Along with the trends of buying local food, buying organic, etc., there seems to be an increase in (or perhaps more accurately, a return to) gardening – especially in urban areas. Urban gardening is a great way to save money on food, a great source for fresh vegetables, and an easy way to introduce kidsContinue reading “Urban Gardening – Thoughts from a Soil Scientist”
Category Archives: Found on the Internet
Soil Science in the News: Eating Dirt
I came across an interesting story from NPR today, entitled “The Old And Mysterious Practice Of Eating Dirt, Revealed“. It’s about the ancient practice of eating soil (or mineral deposits), often called Geophagy. I’ve heard about this practice in a few of the soil science classes I’ve taken over the years, and in a “WorldContinue reading “Soil Science in the News: Eating Dirt”
Citizen Soil Science: Cropland Capture
If you’re looking for a fun game for your mobile device but want to help science at the same time, then I know the app for you. “Cropland Capture” is a fun game designed to help classify areas of land on our planet as either cropland or not cropland. With over 7 billion people onContinue reading “Citizen Soil Science: Cropland Capture”
Citizen (Soil) Science: Predicting 17 Yr Cicada Arrival
The 17 year cicada (genus Magicicada) will emerge on the American east coast again this year in just a few days. As nymphs (grubs) they feed on the xylem fluid of deciduous tree roots. The xylem in plants is basically the tubes through which water and nutrients flow as it moves from the roots to theContinue reading “Citizen (Soil) Science: Predicting 17 Yr Cicada Arrival”
Nature Geosciences: Rare Earth Scientists
I came across an interesting article recently in Nature Geoscience called “Rare Earth Scientists” that discussed how there is a large demand for scientists in the earth science fields, yet the availability of scientists is falling short. Here are some interesting parts of the article: As a result of these emerging job opportunities for geoscientists,Continue reading “Nature Geosciences: Rare Earth Scientists”
Happy World Soil Day!
Webster Soil Series. Photo courtesy of the Iowa State University Extension and OutreachHappy World Soil Day everyone! I’ll be honest, I kind of forgot about it until I opened up Twitter this afternoon and saw all of my fellow soil scientist’s happy tweets about it. However, I celebrated by looking up the soil classification ofContinue reading “Happy World Soil Day!”
Soil Science In The News: “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns
PBS is currently broadcasting “The Dust Bowl” documentary film series by Ken Burns. It’s a series of movies about one of the most tragic environmental disasters to ever face the United States. The description of the films on PBS’s website reads: THE DUST BOWL chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheatContinue reading “Soil Science In The News: “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns”
International EarthCache Day
Many of readers of this blog are outdoor enthusiasts. One “game” that has gained in popularity among outdoor enthusiasts is Geocaching. Geocaching is basically a high-tech treasure hunt where people get coordinates for a hidden geocache from a website called geocaching.com. They then enter those coordinates into a GPS receiver, or into their GPS-enabled smartContinue reading “International EarthCache Day”
Earthworm Invasion: Good or Bad for Soil
I came across a news article put out by the BBC. It was entitled Earthworm Invasion: Aliens Causing More Harm Than Good? by Jeremy Coles and Matt Walker. It is an interesting article, and an interesting soil science topic. I recommend going and reading that article first, then come on back to ColbyDigsSoil to read the restContinue reading “Earthworm Invasion: Good or Bad for Soil”
Soil Science on the Late Show
When I’m not trudging around in a swamp, mixing up chemicals in a lab, writing something on a computer, or partaking in one of my many hobbies, I enjoy my fair share of TV. Last night I was staying up later than I should and was watching The Late Show with David Letterman. His guestContinue reading “Soil Science on the Late Show”
Colby Digs Soil 