🪴 Soil

🪴 Soil: What’s Really Inside It?

Grab a spade and let’s dig into the world of soil! 🧑🏾‍🌾🪓
Have you ever touched soil in your garden or outside your classroom?

It may look like just brown dirt—but it’s actually made of many important parts that help plants grow! 🌱

In this lesson, we’ll explore what soil is really made of—and find out which soil is best for helping plants grow big and strong.

What Is Soil Made Of?

Soil isn’t just “dirt.” It’s a mix of four very special ingredients:

1️⃣ Inorganic Matter – Tiny bits of broken-down rock 🪨
2️⃣ Organic Matter – Rotten plants, leaves, and animal remains 🍂
3️⃣ Water – To keep plants alive and healthy 💦
4️⃣ Air – Found in the spaces between soil particles 🌬️

📊 Most soil is made of:

• 45% Inorganic matter

• 5% Organic matter

• 25% Water

• 25% Air

🔍 How Can We See What’s Inside Soil?

Let’s do a fun experiment:

🧪 Step 1: Scoop up some soil from your garden 🧑🏾‍🌾
🧪 Step 2: Pour it into a clear glass or jar
🧪 Step 3: Add water and shake it well
🧪 Step 4: Let it settle for a few hours

⏳ What do you see?

• Heavy bits (sand and rocks) sink to the bottom

• Water stays in the middle

• Rotten plant bits float on top

• Tiny bubbles may appear—showing air was in the soil!

💧 Does Soil Contain Water?

Even dry soil has a little bit of water in it! Here’s how to check:

🧪 Put dry soil in a glass bottle and heat it carefully (with a teacher or adult).
👀 You’ll see tiny droplets of water forming inside the bottle.

That’s proof—soil stores water! 💦

🌬️ Does Soil Contain Air?

Yes, it does!

Try this:

🧪 Fill a glass with dry soil
🧪 Pour water slowly over it
👀 Bubbles will rise to the top—those bubbles are air escaping!

The spaces between soil pieces hold air, and that’s good for plant roots!

🌱 Which Soil Helps Plants Grow Best?

Let’s meet the 3 soil types:

🥄 Sandy Soil – Feels rough, drains water quickly
🥄 Clay Soil – Sticky and heavy, holds too much water
🥄 Loam Soil – A perfect mix that keeps just enough water and air

When you plant the same seed in all three, which one grows best?

✅ Loam soil wins! It’s soft, rich, and full of nutrients—just what plants need to grow tall and healthy! 🌻

🧠 Let’s Remember!

• Soil is made of rocks, water, air, and organic matter

• We can explore what’s inside soil by using clear jars and water

• Even dry soil holds air and water

• Loam soil is the best for growing most plants

• Clay is too sticky, and sandy soil is too dry

#BrainyBana #SoilScience #Standard4Botswana #LoamSoilWins #SpadeAndLearn 🧑🏾‍🌾🪓 #PlantGrowthFun