Bill Kerr says that increasing the organic and microbe content of your soil is the first step to ensuring healthier crops and ...

Humus is highly recalcitrant, and this resistance to decomposition leads to a long residence time in soil. Plant debris is less recalcitrant, resulting in a much shorter residence time in soil.

The respirometer vessel is an 8-oz. sample bottle in which the soil (usually 50 gm.) is placed. A small container with about 10 ml. of 2 M sodium hydroxide absorbs the evolved carbon dioxide.

The ideal soil for most plants is loam, which has a balance of sand, silt, and clay. Loam is also rich in an organic matter called humus. Dark and loose but not too loose, humus is composed of ...

The peace lily is one of the most popular potted flowers. However, its leaves can wilt and turn yellow despite proper care.

producing an acid humus. The acidic conditions are not liked by soil organisms which would normally merge the boundaries of the horizons.

For clay, it can be a game-changer. Organic matter is basically anything that decomposes and adds humus to your soil. Compost, animal manures, peat, lawn clippings, straw, wood chips, cardboard, leaf ...

Soil with not much compost or humus in it will blow away in the wind very easily. Putting compost in your soil feeds the soil and makes it strong and healthy.

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Using soil samples from your own area, your class will get up close and see what they can find inside different soils. A practical observation activity looking at soil in detail, with discussion ...

A worm burrows its way through the dark earth, ingesting particles of soil and expelling nutrient-rich casts in a constant forage for food. Charles Darwin described earthworms as one of the most ...

Home vegetable or flower gardeners are often unhappy with their soil quality. They routinely incorporate organic matter in the soil each fall but don't see much change in their soil texture.