Login

r/Soil

Weaponizing Biology: Documenting our 5-Acre Soil Recovery After a Chemical Trespass
🔥 Hot ▲ 5.2k r/Soil+11 crossposts

Weaponizing Biology: Documenting our 5-Acre Soil Recovery After a Chemical Trespass

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are independent growers in the high-desert region of the Pacific Northwest. In 2024, we invested everything into a beautiful piece of land with soil that had been carefully developed over 20 years using organic methods, with the goal of building a legacy organic stone fruit and nut orchard, along with a cannery to process our crops locally.

Late last year, our dream faced a catastrophic setback. Our property suffered an off-target chemical drift event from a commercial applicator across the street from us. The persistent herbicide (Aminopyralid) completely strangled the vascular systems of our 458 mature peach trees, resulting in total canopy mortality.

We are currently working through the state regulatory and legal channels to hold the negligent parties accountable. But as land stewards, we refuse to just sit around and wait for a courtroom. We are moving forward right now to actively heal our earth.

Because Aminopyralid binds tightly to soil organic matter and targets broadleaf plants, we are weaponizing biology to clean the slate. We are launching a multi-year soil remediation plan utilizing deep-rooting, fast-growing forage grasses (like Sorghum-Sudangrass and oats) that are completely immune to the chemical. These roots will fracture the soil profile and pump massive amounts of oxygen down to the native soil microbes, forcing a microbial population explosion to naturally digest and break down the toxin. We also plan to plant rows of sunflowers as natural phytoremediators to pull remaining residuals from the topsoil.

We have launched a YouTube channel to document every single step of this biological recovery—from independent soil core lab tests to the day our new certified organic peach saplings can safely go back into the ground.

https://youtube.com/@orchardquestions?si=sGkrsgjJmzqIyKo-

If you would like to follow our journey, watch our soil recovery videos, or partner with us in crowdfunding the heavy costs of excavation, biological soil amendments, and our future main street cannery facility, please consider checking out our restoration fund.

🌱 Support our Farm’s Recovery & Replanting Fund here: https://gofund.me/d5586cff2

Thank you so much for standing with independent family farms and backing the resilience of our soil.

— Nicole & Seth

u/GamerDad1025 — 2 days ago
▲ 21 r/Soil+1 crossposts

Urban gardens may contain lead — here’s what the research says about the hidden health risk

While contamination in soil is real, the benefits of gardening outweigh it, and there are plenty of simple, affordable steps gardeners can take to protect themselves

theconversation.com
u/Zee2A — 1 day ago
▲ 0 r/Soil+1 crossposts

First consumer Soil DNA test, looking for users and community feedback

What’s really in your soil?

Not just the pH.
Not just NPK.
Not just “add lime” or “add fertilizer.”

The real story is biology.

We’re beta testing What’s In My Soil — the first consumer-available soil test that brings together soil DNA testing, fertility, and carbon in one report.

You send us a simple soil sample. We send back the full picture:

Biology: microbes, fungi, mycorrhizae, pests, and pathogens
Fertility: nutrients, pH, CEC, and micronutrients
Carbon: organic matter and long-term soil capacity

Healthy soil means biological balance. The life beneath the surface shapes what grows above it.

And now, for the first time, this level of insight is available to gardeners, homeowners, homesteaders, and hobby farmers — not just commercial agriculture.

My favorite part: once you get your report, upload it into ChatGPT or Claude and start asking questions.

“What does this mean for my garden?”
“Is my soil healthy?”
“What organisms are helping or hurting my plants?”
“What should I do differently this season?”
“How do I build better soil over time?”

There is a hidden biological world under every garden bed, lawn, and field. Soil DNA testing helps you uncover it.

We’re looking for our first cohort of pilot users now.

Pilot pricing: $99
Regular price: $149
Refundable until your sample arrives at the lab.

Try it here and tell us what you think:

https://whatsinmysoil.co

#SoilHealth #SoilDNATesting #SoilBiology #Gardening #Homesteading #RegenerativeAg #HealthySoil #AgTech

reddit.com
u/ldp34 — 1 day ago
▲ 7 r/Soil+2 crossposts

The Trees Are Speaking: Mapping Our Orchard’s Chemical Trespass

Hi everyone, this will show excellent examples of epinasty, and how pervasive it is throughout peach block.

youtu.be
u/GamerDad1025 — 22 hours ago
▲ 0 r/Soil+1 crossposts

Any suggestions on a diverse go to soil mix for cacti & succulents

These are the aggregates/ sand & organic mediums I have available at my local nursery supply.

