UNIT 2: Regarding the Quick Guide

Objectives
1.  Identify three properties to study in order to balance soil,
2.  Identify four important questions for each soil property,
3.  Describe the importance of the Quick Guide,
by correctly answering true/false.

Humor
How many scientists does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Answer: Five, one to change it and four to argue whether it was the right approach.  Ha. Ha. For this lesson we are going for the easy approach.

Content
For this course memorization is not needed!  You may answer any question using notes in an 'open-book' fashion!  In fact a Quick Guide is offered as a 'cheat sheet' for this course and for each spring season.  Link to the Quick Guide and print a copy to use with this lesson and to use during each soil preparation season.

There are three sets of soil properties that need addressing to balance tomato soil. These three properties are:

Physical Properties (the particles)

Chemical Properties (the pH level)

Nutritional Properties (the nutrients)

For each of these soil properties, tomato gardeners must ask the following questions to scientifically gain balanced soil.

What is physically balanced soil? 
What is chemically balanced soil? 
What is nutritionally balanced soil? 

How does physically unbalanced soil affect tomatoes?
How does chemically unbalanced soil affect tomatoes?
How does nutritionally unbalanced soil affect tomatoes?

How do I perform a physical test?
How do I perform a chemical test?
How do I perform a nutritional test?

How do I treat soil to obtain physical balance?
How do I treat soil to obtain chemical balance?
How do I treat soil to obtain nutritional balance?

We will study the first two of these properties, the physical and chemical, answering the questions above.  For both of these properties there are home soil tests available for testing your own tomato soil.  The third property, the nutritional, requires professional soil testing   It will be covered in another course.  

Notice that directly below the properties Physical, Nutritional and Chemical that the informal names appear.  During the remainder of the course, rather than using the formal names, we will refer to these properties as soil "particles", soil "pH" and soil "nutrients"  (pronounced P. H.).

The Quick Guide is a summary of the two properties featured in this course.  In the spring when gardeners ask questions such as, "Which soil tests do I need before I plant?," the Quick Guide will be a good reference to answer these questions.  

Practice

1.  Name three soil properties (each informal name is fine).
2.  List four important questions to answer for each property.
3.  Give one function of the Quick Guide.

Assessment
On a separate sheet of paper, answer True or False.  Then check your work using the link below.

T   F   1.  Soil properties include medical, chemical and nutritional.
T   F   2.  The 'testing soil' question is asked before the 'treating soil' question.
T   F   3.  The Quick Guide reviews soil tests to determine soil balance.

Link to Answers

References

Proceed to Unit 3

Revised December 3, 2001
Copyright Anne Premont