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Find out the composition of the soil by carrying out the 'Mason Jar Soil Test':

1. Sift soil to remove large rocks or clumps

2. Fill mason jar about half way with water

3. Add water and detergent

4. Shake the jar vigorously

5. After the mixture has settled for one minute, mark the side of the jar; this represent the sand layer

6. After the mixture has settled for 2 hours, mark the side of the jar; this represent the silt layer

7. After the mixture has settled for 2-3 days and the water is clear, mark the side of the jar; this represents the clay layer

8. Measure the height of each layer and divide this by the total height to determine the percentage of each soil component

Represent the soil composition on a pie chart.

Compare soil composition with ideal 'loam' soil (40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay).

Research and discuss ways to improve the soil quality e.g. adding compost or mulch, making our own fertilisers, or worm farming.

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Knowing the amounts of clay, silt, and sand that make up your garden soil can help you understand how to maximize your garden production [1]. The proportions of sand, clay, and silt have a direct effect on nutrient retention and microbial populations [2]. I'm about to show you a simple test that you can perform, step by step with pictures, so you can determine exactly what kind of soil you have.
To test soil texture using a mason jar, start by filling the jar 1/3 of the way full of well-sifted soil. Add water to almost the top of the jar and some dish soap. Then shake the mixture up. As the soil/water mixture settles over 48-72 hours the sand, silt, and clay will separate forming horizons. Then their proportions can then be determined.
*Note - if you are just getting started as to where to make a garden, there is a quicker, but less precise method to test your soil texture. The soil ribbon test is a quick and dirty (haha!) test to let you know roughly where the soil texture falls on the USDA Soil Pyramid. And knowing what soil you have is critical to determine if the location is suitable for building a vegetable garden.

Steps to conduct the 'jar test' for soil texture

1 - Gather Materials

Obtain the following materials before starting. You will need a glass jar with straight sides, a ruler, black marker, and granular dish washer detergent. And, dig your soil.

For digging your soil, ensure you take a cross section of at least six inches depth (15 cm). Don't just scrape the surface, as you want to get a complete picture of your soil.

*Special NOTE - This is a great time to perform a SOIL DRAINAGE test! You can have both tests happen concurrently, thereby learning even more about your garden soil! See our step by step guide to test your soil drainage here!

2 - Sift the soil

Place a kitchen strainer or sieve over a bucket and push the soil through. This will help break up the particles and remove any larger rocks or roots and other organic matter.

I have to tell you that this is a crucial step to obtain a good mixture! The first time I ever performed this step I did not sift the soil. Even after several minutes of shaking the jar I still had solid balls of clay/silt. So, to get accurate results take the time to sift the soil!

3 - Add soil, water, and detergent to jar

Fill the glass jar to approximately 1/3 full with the finely sifted soil. Add 1 tablespoon of granular dishwashing detergent. Then fill the jar with water to almost the top, leaving a gap.

4 - Shake the jar

Secure the lid to the jar tightly. Then shake up the mixture until the mixture becomes uniform and slimey.

Then set the jar on a flat surface to rest

5 - Mark the Sand Layer

After the mixture has set for one minute, mark the side of the jar with a black marker. This represents the sand component.

6 - Mark the silt layer

After the mixture has set for two hours, mark the side of the jar. This represents the silt layer.

7 - Mark the clay layer

After the mixture has set for 2-3 days and the water is clear, mark the final layer. This is the clay layer.

Interestingly enough the soil sample on the right has no identifiable clay layer. Even though it was taken only about 15 feet away from the sample on the left. Also note the difference in sand particle size......

8 - Determine the amounts of sand, silt, and clay.

Use your ruler to determine the total height of soil. But also record the individual heights of each layer.

Then, to calculate the proportions (percentages) of sand, silt, and clay use the formulas below. Additionally, I would like to point out that the 'total' height of mixture is the same as the clay layer.

% Sand = (height of sand) / (total height of mixture)

% Silt = [ (height of silt) - (height of sand) ] / (total height of mixture)

% Clay = 1 - %Sand - %Silt

So, in my example from my garden, I had a the following values

Example Soil Texture Calculation

Applying these formulas would yield the following results

%Sand = 43 mm / 68 mm = 63%

%Silt = (63 - 43) / 68 mm = 20 / 68 = 29%

% Clay = 100% - 63% - 29% = 8%

9 - Determine the soil type using the pyramid from the USDA (Link below).

