There are probably literally thousands of projects that you can do with mason jars on Pinterest: you can make lanterns, mini terrariums, pretty flower vases, makeup brush holders, and even wine glasses with them! But, there are also tons of more practical uses for them (canning, anyone?). For example, I just stumbled upon this amazing tutorial by Shelle on Preparedness Mama: it’s a very detailed guide on how to do a soil test for your garden, and how to get the optimal soil mix for growing. All you need? A mason jar and some water.
-Fill the jar half way with your garden soil, add water until it’s full.
-Secure the lid tightly and shake it so all particles are in suspension.
-Give it a few hours to settle and see your results:
-Bottom layer: heavy rocks and sand. Next: silt particles. Then: Clay. There may be organic matter floating on top of the water.
–If your jar test is 20% clay, 40% Silt, 40% sand = Loam, you have the perfect combination. You’ve been working hard in your garden!
It’s great for your garden, plus: Bonus- It could also be a fun science experiment for kids to teach about density and suspension of particles.