How To Determine Soil Moisture

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How To Determine Soil Moisture
How To Determine Soil Moisture

Video: How To Determine Soil Moisture

Video: How To Determine Soil Moisture
Video: Soil Science 3. Measuring Soil Moisture and Organic Content 2024, April
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Lack and excess of moisture adversely affects the normal development of plants. Taking into account the needs of each crop for water and adjusting the moisture content of the soil, you can grow a rich crop on your site. It is possible to determine the watering time without special devices.

How to determine soil moisture
How to determine soil moisture

Necessary

a shovel

Instructions

Step 1

Determine if there is enough moisture in the soil by the appearance of the plants. With a lack of moisture, the leaves fall and wither. Good watering and irrigation can help. You can also determine the moisture content of the soil in another way. Dig a hole 20-30 cm deep and place the back of your hand against the wall of the soil cut. If the root layer is dry or slightly damp, water the plants.

Step 2

Determine the moisture content of the soil using an earthen ball. A small sample can be used to determine the optimal timing and rate for watering the plants. Take a handful of earth and roll it into a ball. If it crumbles on your hand, the soil is dry. Here, plants will need additional watering for normal growth. When the soil sample slightly cools the hand, it is fresh soil. When compressed, it almost does not disintegrate, because it is filled with water. Such land is suitable for normal plant growth and does not require watering. If you take a sample in your hand and traces remain on the skin, it is wet soil. It keeps the shape of a ball well, but when rolled into a cord, it falls apart. Damp soil sticks to your hands, but easily forms into a ball and a cord. Wet areas will require additional costs for water drainage, otherwise only weeds will grow on them.

Step 3

Shows the condition of the soil and its appearance. You can immediately determine its moisture content when choosing a site for a country house. The parched ground is lighter in color, with cracked crust and dusty in light winds. In the early and late hours, it does not darken from humid air. The grass is dry and yellow. Feather grass and lichens are found. Fresh soil contains green mosses, lingonberries, broadleaf lungwort and male fern. Plants with succulent foliage on damp ground: a lot of paw, loosestrife and blueberries. Excess moisture is immediately noticeable. Water reaches the surface, small plants cover the ground with a carpet. It is dominated by creeping buttercup, cuckoo flax, meadowsweet.

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