You can use the USDA soil texture calculator [3] to determine your exact soil classification.

Video Demonstration of the Mason Jar Soil Test

What does Soil Texture mean?

Your soil is made up of 3 inorganic components, sand, silt, and clay. Knowing the proportions of each component can greatly aid you in optimizing your soil for vegetable production or adding amendments.

Any combination of these three elements that falls into the 'loam' category is considered a good base for a successful garden. But, now I will speak on the individual components and how they behave individually.

Sand

Sand is the largest particle size for soil components (0.10 to 2.0 mm). Pure sand will drain water and not hold nutrients. Just think of how little plant life you find on a beach! Sandy soil will be prone to drought and hold little in the way of nutrients.

Silt

The next smallest soil particles are considered silt, and are between 0.002-0.05 mm diameter. Silt is generally silica, rock or some other small inorganic particle. Silt will hold nutrients and water quite well, but still drain.

Clay

Clay is the smallest of soil particle sizes, coming in at anything less than 0.002 mm. Clay will compact quite easily and prevent water drainage. On the flip side though, it holds water and nutrients quite well.

Next Steps

Now that you have determined your soil texture, you can address any drainage problems that you may have.

If your soil falls within the "loam" classification you probably do not need to take any action, as long as your soil drains well. And loam generally allows for good root penetration deep into the soil.

But if you have 'sandy' soil, you can add organic matter such as compost or hummus so that it retains water better. In fact, you can simply topdress your garden or lawn to greatly improve the soil.

Mixture of composted material and worm castings. Nearly 100% broken down.

If you have clay soil, you can also add organic matter like compost as it will break up clay particles and reduce compaction. This will greatly improve the ease in digging your soil as well as drainage.

*Want to see the best guide for making a compost pile? Click on the link below and have a look at the video embedded. It shows the complete breakdown of a pile in the simplest manner possible.

https://growitbuildit.com/how-to-make-a-compost-pile/

One of my favorite ways to add organic matter is to apply a heavy mulch of leaves or straw in the fall. Did you know that leaves contain all essential the nutrients your garden needs!

By doing this worms will eat the leaves, and as they travel down into your soil eject worm castings. So, they will aerate your soil and fertilize it at the same time! They get food, and you are now able to grow more food - that is what you call a Win/ Win!

Recent Posts

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Testing Soil Texture - The Mason Jar Test | Growit Buildit

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Knowing the amounts of clay, silt, and sand that make up your garden soil can help you understand how to maximize your garden production [1]. The proportions of sand, clay, and silt have a direct effect on nutrient retention and microbial populations [2].

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1. Display this image of kowhai flowers and ask students to make observations and inferences about what they see.

2. Read this article from the Science Learning Hub about the parts of a flower and their functions.

3. Provide a range of flowers for students to dissect.

4. Identify and label the following parts: petal, nectary, pollen, anther, filament, sepal, ovule/seed, stigma, style, and ovary.

5. Compare and contrast the parts of flowers across the different species.

6. Connect to students' knowledge of pollination: Is their flower pollinated by birds, insects or the wind? How do you know?

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1. Use this article to discuss and compare the characteristics of flowers pollinated by insects, birds and the wind.

2. Display images of different flowers.

3. In small groups, students describe the flower and decide its pollinator.

4. Once students are confident matching flowers to their pollinators, send students into the school garden to look at flowers and predict what pollinates them.

5. Divide the class into groups to watch different flowers for a set period of time.

6. Set up data sheets so that students can record the flower and what it looks like, the time, the weather, the different animals that visit (or absence of animals if the flower is wind pollinated), and the number of visits.

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Flowering plants need to get pollen from one flower to another, either within a plant for self-pollination or between plants of the same species for cross-pollination to occur. However, pollen can't move on its own, so animals or the wind (and water in rare cases) move the pollen for plants.

