Q4. The soil samples are quite wet, and will not go into the filling device easily. How do I overcome this?

A4. Ideally for filling, the soil needs to be at around 40% of it’s maximum water holding capacity. The best way to dry your soil is to spread it out evenly on a tray and leave it at room temperature to slowly loose water. You will need to mix it regularly to ensure the drying process if fairly even. Also, you have to prevent the soil particles from drying out completely so do not leave them for long periods of time unchecked. If any soil particles do dry out, remove them from the sample. After treatment the soil should be sieved through a 2 mm stainless steel sieve. Please note that some samples that are hydrophobic on drying (e.g. peat) are best weighed directly into the plate.