Lab #4

Dirt & Soil & Community Gardens

This lab concerned community gardens. There is one at Mercer right across from the MEP parking lot. It had various flowers and vegetables growing in it: okra, lima beans, eggplants, and various other herbs. At home, we grow tomatoes every year at the top of our yard.

One of the concerns about soil and the reason to test it regularly is because old houses in the area were painted with lead paint. In order to make sure it isn't contaminating the gardens soil testing is necessary! One thing to help is to plant in boxes with retaining walls.

Another part of the lab was learning about different types of soil. It is easy to test it by feeling how a small mud fall reacts. Here is a chart to help distinguish types of soil.




There are 12 soil orders of the world.
Entisol, Aridisol, Alfisol, Ultisol, Gelisol, Andisol, Inceptisol, Mollisol, Spodosol, Oxisol, Histosol, Vertisol.

Georgia's most common soil type is Ultisol. It is more commonly known as red clay. This soil type is most commonly found in the southeastern United States.


Utisol, or red clay