Sowing System.

The system that we use in the garden for sowing is very simple and basically consists of placing four bamboo canes an each side of the plot in the direction, horizontal or vertical, that we want the rows. We then tie thread between the canes, making sure they are very straight. With this method, we create four rows in wich we sow th seeds. After this we leave a space of one foot between sets of rows and we repeat the same process.

yukiko's report

The reason we did the survey is that we don't know so much about earthworms. That was why we conducted the research, in order to find out more.
We used some tools to find out about earthworms. These were square trays, a cylindric clear container, water, vinegar, mustard, and a PH paper. We watched a DVD to know how to use these tools.
We did the survey in the woods which were dusky and the ground looked dry. There was no rubbish and a pond. The weather was fine. There were no clouds in the sky. The soil was dry, soft, and dark brown.
We could find three earthworms. They were maybe all adult worms. Two of them ran away. The last one was weak, but it was adult. And we could see that something like foods in the worm's body.
The soil contained short and thin roots, and some wood splinters, and some little stones. There were small insects too. The colour was dark brown.

rassul's worm survey report

The 29th of April was a very special day because we had a very interesting task. Imperial College sent a message to schools and universities asking them to do some tasks in order to research worms in the UK.
It was a very sunny day when we began working on the Imperial College task with the help of Ms.Caroline and Ms.Amanda. We were working on the ground which was totally covered with grass. The first thing we did was to dig a 20 sq. cm hole and then we had to find some worms there. Unfortunately, we did not find any of them that is why we mixed some water with vinegar and poured it into the hole. After 6 minutes the water completely disappeared in the hole (by the way, the ground was sandy loam and ph value was 6). However, we did not find any worms, possibly because the ground was very dry. We also found nothing in the ground except some roots.
To sum up, I would like to say that my attitude towards worms has not been changed: I am still not interesed in worms probably because I am not really keen on things like this.

Sasha's worm report

These lessons of Environmental Studies were not normal. We looked for worms and analysed the soil. I think the worms and the soil are very important for our life. So it was the purpose of this lesson. We used many things like a PH stick, some containers for worms and soil, mustard, vinegar and other things. We knew what to do because we watched an instructional DVD.

We could dig the ground very easily. We worked in a wood. The weather was sunny, there were no clouds and it was warm. We found only 3 worms. At first we thought that one of our worms was dead, but later we realised that he was alive. All three worms were immatures. I think that they were nasty. Two of them were short and one was very long.

There were no objects in the soil like glass or something else. There were some roots. The soil was soft and it didn't fizz (not much calcium carbonate) The PH value was 6. The soil smelled fresh and a little bit sweet. It was bright brown.

I liked this day very much, and I hope that we will have lessons like this very often.

Sasha

worm survey

Today we didn't find any worms in the soil. The soil smelled very nice and fresh. The PH value was about 5.5. We found some bugs inside, but we weren't interested in them. The colour of the soil was light brown. We didn't find any worms, because the soil wasn't wet enough. We used vinegar and mustard. We filled a bottle with water and poured the mixture onto the soil. Worms don't like mustard, so they should come up, because of the mustard in the soil.
We worked in a field, but the road was near us (about 20 metres). One more reason for worms not coming up is that it was very sunny day, but worms like wet weather, so I think they were too deep inside the ground.
Yours sincerely,
Sergey Abramov.

worm survey

We did it because in the UK nobody knows much about worms. We did it to find more about them. We used water,vinegar,mustard,a PH-stick and bowls.
We got (from Dr.Carolne)an instruction DVD with all that we needed.
The ground looked dry and there was no rubbish. We were in a woodland.
The weather was good,sunshine and no clouds. The soil was dry and soft.
We found 3worms but they all ran away and so we had no adults, just young worms[immatures].They looked small and we could see the wood inside the worms.
In the soil there were a few stones and plantfood.The soil was not hard. The soil was quite acid.The colour was mostly brown. The smell was earthy.
IT WAS FUN.

Compost.

In nature, we see that vegetable produce their structures around the base of the chemical elements that they extract from the soil and the air, in order to late return them to the earth through leaves, flowers and fruit. Animals from the smallest to the biggest are incorporated as nourishment into the earth once they die.
These residues are later attacked by decomposers in the soil, newly releasing nutrients for the plants. This natural process is the basis for nutrient cycles that mantain the soil healthy and productive.
the organic material once decomposed is what is know as compost or humus. Its function are not only related to fertility, but also with biological, chemical and physical caracteristics of the soil.

In organicc agriculture we try to imitate this process with the prupose of increasing the nutrient in the soil. To acccomplish this, we use all the scraps we produce after growing the crops, those that are left in the field and almost all kitchen scraps as well. With this and other materials that we often mix in like grass, soil, straw, etc. We make a pile in a sunny spot andd we leave it there for approximately six months. In this time the decomposing bacteria in the scraps can finish breaking down the matter and we have a good compost to apply to the soil in order to grow healthy new crops.