I'm thinking 1/3 of each Each part being consistent of 1/3 of the available aggregates/sands and organic mediums.

Any recommendations would be immensely appreciated 🙏

Edit, I should probably note I want to order a bulk premixed medium to bring down the cost in the long run. I'm leaning toward a mineral rich medium as I don't want to repetitiously have to pot everything up, kinda want the medium to be long lasting & have its composition slowly feed them. The local pre bought bagged stuffs 80%+ organic matter & once it breaks down causes a lot of soil compaction & drainage issues. I'm growing in somewhat of a frost prone area & winters are pretty wet.

Growing a diverse range from echinopsis to ariocarpus So we will alter mixes according to species. But looking to make the best base medium as cheap as possible.

u/Clean_Locksmith9659 — 1 day ago
▲ 18 r/Soil

I've made a huge mistake. How do I get Diesel fuel out of my soil?

Last year I tried to burn a stump. I watched some YouTube videos and read a bit about it and went for it. I'd burnt several other stumps in the past and it was pretty straight forward. This time, instead of lighter fluid, I used Diesel fluid because a lot of people on YouTube recommended it as cheaper and safer that lighter fluid or gasoline. I sawed a grid into the stump and drilled 3/4 inch holes deep into it. I put about 2 gallons of fuel over a day or two. Then I covered it in firewood and set it on fire. The stump wouldn't burn. As soon as the fire on top went out, the stump went out. I used charcoal, a put a metal tube around it with a lid half on to keep heat in. I blew air into the bottom fire with a leaf blower, but I just couldn't get the stump to burn. perhaps I hadn't dug up the root well enough to get air under it. But I think it's because the stump was too fresh - I had just cut the tree down. Other stumps I'd burned in the past had been dead for years, but I also used lighter fluid with those. Also this stump was saw very low, lower than ground level, while the other had all been sticking up with a stump a few inches or few feet. Anyway, so I put a stump rotting powder on it, all in the grid I'd sawn and the holes I'd drilled. I hurried it with garden soil and planted annual rye on it. The rye died pretty quickly and no weeds or Bermuda have been able to grow in that spot. So now it's like a year or a year and a half later and I decided to get to work on getting rid of the stump and roots. I started digging it up and I'm chopping at it with an axe (actually a Pulaski.) It's hard work but it's coming out and I think it'll be done in another one or two sessions...chopping at it for no more than an hour each session. Anyway, as I'm chopping it out I'm noticing the wood chips and the soil still smell strongly of diesel. I pointed a blow torch at the chips, the wouldn't burn. So how can I get this fuel out of the soil so that eventually the lawn will grow in that area? Do I just need to dig it all out until I can't smell it anymore and replace it all? Or is there an enzyme that will eat it, or some type of plant that will clean it over time? Or something I can spray on or sprinkle on that will do something ...I don't know what?

reddit.com
u/Fabulous_Quiet_8130 — 4 days ago
▲ 4 r/Soil

Looking for PhD Opportunities in Soil Microbiology

I'm looking for PhD positions in soil microbiology.I've got hands-on skills in soil DNA extraction, PCR work, and metagenomic data analysis. I'm currently upskilling in Python and bioinformatics. During my masters , i have worked on Soil Metagenomics, Soil functional diversity , Antimicrobial resistance, PGPR of soil bacteria. If anyone knows active research groups, funded positions, or specific labs doing this kind of work, I'd genuinely appreciate recommendations. Also keen to hear if anyone's pursued similar career paths.

reddit.com
u/ApartProduce1522 — 3 days ago
▲ 0 r/Soil

I live across the street from a gas station/truck stop. How can I still have a garden?

I hope you guys can help me out, I got a bit overwhelmed trying to find actual soil testing for contamination so I just have to operate on the basis my soil is contaminated from run off. I live right across the street from a truck stop/gas station. I want to have a garden but I'm afraid to plant directly in the ground. Is my only option to plant in containers or raised garden beds? I didn't think weed barrier would be enough to keep contamination out of the plants since I want to grow some vegetables.

