Got a little too busy at the end of the year to follow up and soil sampling results we had sent to the lab in late October. But here they are and they are better than we could have ever hoped for. All four plants have reduced the level of contamination in their respective plots, in some cases by more than 50% and for some of the soil it means that it is almost safe to grow food. ALMOST!

The soil samples were done by taking a composite sample of soil throughout each plot from 0-12 inches and mix it in a bucket. From that mix, we then sent a bag full to Brooklyn College to test for heavy metals. I have to admit, for the second sample in the fall, we only used soil that was close to the roots of the plants. While that soil seemed to have improved a lot, the roots did not cover the entire plot, some plants died in the hurricane and the roots of the Indian mustard didn’t grow as deep as we hoped for. So there is no doubt still a lot of contamination in the ground and much room for improvement in the coming season. But nevertheless, a great success for the first year.

the circled numbers indicated levels that are safe for growing food.

The Mugwort plot wasn’t tested in the spring. Instead, we use the values of the neighboring sunflower field for comparison. It is possible that values here were lower to begin with.