1. How does soil effect plants in Will County?

2. What amendments can be added to soil to improve plants in Will County?

• Directly Related to residents in Will County
• Effects:
•     -Food We Eat:  Both vegtables and meat have the effects of soil on our bodies.  Plants come directly from the soil, and for example cows eat the grass that is grown in the                         ground.  What chemicals and fertilizers used has an effect on our bodies when we eat them.
•     -Gardening:  In order to grow healthy vibrant gardens, we must understand the soil and how it is effected by climate, environment, and the fertilizers we might use.
•     -Grass our Children Play On:  The grass our children play on can have great effects on their health.  Children should not play on golf courses because they are filled with chemicals and fertilizers, but our own yards should be healthy and natural for their safety.
•     -Nature's very own background:  Grass is a background to life (in the plant world), it creates a setting for our gardens or flower beds.  We find it across the world and in many cases in beautiful scenery and pictures.

1. To find out the general conditions of soil in Will County.

2. To see what modifications can be added to Will County Soil to improve it for home gardening.

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First I tested soils from three different locations:

            1. Will County
            2. Cook County
            3. Pre-Packaged Soil

Secondly, I researched the background of soil.  This helped me to better understand the components of soil, and to lead me to more information.

There are many aspects that effect the organic makeup of soil:
    -pH Levels
    -Sand
   -Clay
   -Rocks

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*Soil has an inter-relationship of minerals, chemicals, and life.
*It is like water, the source of all life on the planet.
*Where does soil come from?
*Fast flowing water in rivers and streams grinds rock to pebbles and fragments that eventually become sand, a process that has taken place for millions of years.

*Most productive soils are associated with rivers and valleys.
*Dry areas cause plants to wither and die, when this happens the dead plant remains now become a future fertilizer for the new production.
*A process that has continued over time, with rock fragments becoming smaller, and organic material increasing, until our very own soil was formed.

Moor, Fred www.homepages.which.com

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Will County Soil Surveys

• Soil Surveys: provide descriptions of soils, interpretation for soil use, maps showing the location and extent of each layer type of soil.
• These interpretations point out limitations of soil and hazards in using them for different purposes.
• There are 80 different kinds of soil in Will Count

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Four Major Size Classes of Inorganic Particles and Their General Properties

Size Fraction	Common Name	Visible Using	Dominant Composition
Very Course	Stone, gravel	Naked Eye	Rock Fragments
Coarse	Sands	Naked Eye	Primary minerals
Fine	Sult	Microscopic	Primary and secondary minerals
Very Fine	Clay	Electron microscope	Mostly secondary minerals

Primary Minerals: quatz, small rock particles
Secondary Minerals: Silicate clays and iron oxides

-Primary minerals tend to dominate the coarser fractions of soil, whereas secondary are most prominant in the fine materials and espically in clays ( Buckman and Brady The Nature and Properties of Soils).

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Factors of Plant Growth

The growth of basic continential plants depends on the soil for water and nutrient elements.  To a further aspect, the soil must provide an environment in which roots can function.  This requires space for root growth, and oxygen must be available for root respiration and the carbon dioxide produced must leave the soil, instead of accumulating.

For this project I wanted to focus on the level of sand in my three soils to be tested.  Will County has numerous new developments where the soils are full of sand.  Is there too much or too little for gardening, and your flower beds?

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Fine Home Gardening

This magazine is a great source of information for gardeners of every level.  This is where my experiment for soil testing derived from.  In the April 2000 No.72 isuue, on page 67 is a detailed article titled How's Your Soil Texture?.  It provided simple steps to test your soil right at home, and it provides a chart to chart your soil type.  There are six steps to this process:

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    1. Sift the soil sample.
    2. Place on cup of the sifted soil sample into a straight sided jar.
    3. Add one tablespoon of detergent to coat the particles to keep them seperate.
    4. Add enough water to fill the jar, and put the lid on tight.
    5. Shake the jar for three minutes.
    6. Set the jar on a flat surface and measure the layers once settled.

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Results to My Research

How does soil effect plants in Will County, and what amendments can be added to balance the soil?  Soil has a huge influence on the way plants grow.  If you have a soil that has an imbalance of one or more amendments, you need to balance them.

PROBLEM: Tight Clay Soil
                Tight clay soils only have small pore spaces between the small clay particles,
                 they have a tendency to not drain well.  The pores are filled and with water
                which creates surface tension.  This leaves little room for air, without adequate
                air, the roots have difficulty recieving nutrients.

SOLUTION: Use organic materials to aggregate small clay particles into larger units.

PROBLEM: Sterile Soil
                They have too few microorganisms, prohibiting pests and organic matter,
                helping to make nutrients available.    This results when fertile topsoil
                is stripped away.

SOULTION: Mix organic materials, such as peat, straw, wood chips, or compost, into the top 6 inches .

PROBLEM: Highly Acidic Soil
                When a soil is too acidic, plants cannot absorb the nutrients they need.
                Numerous microorganisms cannot survive in acidic soil.

SOULTION: Mix limestone in throughly into the top 6 to 12 inches of soil when an acidity is needed.
 

PROBLEM: Highly Alkaline Soil
                Plants have problems taking in enough iron, manganese, boron, copper, etc.
                But potatoe scab throve in alkaline soil.

SOLUTION: If a drastic pH change is needed, apply sulfer to the soil.

PROBLEM: Sandy Soil
                These have a tendency to drain fast making it difficult to hold nutrients.

SOLUTION: Dig organic materials into the top 6 inches of soil to disperse them to the root zones of most plants.

Will County Soil

The soil I tested needed sand added.

Cook County Soil

This soil had a large amount of clay, you would need to add organic materials, such as sawdust, leaves, or compost straw.

Potting Soil

Potting soil had a lot of sand and small organic materials, you would want to add peat, straw, wood, chips, or compost.

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Bibliography

Buckman, Harry O. and Nyle C. Brady. The Nature and Properties of Soils.  Toronto, The Macmillan
    Company, 1969.

Cahilly, Wayne. How's Your Soil Texture? Fine Gardening. April 2000 No. 72.

Janick, Jules et al. Scientific American: Plant Agriculture.  San Francisco, W.H. Freeman and Company,
    1970.b

Jeffery, David W. Soil - Plant Relationships and ecological approach. Oregon, Timber Press,
    1987.

Levetin, Estelle and Karen McMahon. Plants and Society: Second Edition.  Boston, 1999.

Moor, Fred www.homepages.which.net

Reich, Lee. A Problem - Solving Approach: Fine Gardening. February 2001 No. 77.

The Will County Regional Planning Department. Will County Soil Manuel.  June 1975.