How To Take A Soil Sample and Read The Soil Triangle

Taking soil samples for any kind of garden analysis should be done in a manner that will net you the results you need to make your garden more congenial to that part of the plant that lives in the soil – the roots. Roots for most of the plants in our gardens, live about 4 to 18 inches beneath the surface of the soil. Exceptions to this include most drought resistant plants (with roots that range some distance out and down) and other notoriously strong rooted plant – mention just about any weed and it will fall into that category. You want to take your sample around nine inches down. This method of taking a soil sample is effective for the soil triangle tests and is the preferred technique for soil samples sent to labs for testing.

• Remove as much surface organic matter as possible before taking your soil sample.
• Put approximately one cup of soil into a straight-sided quart jar with lid.
• Add approximately one tablespoon of alum or Calgon bath beads – this is a surfactant to help the particles separate from one another.
• Fill the jar with water almost to the top.
• Shake vigorously for several minutes to get all the soil moistened. 
• Let the jar stand undisturbed for at least one hour, separation continues for as long as 24 hours with some soils.
• The soil mix will separate into layers. The longer it sits, the more distinct the layers will appear.
  
  Figure out the percentages of sand, silt, clay, and organic matter in the water – do not measure the water itself. The sand will be the bottom layer. Silt will be the next layer, followed by clay; the combination of these three should add up to 100%. Organic matter will float on top of the water and does not figure in the total of percentages..  
  Determine soil type by comparing percentages with soil triangle.
  
  Understanding soil type will help you know how to properly amend, fertilize, water, and plant so that you will have healthy, disease-resistant, and pest-resistant plants.
  
  What to do and How to do it
  
  Follow these steps to determine the name of your soil texture:
  
  1.Place the edge of a ruler at the point along the base of the triangle that represents the percent of sand in your sample. Position the ruler on or parallel to the lines which slant toward the base of the triangle.
  
  2.Place the edge of a second ruler at the point along the right side of the triangle that represents the percent of silt in your sample. Position the ruler on or parallel to the lines which slant toward the base of the triangle.
  
  3.Place the point of a pencil or water soluble marker at the point where the two rulers meet. Place the top edge of one of the rulers on the mark, and hold the ruler parallel to the horizontal lines. The number on the left should be the percent of clay in the sample.
  
  4.The descriptive name of the soil sample is written in the shaded area where the mark is located. If the mark should fall directly on a line between two descriptions, record both names.
  
  Feel the texture of a moist soil sample between your fingers.
  Sand will feel "gritty", while silt will feel like powder or flour.
  Clay will feel "sticky" and hard to squeeze, and will probably stick to your hand.
  Looking at the textural triangle, try to estimate how much sand, silt, or clay is in the sample.
  Find the name of the texture to which this soil corresponds; that will be the descriptive name of your soil.

david

Modern Backyard Food Production, Syllabus Fall 2014

Course Number: Biology X 489.6  

Instructor: David King

>>> Phone number and email address redacted. <<<

There are no prerequisites for this course, although some experience with gardening will prove useful.

All classes meet at The Learning Garden on the Venice High School campus where it can be hot and cold by turns – but reliably MUCH COOLER than other parts of Los Angeles. For your own comfort, please bring a sweater or coat to every class meeting. We will have access to a classroom for really rainy days; class will meet regardless of the weather. Expect to get wet or cold as we will be outside whenever possible.

The production, packaging, and transportation of food are large contributors to our global carbon emissions. Throughout the Los Angeles Basin, food gardens have sprung up to produce local healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables while contributing energy and financial savings in difficult economic times. Using the history of growing food in the city in times of need as a template, this course explores how homegrown food can reduce your food budget and address environmental concerns. Participants each have a small plot for growing food where they can experiment with new ideas and enjoy their harvest. Topics include fruit trees, vegetables, and berries that do well in our climate as well as often overlooked food-producing perennials and how to grow food in modern city lots where the "back forty" describes square feet and not acres.

Textbooks Required:
Title Sunset Western Garden Book Author Brenzel, Kathleen Norris (Editor) Edition Feb. 2007 Publisher Sunset Books ISBN 978-0376039170

There will be no assigned reading from the book, but it really is essential if you are gardening in Southern California. The most recent edition is not really necessary, it does have more data in it and with each edition, Sunset pays more respect to food gardening.

This will be supplemented by liberal postings on my Garden Notes blog, http://lagardennotes.blogspot.com/ . I hope to post most of the material in the days prior to the class when it will be used.

Textbooks, Recommended:
Title:  The Kitchen Garden Author Thompson, Sylvia Edition First Publisher Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-08138-1 *(She has a companion cookbook that is worth investigation too!)	Title:  Heirloom Vegetable Gardening Author Weaver, William Woys Edition First Publisher Henry Holt ISBN 0-8050-4025-0 Impossible to find – out of print
Title:  Pests of the Garden and Small Farm Author Flint, Mary Louise Edition 2nd Publisher Univ of California Agriculture & Natural Resources ISBN 978- 0520218108	Title:  The Resilient Gardener Author Deppe, Carol Edition First Publisher Chelsea Green ISBN 978-1603580311

There will be no assigned reading from these books. The rest of the literature, as references, will prove invaluable to any serious student in this field. There will be bibliographies describing other books as the quarter progresses, I am a ferocious reader and not at all shy about suggesting books I like.