Thanks in advance for any advice and information.

There are a lot of bugs thriving in my soil if that means anything. Snails, Slugs, rolly pollys, centipedes, millipedes, worms, ants, stick bugs.

reddit.com
u/RavenEve69 — 3 days ago
▲ 0 r/Soil

Soil / water shake test thoughts?

Filled bottle to 30% soil by eye and the rest water.

First pic / Got the first result which to me is around 60% sand, 30% silt, 10% clay. But looking at some posts here it doesn’t look that right. (The bottom part should be sand, middle looks like unbroken silt/sand, and the top is the silt)

Saw somewhere that separation might be better with some soap, so add a drop and shook again and now looks totally different (second pic).

Second pic / Now the level of the solids has increased and now its like 60% sand, 40% silt, barely any clay

Up for any suggestions, assuming this was ok done what is this result (going with the second pic right?) Sandy loam? Loam?

u/DocKla — 4 days ago
▲ 3 r/Soil+1 crossposts

Soil questions; what exactly do I have here?

So I dug a couple of holes to plant my coral honeysuckle, finally getting around to it…. And now I’m confused about what kind of soil I have.

I’ve always thought it was clay, but when I dug down, I only had about a foot of clay, then sand, then I started finding rocks in the sand. I dug two holes about 4 feet apart. I dug a third hole about 15 feet away. It was the same for every hole. Then I moved about 50 feet away, and when I dug down, I only found clay with occasional rocks.

All of this is about 50 feet from the house.

So here’s my question, do you think this looks like something that the previous owner may have brought in? The Neighbourhood was built in the 60s, the previous owner bought this house in the mid 80s, and we bought it about 5 years ago. This is the first time I’ve really dug down anywhere to start planting things. Do I just have builders soil on top of sand? Maybe Builder soil, then clay, then sand? Is it possible that he put the sand on top, and over the years it has gotten deeper into the soil with the clay rising above?

I live on the edge of the Edwards plateau, about half a mile from the dividing line where the Blackland Prairie start. My neighborhood is also surrounded by the Greenbelt.

Here are several pictures of the holes/soil/sand

Sidenote, I ended up mixing the sand, clay and soil with a bunch of expanded shale compost to plant vines. 🤞🤞🤞

u/labeille — 3 days ago
▲ 2 r/Soil+1 crossposts

How do I accurately detect nitrate and ORP levels in my soil at home?

Hi everyone, I'm working on a 30-day research project where I need to detect nitrate and ORP in my soil, but I cannot afford anything that's too out of my budget (150 - 200 USD). For ORP, I've found the Aquasol ORP meter or the HM Digital ORP-200 which seem to be the only available handheld meters I can get, though for Nitrate I'm pretty stumped.

I've read that you could use a distilled water and soil extract for an Aquarium test for Nitrate, but I wanted something that was accurate enough for credible research. I would really appreciate any suggestions regarding Nitrate and ORP tests that could be done at home.

reddit.com
u/Routine-Page2943 — 4 days ago
▲ 2 r/Soil+1 crossposts

Large garden needs nutrients or a load of soil?

Hi! I moved into a home that has a large garden that hasn’t had any nutrients or soil added to it for many years. Would it be better to get a truck full of fresh garden soil, or would it be possible to till in the necessary nutrients? Thank you!

reddit.com
u/berrylover16 — 4 days ago
▲ 2 r/Soil

What soil should I use to grade perimeter of house so water sheds off?

can’t find clay anywhere so what is an alternative to use so water sheds off?

Should I get Sandy loam?

reddit.com
u/Advanced-River730 — 5 days ago
▲ 57 r/Soil

what's the deal with soil health?

i've been diving into the world of soil health lately, and it's fascinating how much it affects not just agriculture but the entire ecosystem. most people don't realize that healthy soil can improve water retention, reduce the need for fertilizers, and even sequester carbon. i'm curious, what methods have you all found effective for maintaining or improving soil health? i've heard a lot about cover cropping and no-till methods, but i'd love to get more insights from the community. also, how do you think urban areas can contribute to healthier soil practices?

reddit.com
u/icklcedsnusty — 8 days ago