How to Test the Quality of Your Soil With Underwear

It’s National Soil Conservation Week in Canada, and what is usually a “boring, quiet affair,” as one official put it, is getting a little sexier this year. That’s because Canadian officials are encouraging citizens to bury white, 100 percent cotton boxers or briefs in the ground to test whether their soil is healthy. 

After two months, if only the waistband remains, that means residents’ soil is full of life, since earthworms and other organisms go after cotton “like steak,” Kier Miller, a director at the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, told the CBC. 

If some of the cotton remains, they further advise, the soil may be suffering from overuse, and could use a rest. At this point, though, it’s my journalistic duty to tell you the name the council has chosen for its campaign: “Soil Your Undies.” Sounds like it’s worth a shot if you want to make sure your hydrangeas are going to kill it this year.