May 2012 – Colby Digs Soil

Getting a Feel for Soil Texture

One of the most important characteristics of soils is soil texture. Soil, by definition, consists of particles less than 2 mm in diameter. Soil texture is the proportion of sand, silt, and clay particles that are of soil size (2 mm or less). The US Department of Agriculture classifies soil particle sizes as the following: sandContinue reading “Getting a Feel for Soil Texture”

North Carolina Soil Geomorphology Tour

At the beginning of this week I helped some faculty in the NCSU Dept. of Soil Science with the North Carolina Geomorphology Tour. The tour is a one-week field class that starts at the outer banks of North Carolina and ends in the mountains at the Tennessee boarder. Along the way the students examine andContinue reading “North Carolina Soil Geomorphology Tour”

Soil and Water Stewardship Week

This is just a quick post for today. June 29 through May 6 is Soil and Water Stewardship Week, as declared by the governors of Iowa (my home state) and Oklahoma in their respective states. The Conservation Blogger (the blog brought to you by the Soil and Water Conservation Society) had a great post onContinue reading “Soil and Water Stewardship Week”