'Acidity in the Soil' garden science unit

Resource Description

Soil testing is very popular in schools with kitchen gardens, but this unit can be used by all school as all you need is some soil. It is enormously useful in kitchen gardens – not just for planning where plants will go, but also to involve students in an understanding of the needs of plants and the reasons behind our treatment of the soil (with compost and other additives such as lime). It helps explain why some plants love to grow together and others won’t tolerate the same conditions. You can even explain to students why we don’t put citrus and onions into worm farms, using a basic understanding of pH levels to show that these are acidic items that make worms uncomfortable. This unit comes from the Kitchen Garden Foundation's Tools for Teachers resource series, which is available at www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au