Soil is a complex substance, with an even more complex process. Soil, ultimately, comes from various types of rocks\u2014igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed when lava cools down, while sedimentary rocks are formed when small pieces of rock stick together. Metamorphic rocks are formed when the rocks get heated and\/or pressed. These rocks gradually break down into smaller particles through the process of weathering, finally turning into soil. Weathering can occur physically, chemically, or biologically:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As soil forms, it develops layers\u2014called horizons\u2014each consisting of different minerals and substances. These layers form what\u2019s called a soil profile and help to provide nutrients assisting with plant growth.<\/span><\/p>\n There are six types of soil\u2014sandy, clay, silt, peat, chalk, and loam. Deciding the type of soil needed for efficient plant growth is just as important as learning to take care of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sandy soil is light in colour and dry, with little to no nutrients. They are able to drain water quickly due to the large spaces between the sand particles.\u00a0<\/span>Furthermore, having additional organic matter present will greatly improve its water retention capability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Clay soil, during winter, is wet and cold, whereas in warmer weather, it remains dry. Clay soils are able to hold high amounts of water because of the large clay particles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Silt soil is very fertile, and because they\u2019re composed of medium-sized particles, silt soil can hold a fair amount of water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Peat soil is extremely high in organic matter levels and is very rarely used in gardening.\u00a0<\/span>Chalk soil is basic in pH due to high levels of calcium carbonate present.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Finally, loam soil is a soil widely used throughout Canada and is a mixture of sand, silt, and clay soil. This soil is fertile and has good water retention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Soil is vital, not just in the agriculture and farming industry, but for the ecosystem to thrive as well. It is recommended that thorough research be done to decide which soil will work best for which plant. Taking care of soil is important, as it does almost the same work as trees\u2014providing oxygen, and helping to make communities a livable space.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Works Cited<\/b><\/p>\n The History of Soil Science<\/span><\/i>. (n.d.). Rogitex. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/rogitex.com\/blogs\/soil-for-humanity\/history-of-soil-science<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How soils form | Environment, land and water<\/span><\/i>. (2013, October 8). Queensland Government. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.qld.gov.au\/environment\/land\/management\/soil\/soil-explained\/forms<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Needelman, B. (2013). <\/span>What Are Soils?<\/span><\/i> Nature Education Knowledge. <\/span>https:\/\/www.nature.com\/scitable\/knowledge\/library\/what-are-soils-67647639\/#:~:text=Soil%20is%20a%20material%20composed,mineralogy%20of%20soils%20is%20diverse<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Panchuk, K. (n.d.). <\/span>5.4 Weathering and the Formation of Soil \u2013 Physical Geology<\/span><\/i>. BC Open Textbooks. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/geology\/chapter\/5-4-weathering-and-the-formation-of-soil\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Soil Types<\/span><\/i>. (n.d.). Boughton. Retrieved May 29, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.boughton.co.uk\/products\/topsoils\/soil-types\/<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sposito, G. (2023, May 4). <\/span>Soil | Definition, Importance, Types, Erosion, Composition, & Facts<\/span><\/i>. Britannica. Retrieved May 26, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/soil<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n File:Soil Profile 20210710 Hessaraghatta Main Road.jpg<\/span><\/i>. (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons. [Photograph]. Retrieved May 29, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Soil_Profile_20210710_Hessaraghatta_Main_Road.jpg<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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The characteristics of soil\u2014colour, texture\u2014depend on the five main factors affecting soil formation. These factors are climate, time, topography, living organisms, and parent material. Each process takes <\/span>tens of thousands of years to complete and are important to creating the soil we know and use today:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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![https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Soil_Profile_20210710_Hessaraghatta_Main_Road.jpg<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWheeler, R. (n.d.). <\/span>File:SoilComposition.png<\/span><\/i>. Wikimedia Commons. [Photograph]. Retrieved May 29, 2023, from <\/span>https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:SoilComposition.png<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all know what soil is, but what is known the least to people is that it\u2019s a fundamental element to the ecosystem, and also one of the many factors that help lessen the impacts of global warming. Soil is an underrecognized part of Earth and not a lot know just how great its contribution is to creating a livable, and sustainable environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[25,27,24],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12120"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12153,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120\/revisions\/12153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Soil_Profile_20210710_Hessaraghatta_Main_Road.jpg\"){kind=link}
![https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:SoilComposition.png<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We all know what soil is, but what is known the least to people is that it\u2019s a fundamental element to the ecosystem, and also one of the many factors that help lessen the impacts of global warming. Soil is an underrecognized part of Earth and not a lot know just how great its contribution is to creating a livable, and sustainable environment.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[25,27,24],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12120"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12153,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12120\/revisions\/12153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12120"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12120"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12120"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:SoilComposition.png\"){kind=link}