SOIL BIOLOGY TESTING
Video Series
VIDEO 1
Why bother with a microscopic assessment of soil food web biology? What’s all the fuss about fungal to bacterial ratios in the soil? What will (and won’t) a soil biology analysis tell you about your soil? Andrea from Pacific Composting asks these questions and more with certified Soil Food Web Laboratory Technician, Amy Luck-MacGregor.
Play Video
VIDEO 2
Find out what you’ll need to take with you when you are collecting soil samples to send in to a microscopic soil analysis lab such as Spring Hill Soil Laboratory. Learn how to take a soil core and avoid contamination in your samples.
Play Video
VIDEO 3
Where will you be sampling from when you want to find out about the biology in your soil? We’ll chat about how to make a simple map, and what to include and exclude in your sampling area depending on the question you are trying to answer.
Play Video
VIDEO 4
Now that you have a simple map of your sampling area, learn how to take the bias out of your soil sampling strategy. How do you give yourself the best chance for a microscopic soil analysis that is representative of your growing situation? We look at a simple randomization strategy, and chat about why you should bother.
Play Video
VIDEO 5
We talk tips for collecting soil samples for a microscopic soil food web analysis. Where and how do you take your sample, and why? How can you best keep the biology in tact before testing?
Play Video
VIDEO 6
Make sure your soil microbes make it safely into the soil food web analysis lab! Watch for tips on how to keep your sample in similar conditions to the soil that it came from. We’ll also chat about what to expect in a soil food web analysis report.
Play Video
VIDEO 7
A practical example of how to randomize one type of plant for sampling, then how to go about taking soil cores, bagging and labelling.
Play Video
VIDEO 8
Plants and soil microbes have their strongest partnership while the plant is in the growing stage. As the plant sets flower and prepares to reproduce, it’s energy is directed elsewhere. Here’s what to do when you have flowering plants in the mix.
Play Video
VIDEO 9
Soil sampling can be confusing when there are lots of different plants in the same area. We look at a practical example of how to go about mapping and randomizing in a meadow situation.
Play Video
VIDEO 10
You’ll be collecting at least 3 “soil cores” for each plant that you will be sampling from. What is a soil core, you say? Check it out with Andrea and Amy.
Play Video