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8 Weeks after initial soil image. I do not think water will further clarify. Soil appears to be 95% Sand, 2.5% Silt, 2.5% Clay.

Using the soil texture triangle, this soil falls into the Sandy category.

- Jayden E

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Soil settled for 7 weeks.

1 layer visible, this disproves my prior predictions and leads me to believe that the soil is predominantly silt. There is no visible sand layer at the bottom of the jar, and the water is transparent above, suggesting no clay is present.

the jar is showing signs of mottling, not visible in image but visible to naked eye (redy-brown spots throughout jar). the soil is still grey, and was taken from a place where the is know pesticide use and for water logging.

I believe this soil be a silt gley soil, and fairly unhealthy.

I will continue to monitor but do not suspect to see any other changes

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4 Weeks after initial soil image, can see a thin layer of silt that has settled out above the sand and then a thin layer of clay building upon the layer silt. The soils appears to be a greater % of sand than i originally thought. The water may become clearer over the next month with a bit more of the clay layer building up as it drops out of the water.

- Jayden E

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Soil was dug up from near a row of Sauvignon blanc vines at Sugar Loaf Vineyard on Rapaura Rd.

Soil retrieved from 20-25 cm below surface. Couldn't go much further because of the presence of large rocks and boulders. Soil was dark grey in colour and slightly grainy to the touch.

Soil was passed through a sieve and put in a jar, where it was shaken for 5-10 minutes to break the soil up into finer particles for better separation of layers.

The initial solution displayed a layer of soil settled to the bottom of the jar, and some particles still suspended in the water.

Prediction for the next observation is a slight separation of sand and silt, and a tiny bit of clay still suspended in the water.

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Flocculation is the process by which  soil particles when dispersed in liquid can bind  into aggregates, and  visually once settled can be identified.

Soil from the Awatere valley,
High content in Organic Matter, once through a soil sieve visual presence of roots and small pieces of bark etc. were detected.

The colour of the soil is dark brown/black indicating rich in nutrient and OM breakdown.

The organic matter is floating on the top, as it is less dense when dispersed in liquid.

Predictions will be that the soil content is high is silt and sand as the Awatere valley is mainly with alluvial plains.

- Bex Sinclair

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Soil shook for 5 mins.

Dug from approx 30cm

Collected from border of saint Clair winery

Noted sub soil was very grey in colour and hard to dig, felt like clay/silt based soil. Also noted red-orange flecks throughout the layer and clear separation between topsoil and sub soil layers.

The initial solution has no distinctive layers but is a silky in texture and appearance, grey in colour – looks allot like hydrated bentonite

For my next observations I predict that the larger sand particles will have settled out of solution and the silt layer will have began forming on top. but I think the clay portion will still be suspended in the water.

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flocculation is when clay and other soil particles dispersed in liquid bind together to form larger lumps (aggregates).

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Sand has quickly layered off, looking like at least ~55-60% sand, a thin horizon of silt forming.

Soil taken from near a vineyard in Renwick.

Predictions for next observation will be a more distinct layer of silt having formed on top of sand and the clay beginning to separate from the water.

-Jayden E