Chapter 4: Soil Flashcards
Define hydroponics. (1)
The process through which a plant can survive by being supported on a string in a nutrient missed period
Define: Soil Texture (2)
Composition of the soil, with regard to the proportion of mineral particles, classified as sand, silt and clay.
Governs physical and chemical reactions, which are dependent on surface area.
Define: Soil Structure. (3)
How particles are arranged, described as sandy, platy, crumply and blocky.
Can be single particle or an aggregate
Affects water movement and handling qualities.
Soils can be classified as _____ or _____.
Organic or Mineral soils
____ and ____ ____ is commonly added to acidic soils to raise pH.
Lime; Wood ash
____ is commonly added to alkaline soils to lower pH
Sulfur
Most ornamental plant prefer a soil pH of ____.
5.5 to 7.0
Acid-loving ornamental plants prefer a soil pH of ____.
5.0 to 5.5
Is nutrient availability regulated by soil?
…
Which of the five essential growth elements does soil contain?
…
What determines the soil’s classification?
The percentage of organic matter in its top 12 inches.
What classifies as an organic soil?
Those which have more than 30% organic matter (20% of the soil is loamy sand or coarser)
Organic soil’s are further divided into ____ and ____, depending on ____ __ ____.
peats; muck; degree of decomposition
What classifies an organic soil as a peat?
The original plant fibers can be recognized.
What classifies an organic soil as a muck?
Most of the original plant fibers are decompose beyond recognition.
Most soils have considerably less than __% ____ ____ and need additional organic matter for ____ ____ ____.
20; organic matter; best plant growth.
How does organic matter favorably affect soil structure? (2)
Increases the water holding capacity of Sandy soil’s and the workability of the clay or “heavy” soils.
With regard to soil, what does “heavy” or “light “?
It describes the effort needed to move tillage equipment through the soil, not the physical weight of the soil itself.
What are some things that living organisms do within soil? (5)
Cause decay, releasing nutrients; fix nitrogen from the air; attack harmful organisms; Burrell/tunnel; change in inorganic (mineral) soil constituents.
Fungi can cause these two problems.
Rotting and damping off
What were the five form for organisms mentioned in the soil chapter and their effects?
Fungi: Rotting and Damping off.
Bacteria: Blights
Cutworms: Eat plant tissue
Nematodes: Damage roots and other plant structures.
Insect Larvae: Damages underground plant parts and seeds.
Most plants do best in this pH range.
5.5 to 7.0
Two plant examples prefer soil slightly more acidic. What is the pH range and the two plants mentioned?
5.0 to 5.5; azaleas and camellias
___ is not the factor which controls plant growth, but is a good indicator of these three things.
pH; what nutrients are soluble in a particular soil; types of micro organisms likely to predominate; what type of chemical reactions to expect
____ soil usually contain more minerals than sandy soil. Clay soil has a much greater surface area than ___ since many small particles have more total surface area.
Clay; Sandy
What happens when a chemical fertilizer is added to sandy soil and what can be done to prevent this?
Some nutrients are immediately available but they also bleach out rapidly. Modify the sandy soil with sufficient organic matter.
What should you do before making planting recommendations to a customer? (2)
Inspect the soil and have it tested.
With regard to soil, what was the mentioned problem in planting container grown plants?
If the plant was planted into a whole barely large enough to hold the root ball there is a risk that the root ball will become too wet while the surrounding soil remains relatively dry.
How do you prevent the root ball from being improperly moist when planting? (2)
Work of the soil within the plant in sight thoroughly; loosen up the root ball
After planting the root ball you must do these two things.
Mulch and water the entire area
These organic amendments usually contain sufficient nitrogen to decompose without depleting the soil of nitrogen. (5)
All types of pete; manures; leaves; leaf molds; garden compost
These are the most commonly used organic additives for soil. (4)
Pete moss; ground bark; compost; miscellaneous materials
Describe the pH of the two mentioned origins of pete moss.
Canadian and a few American are acid in reaction while German and most American are neutral to alkaline in reaction.
Ground bark in the southeast is typically from this.
Pine
Some bark has this added during processing.
Nitrogen
Untreated bark needs this.
1.5% nitrogen
Why must bark have a sufficient quantity of nitrogen?
The micro organisms that breakdown the bar require nitrogen and therefore compete with the plants growing in the soil.
How much of what substance will usually solve the problem of bark having an insufficient quantity of nitrogen?
4 pounds of ammonium nitrate, or equivalent, per cubic yard.
After the pH content of bark is resolved the final choice of materials is based off of this.
The pH of the bark
The addition of these two substances to garden compost will speed up the composting process and improve the finished product.
Nitrogen and super phosphate
Which of these miscellaneous organic additives require added nitrogen? (3)
Strong; fresh sawdust; rice hulls
These miscellaneous organic additives contain sufficient nitrogen. (3)
Leaf mold; old sawdust; manure
What is an undesirable potential quality of old sawdust?
Contains undesirable fungus growth
What is a potential undesirable characteristic of leaf mold?
If from the woods, may contain oak root fungus
What is a potential undesirable characteristic of my manure?
Often contains too high a percentage of soluble salts, both in the packaged material and other local sources
What amendments risk containing many weed seeds?
All of the miscellaneous organic additives