Animal pollinators

Most New Zealand native flowering plants are animal pollinated - most by insects, but some by birds or even bats. Plants provide nectar and pollen as edible rewards to the animals for visiting a flower. As an animal reaches into a flower for its reward, it brushes against an anther, and some of the pollen sticks to its body. When the animal visits another flower, some of this pollen comes off onto the stigma - pollination has occurred. The pollen of animal-pollinated plants has a rough surface to help it stick to a pollinator

Attracting insects

Many flowers use colours to attract insects, sometimes helped by coloured guiding marks. Some have ultraviolet marks that can be seen by insects but are invisible to human eyes. Flowers are often shaped to provide a landing platform for visiting insects or to force them to brush against anthers and stigmas. The pōhutukawa ( Metrosideros excelsa) uses colour in a different way. It only has very small petals but big bright red clusters of stamens.

Some flowers have scent to attract insects. Many of these scents are pleasing to humans too, but not all - some flowers attract flies with a smell of rotting meat. Colours can't be seen in the dark, so scent is important for flowers that are pollinated by night-flying insects such as moths.

Attracting birds

Bird-pollinated flowers tend to be large and colourful, so birds can see them easily against a background of leaves. Kōwhai ( Sophora species), flax ( Phormium tenax harakeke) and kākā beak ( Clianthus puniceus, kōwhai ngutu-kākā) are examples of bird-pollinated native plants. Some flowers even change colour to tell birds when to visit. The flowers of the tree fuchsia ( Fuchsia excorticata, kōtukutuku) are greenish when ready for bird visitors, but after they have been pollinated, they turn red to tell birds to stop coming.

Most bird-pollinated flowers have lots of nectar, often at the bottom of a tube of petals. Birds need to brush against anthers and stigmas when reaching for the sugary reward with their long beaks. Some birds, such as tūī, stitchbirds and bellbirds, have special brush-like tips to their tongues to help them soak up the nectar.

Bat-pollinated flowers

Short-tailed bats can play an important role in the pollination of pōhutukawa, rewarewa (Knightia excelsa, New Zealand honeysuckle) and a hebe ( Veronica macrocarpa). David Pattemore of Plant & Food Research found this out in recent studies on Little Barrier Island near Auckland.

Another plant pollinated by short-tailed bats is dactylanthus ( Dactylanthus taylorii). This strange plant lives underground as a parasite on the roots of forest trees, with only the flowers poking up above the surface. The flowers have little colour but lots of nectar and a strong scent to attract the bats.

Wind pollination

Grasses are wind pollinated, as are some of our native trees and shrubs, such as beech ( Nothofagus species), kawakawa ( Macropiper excelsum, pepper tree) and many Coprosma species. Pollination by the wind is very hit and miss. The wind may pick up pollen from a grass flower and scatter it all over the place. Only by chance will a little pollen land on another flower of the same species. To make up for this waste, wind-pollinated flowers produce a huge amount of pollen, as hay fever sufferers will know.

Wind-pollinated flowers tend to have small dull-coloured petals or, in the case of grasses, no petals at all. They don't need petals, colour, nectar or scent to attract animals. The pollen grains are not sticky like those of animal-pollinated flowers, which reduces the chance of them sticking to leaves and other obstacles. The stigmas of receiving flowers are sticky in order to hold on to pollen carried by passing breezes.

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Flowering plants need to get pollen from one flower to another, either within a plant for self-pollination or between plants of the same species for cross-pollination to occur. However, pollen can't move on its own, so animals or the wind (and water in rare cases) move the pollen for plants.

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1. Discuss the importance of insects in our school garden (e.g. pollination, pest control, and decomposition).

2. Tell students they will be designing a 'bug hotel' from reused materials to provide shelter for beneficial insects.

3. Discuss how they will know if the bug hotel is successful.

4. Predict which insects might visit the hotel and research what their needs are.

5. Show an image of a bug hotel and ask students what they notice and wonder.

6. Identify key attributes of the bug hotel.

7. Design the bug hotel, using words and symbols to describe how it works.

8. Collect materials and build a prototype.

9. Test the prototype's stability and make improvements if needed.

10. Revisit the bug hotel to see how many bugs are using it, making improvements as needed.

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This is a wonderful story of one man's trash, is his daughter's treasure! Find out how we turned a broken old crate into a wonderful, educational garden sculpture. Here's how to make a bug hotel.

