🟤 Dirt and soil

Dirt feels dry and crumbly, or cool and squishy when it is wet from rain.

Dirt is a mix of tiny broken bits of rock, old leaves and plants that have rotted away, and even smaller living things too small to see. Rain and ice slowly break big rocks into smaller and smaller pieces over many, many years, and those pieces mix in with everything else on the ground. That mix is what lets plants grow, since it holds water and food for their roots.

Dirt is usually brown, but in some places it can look almost black, red, or even orange.

Dirt gets its color mostly from what kind of rock broke down to make it and how much old plant matter is mixed in. Dark, almost black dirt usually has lots of rotted leaves and plants in it, which is why it is often great for growing things. Reddish or orange dirt usually has tiny bits of iron in it, the same metal that turns rusty red when it sits outside for a long time.

Yes, use a small shovel or your hands to scoop dirt away and make a hole.

That fresh smell comes mostly from tiny living things in the soil called bacteria, which release a special scent whenever water hits dry ground. Rain also knocks oils that plants have released into the air down onto the ground, adding to that same earthy smell. Scientists gave this smell its own name because so many people around the world notice and love it.

Plants grow in dirt, pushing their roots down deep to drink water and hold themselves in place.

The deeper you dig, the older the dirt and rock gets. New layers always settle on top of old ones. After a while you would leave the loose dirt behind completely and hit solid rock that no shovel could ever break through. Even the deepest hole ever dug by people is still incredibly tiny compared to how thick the whole Earth actually is underneath your feet.