Why I Oughta...

We were out on a walk in the Morton Arboretum when we noticed a basket far off the path.  We wandered over to see what was doing with it and saw this tag that had the title:  Tree Science in Action!  And included a reference to a soil scientist at the Morton Arboretum:  Dr. Meghan Midgley . Here's a closeup (albeit blurry) of the tag: It reads: Tree Science in Action! We're collecting leaf litter to study the effects of trees on soil. DO NOT DISTURB Questions? Contact Dr. Meghan Midgley, Soil Ecologist The baskets appear to be collecting material as it falls from the trees.  This one was in/near the Spruce Plot on the main loop .    What is Dr. Midgley working on?  From her bio : As the Soil Ecologist at The Morton Arboretum, Meghan Midgley studies plant-soil interactions in a changing world. Specifically, she aims to understand how interactions among plants, microbes, and soil mediate ecosystem-specific responses to environmental changes. Her research encompasses two overarch

A little over a month ago, I posted a photo of the pair of soil tests that I was planning on conducting for my lawn - both front and back - from SoilSavvy.  These tests require you to take a composite set of soil plugs and combine them into a little tray that you ship off.  When SoilSavvy's lab receives the samples, they run them through their system and then send you off this analysis.   I ended up doing one test for my front yard and one for the backyard.  This is a little different in approach than I did last year, but I'm thinking this is the best way forward.  First, a quick review of where things were last year .  This year, the results show higher levels of just about everything aside from Boron.   First up, the front yard.  The N-P-K analysis shows that the Potassium is below the target area.  Surprised?  Not really.  Milorganite's N-P-K is 6-4-0 - so I haven't added any Potassium to the yard this year.   The Calcium, Magnesium and Sulfur are all off the char