Soil Magazine Quincy Rachel BeccaA

Mole Times March Issue

All About Soil!

In this issue: Organism of the year All about the moles Words from our Publishers

Grow your own home garden!

Soil and Nature

A Poem by Quincy Through the Circles Over my head and up into the sky Olive branches reach out Trying to grab onto the clouds Far far away In a land that I don’t know Treetops reach up and up and up Finally being tangled By wires and electricity Birds fight for sound But cars rule them out The soft sound of chirping Always dies out Crushed under my feet The smell of dirt tickles my nose Telling me of people past Knobs and crevices Along the branches Keeping secrets from me To my right A table and chairs The grounds for so much more Then we think Back in front of me Golden arches are a portal To a land where we can be ourselves Lying down on the dirt The world becomes a universe More occult and puzzling When looking through different eyes And hearing through different ears The world becomes a different place It feels like I am walking Through the Circles

Victory Gardens The Victory Gardens or Home Gardens were started ion the 1800’s. They were used during World War 1 because food was scarce. About 40% of the food in the United States was grown from Victory Gardens. After the war stopped, though, the popularity of the gardens declined quickly, because there was more food to buy.

Victory Gardens were also used during the first world war, which was during the Great Depression.

Victory Gardens have become popular today as well. Victory Gardens are used to increase sense of community and they help people to eat healthy. Many have been grown throughout California and the entire United States of America.

This Victory Garden was grown in San Francisco and is now used to grow foods and it also adds a sense of community to everyone who goes there.

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The Eucalyptus Trees A Tree Drawing By: Rachel

The Actual Tree

The Eucalyptus Trees A Tree Drawing By: Quincy

The Actual Tree

Organism of the Year Moles should really be the “Organisms of the Year.” After all, we are very important to the soil ecosystem. Even though we are blind, we do many things when we are underground. We really enjoy being in the dirt, though sometimes we get confused and go in peoples yards. Like this one time, I thought I was at a farm, but I was really in Quincy’s yard. (She was quite surprised when she saw me!) Oops. We are also very entertaining. We can run backwards through tunnels and if we want to turn around, then we do a somersault! Anyways, back to the important things about moles.

Moles are very helpful to the soil, and therefore, human beings. We eat lots of bad things that live in the soil, so that they don’t hurt our lovely soil ecosystem. Some examples are leatherjackets, wireworms, and cutworms. Those bad guys poison the roots of plants, and then those plants die! We also dig holes in the dirt, which most people think are bad, but really were trying to help! When we dig holes in the dirt, we are also aerating it, which is very important for waterlogged areas. If we didn’t dig holes in your waterlogged areas, then that land would be unusable and you would continue to loose space for yourselves to grow and build! Another thing, you really don’t want us to go away because if we get killed you get voles. Voles will kill all of your lovely plants that you have in your garden! Now really, aren’t we moles great?

Moles would greatly appreciate the “Organism of the Year.” Bad things might happen if we don’t. Here’s the thing, we moles are much unappreciated. People keep trying to kill or trap us when all we do is help! If we win this award, we will be better known for all the good things that we do. So you see, moles really deserve the recognition. Now, I would like to share some information with you, this is very confidential, so you can NOT tell anyone about what I am going to tell you. Did you know that five tons of topsoil spread over an acre is as thick as a dime? Now that might not sound too important, but that is a very thin layer of topsoil, so we must be very careful with it. Unfortunately though, humans are taking away lots of that topsoil, and very quickly. Another reason we moles deserve the award, were trying to help you! Did you notice that we just shared some completely confidential information with you, and it was just to help you!

Now you know lots of things about moles, we will have to conclude this lovely “Organism of the Year” worthy speech. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” So, humans, listen to us moles. We know what were talking about, as does Mr. Roosevelt, so pay attention to the soil, and let the moles help you! Thank you ever so much for your consideration.

Reflection by: Becca The soil unit was very interesting because you got to learn not only about soil but what comes from it. Without soil we would not have plants. Soil serves as a home for many animals such as moles, worms, and many other insects. Many buildings and shelters for human are built on soil not to mention soil provides timber for our homes. 1 billion organisms live in a teaspoon of soil.

I never really thought about how soil is really the base of all life. It provides crops for humans so without dirt we would most likely starve.

I really enjoyed the trip to the descanso gardens because since I had learned all of those facts the days before I was able to notice things I wouldn’t have been able to notice the week before. It was a good end to the soil unit for me. I also really liked the Arlington gardens but I didn’t know anything about soil before going there so I didn’t appreciate it as much.

I liked the math lesson as well because I got to see how soil relates to even math. Soil is what makes flowers so it did connect to soil in some ways. My favorite lesson was when we got to make the propaganda posters. I liked the creativeness to the projects and It was really fun. I learned how big victory gardens helped during world war 2.