A common test, called the Mason jar soil test, is suggested for home gardeners to decipher their soil type. The basic concept is to put water and a scoop of the soil into the jar, shake to thoroughly mix the soil and water, and let it stand. The sand will settle to the bottom first, followed by the silt, and finally the clay will fall out of suspension. The sand will settle in a minute, the silt will take a few hours, and clay will stay in suspension for a full day. The soil type is then determined by measuring the depth of these layers. But there’s more to soil than sand, silt, and clay. The fine organic matter particles are the last to sink and the large particles will just stay afloat.
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Diagram (left) and example (right) of a Mason jar soil test
[Picture sources: (l) Pinkney (2010) and (r) Three Easy Soil Tests (2010)]
[Picture sources: (l) Pinkney (2010) and (r) Three Easy Soil Tests (2010)]
The vast majority of soil types involve varying amounts of sand, silt, and clay with a minimal amount of organic matter. Muck soils are unique in that they have anywhere between 20 and 80% organic matter.
Settling ponds or tanks, a scaled-up version of a Mason jar, is a method used to remove suspended solids from different types of wastewater. The wastewater is pumped into a large holding tank where it is held. The heavy particles will fall out of suspension and sink to the bottom leaving clear water to exit the pond. But, as the Mason jar test shows the time that wastewater needs to stay in the pond depends on the soil type.
So, settling ponds, whose entire purpose is to give particles time to sink, and muck, a soil type resistant to sinking, are a mismatched pair. They can still work together if the additional time for the muck to settle out is taken into account or as one part of a multi-step treatment process.
References
Settling ponds or tanks, a scaled-up version of a Mason jar, is a method used to remove suspended solids from different types of wastewater. The wastewater is pumped into a large holding tank where it is held. The heavy particles will fall out of suspension and sink to the bottom leaving clear water to exit the pond. But, as the Mason jar test shows the time that wastewater needs to stay in the pond depends on the soil type.
So, settling ponds, whose entire purpose is to give particles time to sink, and muck, a soil type resistant to sinking, are a mismatched pair. They can still work together if the additional time for the muck to settle out is taken into account or as one part of a multi-step treatment process.
References
- Pinkney, D. (2010, August 1). Starting a Garden - Understanding Your Garden Soil. In Gardening Info Zone. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from http://www.gardeninginfozone.com/starting-a-garden-understanding-your-garden-soil
- Three Easy Soil Tests. (2010, May 21). In Cultivators Corner. Retrieved October 15, 2014, from http://cultivatorscorner.com/what-is-soil-made-of
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