Unlike most hotels being built in the city, this one won't require planning permission. And you won't have to worry about leaky building syndrome, or earthquake strengthening!

In fact, making a bug hotel is easier than you think. And it truely is a great educational tool for the kids. They love going up to the hotel, and poking around, and finding out if any famous bugs have booked in.

We've already had some real celebrities book, like the beetles, Christian Slater, bee bee king, Ant and Dec...

What are bug hotels made of? Think outside the 'box'

So a few weeks ago, we were having a bit of a declutter session at home. And I was about to throw out an old potato box. The side had fallen off (a few times actually), and we'd lost the lid.

It was sitting outside by the front gate, ready to contribute to our slowly disappearing landfills. When my daughter said, 'Daddy... we should turn that into a bug hotel!'

My trash had literally just become her treasure.

So this is definitely the right place to begin. Take your kids around your house for inspiration and look for an old toy box, a veggie box like ours, a broken storage basket, old drawers, an old microwave etc. And if you can't find something suitable, then ask your neighbours, or take a look at your local recycling yard.

Now, let's be clear here. We're not setting out to make some Insta-fantastic, Pinterest-friendly, artistic garden sculpture here. The idea is NOT to end up with something like this:

Seriously people, I've kept chickens housed in structures that aren't as stable looking as that!

The real trap here is that sometimes when Dad's start to work on this sort of project with their kids, there's a real temptation to take over.

That's understandable. This thing has to actually sit in your garden, so it needs to have some aesthetic value.

But find a happy medium where the kids do most of the creation, and you just help out with the fiddly bits.

It might be best to think of this as a bug house, rather than a bug hotel.

Materials you need to make a bug hotel

To work out what materials you need to make a bug hotel, the out of the box thinking above applies.

You really don't need to look further than your own yard to find appropriate materials. We found all sorts of useful things around our own yard, some old heater bricks, gravel and mulch, some twigs we broke up, old broken tiles and some bamboo garden stakes in the shed.

The point here is don't go out and buy materials for your bug hotel. Bugs already live in your yard, you are just providing them a little shelter and a purpose built home.

Here's a few different materials you could use inside your bug hotel:

bricks

broken crockery

broken terracotta pots

stone chips or gravel

wood chips, bark or mulch

bamboo

twigs and sticks

moss and dry leaves

corrugated cardboard

old pipes

Here's some materials you probably shouldn't use in your bug house:

treated timber

soft plastics

mouldy timber

anything that looks like it might leech chemicals

You don't absolutely need to paint your bug hotel, but it's lots of fun and you'll need to apply some sort of finish if you want it to last.

It's important not to use treated timber of any kind, which means it will rot eventually. To keep your hotel in tip top condition outside, a few coats of Resene Lumbersider or Resene Woodsman stain, will ensure it lasts for years.

This is a great opportunity to get the dropsheets out and give your kids a chance to use larger brushes. Just make sure they have old clothes on...

How do you attract bugs to your bug house?

Like running any hotel, you need good marketing and great customer service!

You need to make sure your hotel has everything in it a bug might need to be comfortable. And that there's enough local amenities to prevent them from leaving again.

Here's a few basic tips for attracting bugs to your bug hotel:

Place your bug house in a warm, sheltered spot, on solid ground

Provide a few different 'hotel rooms' to attract different bug species

Provide hollow material, like bamboo, to attract solitary bees

Make sure there is a water source close by

Place your bug house near by flowering plants and trees

Try not to use insecticides and other chemicals in your garden

Most of our native bees in New Zealand are solitary bees that live in small holes in the ground. So bamboo in your bug hotel should be a really attractive option for these wonderful pollinators. And if you have native trees in your yard, you already have the nectar available they love!

