Well, Randy, we're gonna have fun talking about soil, and we're gonna talk about tools for measuring moisture, as well as soil temperature, as well as pH.

>>Yes.

>>These are things that people sometimes get caught up on, you know?

>>Absolutely.

>>You know, we say the finger tests and some people don't get it, so.

>>Right.

>>There's simple tools.

>>Yeah.

We've all started somewhere.

>>Yes.

>>When you start your garden, you have to start somewhere.

>>Absolutely.

>>And you don't know everything when you're first starting out.

And there are some key things that we have to focus on if we want a healthy garden.

>>Absolutely.

Be it flower, vegetable- >>Flower, vegetable- >>Inside or out.

>>Inside or out.

>>Right.

>>House, deck, patio, or apartment.

>>Yes.

>>We can grow whatever we want.

We just have to make sure the conditions are well for what we're trying to grow.

>>Absolutely.

Absolutely.

>>Yeah.

So with your help, I would like to show some things that will improve your gardening conditions.

>>Let's get going.

>>So let's start off with moisture.

>>Yes, the most important, 'cause if you don't have moisture, you don't have a plant.

>>And if you have too much moisture, you don't have a plant.

>>Correct.

>>We wanna kinda balance that out.

And over here I have some tools.

This is basically a rain gauge that you would sit out in your yard and you can monitor the moisture.

>>Yes.

>>From the rain that comes in from Mother Nature.

You know, Mother Nature does how she wants to do when she wants to do it.

>>Exactly.

>>So this is a good way of monitoring how much you get, because some areas have more rainy seasons than others.

>>Correct.

>>Do you use anything like this?

>>I do.

And you know what else I do?

I write in on my calendar on my phone how much rain fell that day.

>>There you go.

>>And I put "Rain" so that I can just hit search and it pops all the rain that has fallen.

>>Yes.

And that's a good point.

Always keep a log of what you're growing.

>>Absolutely.

>>I can't stress that enough for new gardeners.

Just get you a little notebook and just write down certain things, because it'll come back next year and you'll be like, "I remember what happened with that."

>>Yeah.

Well, let's move along, my friend.

>>Yes.

Also, you have moisture gauges.

>>Yes, these little meters, you know, I didn't put a lot of credibility in these in the beginning, but I understand their value now.

>>Yeah.

There are different types, different varieties.

Some read better than others.

>>Yeah.

>>But it's just depending on, you know, what you can afford and- >>What you can use 'em for.

>>What you can use 'em for.

So we like to take these and put 'em down in our house plants.

>>And in our potted outside plants too.

>>Yeah.

And this is an outside plant, I'm sorry.

This is an outside plant.

These are some pansies.

And you would just press it down in there and the gauge would read the moisture for you.

>>Right, well, we've got some other gauges too to read other things.

>>Yeah.

Absolutely.

>>So let's move on.

>>Now we want to talk about temperature.

>>Yes.

>>Temperature with your soil, is very important.

>>Absolutely.

>>You don't want it too hot.

You don't want it too cold.

You have to look out for your frost date.

I tell people, "Always look online and find out your frost dates."

>>Right.

But also, I tell people, "Check your soil temperature."

>>That's right.

>>Yeah.

>>And as you can see- >>We've got a nice- >>They come in all different sizes, shapes.

This is a basic, almost looks like a turkey thermometer.

>>It does.

It does.

>>But it gauges the moisture, I mean the temperature of your soil.

And it's always good to have.

Also, if you have a compost bin, you want that temperature to get about at least 150.

>>At the very most.

>>At the very most.

>>130 to 150.

>>Now, this is a long gauge- >>Perfect for compost.

>>Yes.

>>Too long for soil.

>>Right, because your compost pile is normally gonna be a big pile.

>>Yeah.

>>So this is good for that.

>>And then another wonderful gauge we have is our fertilize, I mean, sorry, is our pH.

>>Yes.

>>And I'm gonna show you three different types.

There's clay soil.

>>Thank you.

>>Here's garden soil and here's potting soil.

>>All right.

>>Okay.

And we've got different pH monitors, correct?

>>Absolutely.

>>So we have, you wanna go- >>Tell us about this one.

>>Well, this is a pretty high-tech one.

It's one that professionals use, and it's got these plates right here that you put all the way into your soil, and you let it sit there for a few minutes and it will tell you the pH of your soil.

And it's very precise.

>>Amazing.

>>It's a wonderful gizmo.

>>Amazing.

>>Yes, you just press the button, which is right here, and then give it a few minutes.

So there's that one.

>>Okay.

It's readin'.

And for those of you who don't know what pH is, it's monitoring the acidity and the alkalinity of your soil.

>>Correct.

>>A lot of plants, like your peppers and your tomatoes, all those things, they're more toward the acid.

>>Mm-hmm, slightly, ever so slightly, with middle being seven.

>>Yes, so most people gauge from zero to 14 with seven being in the middle, okay?

So you wanna keep that in mind when gauging your pH.

Now, another way- >>We have one minute left, my friend, so we've gotta speed racer this.

>>We use these test strips as you can see.

Now we've already tested these >>And we found out that?

>>And they come with a monitor, just like so, you wanna put it up against there like that.

Well, turn it the right way.

>>Yeah.

>>And you can gauge your pH, you guys.

As you can see, this is about a 4.5.

>>Yeah.

>>So we're gonna move on.

>>For those who don't feel comfortable with any of this, Virginia Tech, as well as local labs will test your soil for you.

And the best way to do it is to take different samples from your garden, mix it together, and then put that into the kit.

You can get these kits at your local library.

It's through our Virginia Cooperative Extension Agency.

>>Awesome.

>>Yes.

>>Awesome agency.

>>Yay Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Virginia State University too.

>>Yes, hopefully that helps you guys out when getting your garden started.

>>Yes.

>>Whether you're new, beginner, or an expert.

>>They're low-tech things, but they sure help us all.

>>Absolutely.

>>Thanks, Randy.