How To Identify Soil

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How To Identify Soil
How To Identify Soil
Anonim

Everyone knows that the fertile soil on the site is the key to a good harvest. The supply of nutrients, moisture capacity and air permeability depend on its composition. A gardener who knows the composition and structure of the soil in his area can optimally arrange the plants and scientifically apply mineral and organic fertilizers. The main characteristics of the soil are its fertility, structure and acidity.

The main characteristics of the soil are its fertility, structure and acidity
The main characteristics of the soil are its fertility, structure and acidity

Necessary

Soil map, a set of litmus paper, a few leaves of black currant or bird cherry

Instructions

Step 1

Fertility is the ability of the soil to support normal growth and full development of plants. The soil acquires natural fertility in the process of development. The most fertile soil is black soil, containing 6-10% organic matter. Less fertile are dark gray and gray forest soils. You can determine this using a soil map of your region.

Step 2

To determine the structure, take a lump of moistened soil, roll it into a sausage and connect the ends. If a ring is formed, the soil is heavy, clayey. If faults have formed in the ring, the soil is loamy. Is the ring falling apart? The soil is sandy loam. And if the sausage does not roll out at all and the soil crumbles through your fingers, then it is sandy. Loam is best suited for agriculture. The rest of the soil will have to be improved. In the fall, clay soil must be dug deeply, organic fertilizers and sand must be applied. To increase the fertility of sandy and sandy soils during spring digging, it is recommended to add organic matter, for example, manure.

Step 3

There are several ways to determine the acidity of the soil:

· Buy a special litmus paper kit from your gardening store. Soak it in moist soil for a few minutes. Acidity is determined depending on what color the control strip will acquire.

· Tear off a few leaves of black currant or bird cherry and brew them in a glass of boiling water. Cool and put a lump of soil in a glass. If the water turns reddish, the soil is acidic. If greenish - slightly acidic. If the soil is neutral, the water will turn bluish.

· See what kind of plants are growing on the site. Horsetail, wild mint, coltsfoot, runny, horse sorrel indicate acidic soils.

Most crops grow well on soils with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction: from 6, 1 to 7, 5 pH. Almost all flowers from the south love alkaline soils.

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