How to make a bug hotel

You will need
A wooden potato box or similar
Plywood, wood offcuts, or pallets (non treated)
Hammer, nails and glue
Resene Lumbersider paint (our kids choose Wild Yellow and Keppel for the roof and Bunting for the walls)
Big paint brushes
Sticks and stones
Leftover woodchips or mulch
Broken up tiles or terracotta pots
Bamboo
A hacksaw
Bricks
Rubberband

What to do
1. If your box doesn't have a top like ours, make a roof out of two pieces of plywood, or pallet timber. Use small nails and a little glue to hold.

2. Paint your box using R esene paints for outside. We painted ours in wild Yellow, blue and dark blue. Make sure if the kids are painting you place a large drop sheet down, as this gets very messy! If your kids are as messy as ours you might want to go around with a paintbrush after them and smooth out the drips.

3. Once the paint is dry use bricks and your ply wood, or offcuts, to make different 'hotel rooms' for the bugs to live in.

4.Cut the bamboo into smaller lengths using the hacksaw. Once you have enough, bunch them together and tie with a rubberband, or a piece of string or rope.

5. Fill each of your 'hotel rooms' with your different materials.

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This is a wonderful story of one man's trash, is his daughter's treasure! Find out how we turned a broken old crate into a wonderful, educational garden sculpture. Here's how to make a bug hotel. Unlike most hotels being built in the city, this one won't require planning permission.

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1. Cut spring onions 3cm from the base.

2. Regrow the spring onions, placing each spring onion into a container with different conditions: normal water, water but no light, no water, slightly acidic water (add lemon juice),  alkaline water (add baking powder), and coloured water (add food colouring).

3. Record hypotheses about which conditions will produce the best results.

4. Each day for five days, measure the height of the plants.

5. Represent the growth of the plants on a time series graph.

6. After the 5th day, discuss the results and draw conclusions about the conditions that plants need to grow and thrive.

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1. Show images of growing peas with and without trellises. Ask students what they notice and wonder.

2. Watch a time lapse of a pea plant growing and ask students what they notice and wonder.

3. Tell students they will be designing a trellis to keep pea plants off the ground as they grow. The materials they can use include bamboo sticks, twine, wire, and anything you can bring from home.

4. Discuss how we will know if the trellises are successful.

5. Research the conditions that pea plants need to survive.

6. In small groups, sketch initial designs.

7. Build a prototype using a small container, soil, kebab sticks, and twist ties.

8. Leave the prototypes outside overnight. Discuss which designs succeeded or failed and why, introducing the idea of balanced forces.

9. Revisit and improve designs in light of new learning.

10. Build trellises and test whether they will be successful by simulating likely real-world conditions that could cause them to fall over (rain, wind, and plant weight).

11. Make improvements as needed.

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Engineering in the Garden - BSCS Science Learning

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How can we design a stable trellis to support our climbing pea plants? How can we attract bees to our garden? How can we keep our plants warm in the cold winter months? These are important questions for farmers or gardeners trying to cultivate food. Students in 3rd-5th grade are now addressing these…

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Handy planting calendar showing when to plant common fruit and vegetables.

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A collection of growing guides for the New Zealand context. Includes a wide range of fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers.

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Whether your vege patch is bursting with salad greens for summer barbeques, or carrots and leeks for hearty winter soups, nothing beats the satisfaction of ‘growing your own’. Follow our step by step guides below to grow a bumper crop of delicious veges each season.

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Citizen science project a methodology for investigating soil quality.

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The Great Kiwi Earthworm Survey | AgResearch

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The Great Kiwi Earthworm Survey is on! You can take part from your farm, backyard, or anywhere you've got permission to dig a small hole. Kids, grab a grown-up and a spade, pick a spot and check on the health of your soil.

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An article describing 11 simple tests you can do to determine soil quality.

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How to Know if Your Soil is Healthy: 11 Simple Tests | Do Not Disturb Gardening

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Please share our content! If asked, our four-year-old would probably say that the most important necessities to make plants grow are water and sunlight. While this is true, we cannot forget another top, but not as obvious, aspect of a successful garden: soil. When a garden's soil is healthy, its plants are healthy.

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A clear explanation of how bees pollinate flowers, including close up footage of bees collecting pollen.

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How Bees Pollinate Flowers | Georgia Outdoors | PBS LearningMedia

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Learn about pollination and the important role bees play in the process in this excerpt from Georgia Outdoors.