In fact, one teaspoon of healthy soil contains more microbes than there are people on the planet. Healthy soil contains billions of microbes that consume organic material (in this case, cotton underwear). We’ll be sharing our results with you, too! Step 7: Share the results of your citizen science project! Email your photos and any notes you may have to and share your results with us on Facebook nvswcd and on Instagram NorthernVirginiaSWCD. The more degraded your undies are, the more microbial activity you have in your soil, and the healthier your soil is. Step 6: How healthy is your soil? Healthier soils have a lot of microbial activity, and the healthy fungi and bacteria in the soil will break down your cotton undies. Step 5: Locate your marked study site and dig up your cotton undies. Step 4: Wait at least 60 days (this is the hard part…) Step 3: Don’t forget to mark your study site with a flag or other easily-identifiable marker! Step 2: Bury a pair of white cotton undies (or any white cotton clothing item) 3 inches under the soil’s surface. Make sure you are only studying sites on your property or with the permission of the landowner. Step 1: Look for a place where you want to study the health of the soil. ![]() ![]() The more the underwear is deteriorated, the healthier your soil!Īlthough you can use the Soil Your Undies Challenge to check your soil health at any time, the most microbial activity occurs during the warm summer months, making this an easy and fun addition to your summer break plans! It’s the quick and dirty way to test the microbial activity in your soil. How does it work? Just bury a pair of cotton underwear and dig it back up after at least 60 days. The Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District is challenging residents all across Fairfax County to bury a pair of cotton underwear as part of a campaign to promote soil health awareness.
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