Course Schedule:

DATE	TOPIC
05 October	Introduction/Seed Starting/
12 October	Plot Assignment/SLOLA/Soils/Water/Light in Urban Gardens
19 October	12 Points to a Better Garden/Garden Tour/Tools/Varietals/ Soils concluded
26 October	Planting/Sheet composting Timing and Design/
02 November	Composting/Vermiculture/
09 November	Sustainability and Food Issues in Modern America/Supplies/Sources/Annuals/
16 November	Planting/Companions/Crop Rotation in a Small Garden/ Chicken Raising Sherilyn Powell-Wolf
23 November	Perennials/Bulbs as a part of your food supply/Beekeeping
07 December	Home orchard/Vines
14 December	Planning for Continuous Harvests/Potluck

(Syllabus may be changed as needed to reflect reality.)

Please note that November has a few holidays – we will need to ensure that watering happens to keep the plants alive while we all enjoy the celebrations. Remember, plants do not take a holiday. We will make a schedule for watering.

Point Assignment Structure

Class participation (and cooperation)	20		A grade of A	> 90%
Garden Journal	30		B	>80%
1 page write-up*	10		C	>70%
Planting Project	40		D and F	Failing
TOTAL	100

• A sample one-page write up is the final page of this syllabus.

Please note, I try to grade you on your personal improvement. Cooperation is counted more than competition in my classes.

Office hours are by appointment only – please call or email me. I am willing to meet with you; I want you to learn; I do not want you to struggle. Please do not hesitate to call me, rather than try to talk to me in class when I can't really give you undivided attention. Extra points are available if you need to earn more credit.

Every week, we will prepare some seasonal food to eat. There are no places to buy food while in class and we are here for four hours. Students are encouraged to bring in food to share with the class at all meetings. Students should bring in their own plate and eating utensils so we can have a minimum waste event. The last class meeting will be a potluck where we will all share local and fresh food! (That's the point, right?)

The Learning Garden is open daily, 10 to 5:00 PM, every day except Monday and Tuesday. You are welcome to come here and work on your plot or just come and hang out. It's always best to call ahead to make sure I'm here as sometimes I have errands or meetings off campus.

Criteria for your garden plot grade:

1. You should experiment and try something you have never done – explore!
2. Your plot and adjacent pathways should be cleared of weeds.
3. Your plot and adjacent pathways should be well mulched.
4. Your plot should be attractive and be growing some food.
5. Your journal should indicate you learned something from the plot.

The person who starts from seed vs. bringing in growing plants, will have plants not nearly as far along as the others – but stands to make a better grade if they have experimented with growing from seed – I am more interested that you LEARN in this class – just doing what you already have done doesn't teach you anything. We are all gardeners here, if we don't have patience yet, we soon will. Cultivate patience with your plants while in The Learning Garden.

All handouts (including this syllabus) will be available on the blog site:

http://lagardennotes.blogspot.com/

BEETS Beta vulgaris

Botanical Information: Chenopodiaceae, Goosefoot family 4 to 8” tall Biennial	Growing Season: Spring, Fall and Winter
	Seed to Harvest: 8 weeks or more
Spacing: 3” on a side	Seeds store: ~4

Choice Varieties: Chioggia, Burpee's Golden,

Cotyledons:

Description:

The sweet roots of beets are often over- looked because of their 'earthy' taste. The problem with most beets on dinner tables these days is that they've been out of the ground for a very long time – the earthiness overtakes the sweetness. These two beets, the Italian Chioggia and the Golden Beet from W. Atlee Burpee Co. breeding program in the late 1800's, are among the sweetest vegetables in any garden!

Starting the seeds: Direct sow in the garden, a short row every week or so all through the cool season

Growing: Keep the moisture as even as possible. Mulch the beets as soon as possible – don't cover their leaves, but bring the compost as close to the plants as you can without covering the leaves. Cut off the leaves of any that are too close together – throw the baby leaves in salads. Do try to give them enough space to make an edible root, an inch or so for those who want baby beets, two or more for larger roots.

Harvesting: Pull roots as you need them. Beets do not have to be pulled all at once and will hold in the garden for a few weeks – longer if it's cool out.

Preparation and Using: Beet greens can be used just the same as chard – they are, in fact, the same species, one bred for a root and the other for its leaves. They taste pretty much the same and can be cooked the same or used raw in salads.

Today, most folks don't realize that American sugar was beet sugar until the mid 1900's when we switched to 'pure cane sugar.' The roots, though, should be just par-boiled enough to get the skins to slip off. Slice them into convenient slices and sauté in orange juice until slightly al denté. This is a wonderfully sweet side dish. Cut red beets into heart shapes before sautéing and serve on Valentine's Day or another significant holiday for your love.

Problems: Not much in our climate, although snails and rodents will eat the baby leaves as they emerge.

Fall 2014 Class Schedule

I have the class schedule completed and will post our syllabus sometime tomorrow.  

Course Schedule:

DATE	TOPIC
05 October	Introduction/Seed Starting
12 October	Plot Assignment/SLOLA/Soils/Water/Light in Urban Gardens
19 October	12 Points to a Better Garden/Garden Tour/Tools/Varietals
26 October	Planting/Sheet composting Timing and Design/
02 November	Composting/Vermiculture/
09 November	Sustainability and Food Issues in Modern America/Supplies/Sources/Annuals/
16 November	Planting/Companions/Crop Rotation in a Small Garden/ Chicken Raising Sherilyn Powell-Wolf
23 November	Perennials/Bulbs as a part of your food supply/Beekeeping
07 December	Home orchard/Vines
14 December	Planning for Continuous Harvests/Potluck