r/Soil

I have a 1400 sq ft yard that I want to completely cover with a combination of cardboard, compost and wood chip mulch. My original plan was to put the compost on the bottom, then cardboard on top, then wood chips on top of that, but then I thought that the cardboard may not break down as fast as I would like in order for me to plant native grass and wildflower seeds next spring. I’m planning on putting down a half inch of both the compost and the wood chips.

I know it may be a little overkill to do all of those layers to suppress the seeds already present in the dirt, but I want to be thorough. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I forgot to add, but it’s pretty loose dirt that I will be covering- not a lot of structure/health to it, and not dark at all. I am in zone 7a, New Mexico high desert

So I'm working with ceramic clay and I have a bunch of it dissolved in a bucket of water. However, I've noticed that it doesn't really sediment and leaves a section of water, even if I leave it for 3-4 days. I suspect from a couple of youtube videos that the pH might be too high, potentially causing the clay to for colloid particles that stay suspended. I've measured the pH with pH-paper (not the best method but it's what I have available), and concluded that it's roughly 8-9.

• What is a good pH for a clay solution to get it to sediment?
• How do I lower the pH (other than adding enormous amounts of water which sorta defeats the whole point)? I have access to hydrochloric acid etc (I'm a chemist by trade, I know how to handle strong acids safely for those concerned), but I'm uncertain of how well a clay solution will buffer the addition of acid, and if I accidentally over-do it, is there a concern that the acid will mess with the properties of the clay? It shouldn't dissolve the silicon dioxide that is the clay, because otherwise you couldn't store acid in glass bottles, but I imagine that if the pH accidentally dropped to 4-5, the clay might loose its plastic properties or similar?

I lost my soil recipes!! Anyone have any good ones for my babies?

Hi everyone I am an innovator and a small time gardener from Texas! I am currently look at soil quality detectors and I feel like they are so basic and have so much room for innovation. I would like your input on what you think these detectors need to improve them. I know that there are problems regarding data inconsistencies but what are some other kinds of features or innovations you would like to see within soil quality detectors?

Thank you!

We have a mid size property where we are going to undertake a soil remediation project over the next few years. We want to take about one hundred samples before and after the three plant and terminate cycles we have planned. Getting the samples done through the university would be prohibitively expensive. I have a background in analytical chemistry and want to know if anyone has recommended brands for testing equipment like spectrographs and colorimeters. I found some stuff on Ali express I don’t know if I trust it.
Any advice is appreciated.

Edit to add what we are testing:

Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, salinity, trace heavy metals, Ph, Organic Matter, calcium, magnesium, chlorides, and sulfur.

I’ve only grown 3 outdoor plants so far and they come out very leafy I use happy frog soil , peralite , Earth worm castings, MYKOS in seed hole , dr earth organic 3-9-4 and 4-4-4 and molasses in water every week I’m thinking after this grow putting mushroom compost to re ammend the soil and some cococoir is this good or no please give some good info

Hi y’all, I have a bachelors in forestry and am pursuing a master in soil water and ecosystem sciences. I currently work in Florida in the forestry sector. My question is what are likely career paths/job titles whether private or public that I should be aware of for soils? As I plan to lean into soils more once my schooling is finished. Thanks

Hey all! I'm about to get a microscope for my upcoming birthday! But I want to get one that is best for my interests: grass seed, tree sap, and soil. Thoughts on what to get?

So before doing any research on brands of topsoils, I went out and bought 800lbs of timberline topsoils to top dress my lawn with. Any suggestions on what to mix with it or ways to make it better than what I’ve read the product is.