What does the plant say to the worm who offered it a slice of pizza?

SAND

Sand grains vary in size (coarse, medium and fine), they are larger in diameter compared to silt and clay particles.

Soil Analysis (examination)

Make Predictions (Hypothesis):

1. Would happen if you pour water over the soil?

2. How strongly will it hold the plants? Explain your answer/ Give reasons for your hypothesis.

3. What can live in this type of soil? Explain why this is a perfect habitat for that animal or organism.

• Sand grains are larger • Provide larger spaces in which water

and air can more easily move through soil.

• Are limited in nutrients because the nutrients are drained out from the large pore spaces between sand grains, so crops are generally not grown in sandy soils.

Silt

• Looks like sand but the diameter of silt particles is smaller

• And so the space between silt particles are smaller.

• Therefore, silt has the ability to hold water between particles and retains nutrients for plant use.

• Silt is an ideal soil for growing crops

Clay

• Clay particles are very tiny in diameter• So the spaces between clay particles are

very small. Thus, water and air movement through clays particles is significantly decreased.

• When clay becomes wet it swells and sticks together, and feels "sticky".

• As wet clay dries it shrinks and cracks. • Clay also becomes dense, hard, and brittle

making it difficult for plant roots to grow through.

Soil Analysis – examining the soil

LookTo figure out what soil your garden has, first of all you need to get outside.

Water an area of soil with a watering can. Surface water disappears quickly on sandy or gravelly soils, but remains longer on clay.

Touch

Take a handful of soil and gently squeeze

If it feels slimy and sticky, and when you release the pressure the lump stays in shape, it is clay

Sandy or gravelly soils feel gritty, and the ‘lump’ crumbles apart

Loam and silt feel smooth and retain their shape for longer that sandy soil, but not as rigidly as clay

Soil AnalysisNow that we know how different types of soil looks, feels and behaves when water is pored over it. Lets us predict which soil can be better for the plants to grow.

Remember:

When you are doing your analysis, keep in mind the fact that water has an excellent property – it is a solvent. Which means that things can mix well (dissolve)in it.

A

• Feels lumpy and sticky when very wet

• Rock-hard when dry

• Drains poorly

• Few air spaces

• If drainage is improved, plants grow well as it holds more nutrients than many other soils

B

• Free-draining soil

• Gritty to the touch

• Warms up quickly in spring

• Dries out rapidly

• May lack nutrients, which are easily washed through the soil in wet weather (often called a "hungry" soil.)

C

• Smooth to the touch

• Well-drained soil

• Retains moisture

• Richer in nutrients (fertile)

• A very good soil