Dirt is dirt, right? Wrong!

Soil composition, or what kind of dirt we have, can make or break a garden. Is the soil full of clay, sand, rocks or loam? How much plant nutrient (compost) is in the soil? Last, but not least, what is the PH? Is it acid, alkaline or neutral?

If you have the money, it would be worth the time to have your yard tested. Contact your extension service for the cost and location of the test center.

But what if you're renting, or you don't have the bucks?

1. get as big a glass jar as you can
2. go out to where your garden plot is and take a 5-pattern sampling of the soil
3. take the 5 samples and place them in the jar.
   [NOTE: samples should not exceed 2 cups in volume, but should be a segment of at least 6-8" in depth. Use a peice of narrow pipe for your core sample.]
4. fill jar with water and stir briskly for 90 seconds.
5. have a PH soil kit ready. They are about $2-5 each and come with litmus paper and comparison chart. Put the litmus paper into the water and note the color.
6. look at the water's surface for critters and floating plant debris. Skim these off with a strainer. Put the critters in a plastic sandwich bag and the plant material in another plastic bag. Take them to a local nursery and they will identify them for you.

This exercise will tell you the following:

• what the general PH is of your plot is.
• the soil's composition. The layers represent the components, in order from bottom to top: rocks, sand, clay and loam
• the floaters tell you about organic materials: insects and plants which may be potential friends or foes.

Now let's talk about Compost!

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