Soil Your Undies Experiment

I first heard of the soil your undies experiment from an Australian lady working with Pocket Forests in Ireland.  It is a very clever way to teach young people about soil health.

The experiment is as follows:

The Soil Your Undies – soil health experiment

What you need:

Two pairs of cotton underpants

A spade

A flag marker or signpost

What to do:

1) Dig a hole two to three inches deep into your earth.

2) Lie the underpants flat in the hole.

3) Cover the underpants with the soil.

4) Mark the spot with your flag or signpost.

5) Repeat the process in another area of your garden/site.

6) Wait at least sixty days and then dig up your undies and see what has happened to the various underpants.

What will the test show? SPOILER ALERT 😊

The underpants are made from cotton which is a natural material.  If, when you dig your underpants back up, they have disintegrated to just the elastic it means your soil is alive with micro organisms and therefore considered healthy soil for growing. 

Soil microbes help to breakdown organic matter and release nutrients into the soil.  Healthy soil means no need for artificial inputs and also is a great storer of carbon.

If the underpants are less decomposed your soil is less biologically active and you should focus on adding some organic matter to improve soil health.  This could be bark mulch, your own compost, leaf matter or green manure to improve micro-organism activity.

For more information see: https://www.cottoninfo.com.au/soilyourundies

Stay tuned for the results of our experiment in our gardening for nature space in Eaton Square Park.