Shake Up Your Soil
Shake Up Your SoilMany of us know that our soil isn't as good as we want it tobe. Some soils are extremely sandy and do not hold water atall. Other soils are mostly clay and hold water all toowell. However, it can be maddeningly difficult to decipherwhat exactly your soil is composed of that keeps it frombeing your plant's dirt paradise. However, determining whattype of soil that you have is not only easy, it can be veryamusing. After all, for this experiment you get anotherchance to dig in the dirt.The soil in your yard is made up of three main components:sand, silt, and clay. The ideal ratio of these threecomponents in your soil is 1:1:1, or about 33% of each; thisis called a loamy soil. It provides good drainage whilestill has a good water-holding capacity. Knowing whatpercentage of each component you have in your soil gives youthe information you need to amend your soil properly.To determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay in yoursoil, there is a simple test that you can do by just usingmaterials around your home. First, you will need a glass jarwith straight sides. A mason jar works really well, and makesure you have the top to the jar. Second, you will need someclean water. The third item on the list is a surfactant likeliquid dishwashing detergent. Lastly, you need some soilfrom your yard. Try to remove all large rocks, pebbles, andplant material from the soil.Fill up the jar with water until it is about 1/2 to 3/4full, then add one teaspoon of the detergent. Now, sprinklein the soil from your yard until the jar is almost full; youneed to leave a little space of air so the concoction willmix well. Screw on the top and check to make sure it istightly sealed.Now for the fun part. Shake the jar vigorously to mixtogether the soil, water, and detergent. A good one to twominutes should do it; your goal is to break up all the soilchunks and mix them in with the soapy water. Once you thinkit's well-mixed, set the jar down on a flat surface.Sand is the heaviest particle in your soil, and it willsettle first. Most of the sand should sink to the bottomwithin the first minute after you've stopped shaking thejar. Once you think the sand is all settled, mark the jarwith a permanent marker where the top of the sand layer is.The silt is the next heaviest particle, and should settleduring the next four hours. When it has settled, once againmark the top of the silt layer with a waterproof pen. Theclay particles are the lightest, and should settle after 24hours. Mark the top of the clay layer on the jar when it hassettled.Once your soil layers are settled and marked, you cananalyze the thickness of the levels to see how much of eachcomponent you have. Observe the layers and give each apercentage based on it's size compared to the entire soilsample. This number does not have to be exact, just makesure that the three percentages add up to be 100%.For example, your soil sample might look like it is 40%sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. This adds up to 100% soil. Youcan use these three numbers to determine the texture of yoursoil using a table called the Soil Texture Triangle (seebelow).The Soil Texture TriangleTo use the Soil Texture Triangle, find the percentage numberof your three components on the table. To follow along withour previous example of 40-40-20, first look at the 'percentsand' section at the bottom of the triangle. 40% is a littleto the right of center. The 'percent silt' section is theright side of the triangle, where 40% is just a little abovecenter. Lastly, the 'percent clay' section is on the leftside of the triangle, and 20% is near the bottom.Follow along with your eyes or use your fingers to trace thethree lines coming from the percentage numbers until theyall intersect at a point. For our example, all three linesintersect in the middle bottom of the triangle in thecolored section called 'loam.' This means that your soil hasa loamy texture, and will work quite well for growing plantsand turf.Study the Soil Texture Triangle to see what differentcombinations create different soil textures. There aretwelve main textures that your soil can have. It can rangefrom clay to sandy clay loam to silt, with a whole lot morechoices in between. By determining what type of soil textureyou have, you can then make any necessary adjustments tocreate a good, loamy soil to support your plants.
Consumer Protect Thyself û Part 1
Consumer Protect Thyself û Part 1@ 2004 by Timothy MunseyThere are many ways for a consumer to protect themselvesduring online purchases, and here is just one.In this article I would like to take a look at our creditand bank accounts. Most of us work hard for what we have. Weshop wisely and save money where we can. Why do we do this?So that we can put food on the table, a roof over our heads,keep the lights on, put the kids through school. So keepingour bank account safe is of great importance.One way is to keep an eye on our accounts. In this age ofever-growing technology that we live in it has become mucheasier. Most banks have online access to your accounts. Youcan see what you have as of right now. Take advantage ofthis, check you accounts and report any odd or unrecognizedcharges and/or debits. At times, if you catch it fast enoughyou can have it reversed.If you shop online this is another thought. Open a secondaccount, completely separate of you primary accounts,possibly at a different banking institution. Keep a zeroaccount and fund the account to cover purchases. This willlower your exposure to loss. If for some reason someonetries to charge to the account they will not be able to useit.About the author û Tim is the publisher of Online ShoppereZine & Newsletter as well as the webmaster of multiple websites. You can visit the Online Shopper eZine @http://ezine.tntmunsey.com or email Tim -shop@...You are free to reprint this article under the followingconditions: Reproduce the article intact including theauthor's resource box. Keep links active and email theauthor with a link to the reproduced article.
