusions leads me to an even more simple question... what makes a 1:1 clay a distinct and stable category, and not a partial or intermediate stage in the formation of a 2:1 clay? It seems, from the molecular diagrams of 1:1 clays.. a layer of silica tetrahedra sharing oxygens with a layer of aluminum octahedra.. that they are identical to a 2:1 clay, but lacking the third layer. What, if anything, prevents another layer of silica from beginning to form a new layer on the aluminum, creating a 2:1 clay?

I appreciate any time that people might take to help set me on the right track here.

Hi everyone,

We're high schoolers in Frisco, Texas trying to develop an engineering product to help improve soil moisture uncertainty in gardens and farms using drones. In order to develop an effective solution, it is important for us to understand multiple aspects of the market through data collection. We are hoping you can complete the market study provided below to provide us with information that will aid in the creation of an effective solution. It should be pretty quick, and would be greatly appreciated.

Market Study: https://forms.gle/XutdaGABnKLs3FsB9

I’ve been following Dr. Elaine Ingham on soil science and rebuilding soil. In her videos she recommends getting a microscope to ensure that the right biology is forming in the soil. I’m trying to rebuild the soil in my own yard.

However, the microscope is a little costly and I’m wondering if it’s necessary?

It's very dense and sporadic. Found while excavating in an area south of lake michigan 5 miles in mostly sand loam. NW Indiana.

Theres a topic that I want to research on for school and it involves measuring the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the soil. Is there any budget friendly method to do this?

I live in a 140 year old house in the Midwest in the United States. I have a crawlspace with a dirt floor. I would like to remove some of this dirt to do some repairs on my brick foundation. My question is, is this soil any good for planting? Considering adding it to my raised beds.

So I came across a post where u/RooGuy dug out a strange lump out of his back yard. I was wondering if anyone here might have any clue what this might be as it has left everyone stumped.

Some limited information is that it does not have any smell and is fibrous. It only took 2 swing of his machete to cut through it.

This is his original post which contains more photos and more details in comments:

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/s/D2Sd0MNoxS

Today it snowed in my town, when I came out it looked like animals had peed EVERYWHERE. I have never seen this before!!

I couldn't find much online expect that snow has been made from sewage waste water and it can look like someone peed on it - I believe they were talking about artificial snow in Arizona and ski hills

But that makes me wonder... Could the ground in my town be contaminated? This summer it smelt like raw sewage on the air ALOT