Shake Up Your Soil (revised)
Shake Up Your Soil(NOTE: an image is included as part of this article. If you cannotaccessthe image, e-mail me and I will send it to you.)Many of us know that our soil isn't as good as we want it tobe. Some soils are extremely sandy and do not hold water atall. Other soils are mostly clay and hold water all toowell. However, it can be maddeningly difficult to decipherwhat exactly your soil is composed of that keeps it frombeing your plant's dirt paradise. However, determining whattype of soil that you have is not only easy, it can be veryamusing. After all, for this experiment you get anotherchance to dig in the dirt.The soil in your yard is made up of three main components:sand, silt, and clay. The ideal ratio of these threecomponents in your soil is 1:1:1, or about 33% of each; thisis called a loamy soil. It provides good drainage whilestill has a good water-holding capacity. Knowing whatpercentage of each component you have in your soil gives youthe information you need to amend your soil properly.To determine the amount of sand, silt, and clay in yoursoil, there is a simple test that you can do by just usingmaterials around your home. First, you will need a glass jarwith straight sides. A mason jar works really well, and makesure you have the top to the jar. Second, you will need someclean water. The third item on the list is a surfactant likeliquid dishwashing detergent. Lastly, you need some soilfrom your yard. Try to remove all large rocks, pebbles, andplant material from the soil.Fill up the jar with water until it is about 1/2 to 3/4full, then add one teaspoon of the detergent. Now, sprinklein the soil from your yard until the jar is almost full; youneed to leave a little space of air so the concoction willmix well. Screw on the top and check to make sure it istightly sealed.Now for the fun part. Shake the jar vigorously to mixtogether the soil, water, and detergent. A good one to twominutes should do it; your goal is to break up all the soilchunks and mix them in with the soapy water. Once you thinkit's well-mixed, set the jar down on a flat surface.Sand is the heaviest particle in your soil, and it willsettle first. Most of the sand should sink to the bottomwithin the first minute after you've stopped shaking thejar. Once you think the sand is all settled, mark the jarwith a permanent marker where the top of the sand layer is.The silt is the next heaviest particle, and should settleduring the next four hours. When it has settled, once againmark the top of the silt layer with a waterproof pen. Theclay particles are the lightest, and should settle after 24hours. Mark the top of the clay layer on the jar when it hassettled.Once your soil layers are settled and marked, you cananalyze the thickness of the levels to see how much of eachcomponent you have. Observe the layers and give each apercentage based on it's size compared to the entire soilsample. This number does not have to be exact, just makesure that the three percentages add up to be 100%.For example, your soil sample might look like it is 40%sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. This adds up to 100% soil. Youcan use these three numbers to determine the texture of yoursoil using a table called the Soil Texture Triangle (seebelow).The Soil Texture TriangleTo use the Soil Texture Triangle, find the percentage numberof your three components on the table. To follow along withour previous example of 40-40-20, first look at the 'percentsand' section at the bottom of the triangle. 40% is a littleto the right of center. The 'percent silt' section is theright side of the triangle, where 40% is just a little abovecenter. Lastly, the 'percent clay' section is on the leftside of the triangle, and 20% is near the bottom.Follow along with your eyes or use your fingers to trace thethree lines coming from the percentage numbers until theyall intersect at a point. For our example, all three linesintersect in the middle bottom of the triangle in thecolored section called 'loam.' This means that your soil hasa loamy texture, and will work quite well for growing plantsand turf.Study the Soil Texture Triangle to see what differentcombinations create different soil textures. There aretwelve main textures that your soil can have. It can rangefrom clay to sandy clay loam to silt, with a whole lot morechoices in between. By determining what type of soil textureyou have, you can then make any necessary adjustments tocreate a good, loamy soil to support your plants.Carrie P. Williams is a professional landscape designer withTurf Tamer, Inc. She has written many informativelandscaping articles for Turf Tamer's Tip of the Weekprogram. Want to learn more landscaping tips andtricks? Go to HYPERLINK"http://www.turftamerinc.com/tip.shtm"http://www.turftamerinc.com/tip.shtmto sign up for the 'Tip of the Week' and learn more tips!---Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).Version: 6.0.684 / Virus Database: 446 - Release Date: 5/13/2004[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
