CEN/TC 223/WG 3 - Sampling

This document specifies methods for sampling of soil improvers and growing media for subsequent determination of quality and quantity. It outlines the principles to be taken into consideration when taking the sample and ensuring an adequate quantity is available for testing.
This document applies to material in solid form (including pre-shaped growing media) and liquid form.
This document is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these materials. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control.
The requirements of this document can differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the material concerned.

This document specifies a method for the determination of quantity of soil improvers and growing media in bulk and in packages. This method is designed with an appropriate precision level so that it can be used to validate any quantity determination made.
This document is applicable to material in any form, reconstituted if necessary, but not to plugs, blocks and slabs sold as such by dimension; for these, see EN 15761.
This document applies to material that is in solid form, but not in block form to be sold by dimension, and which exceeds the particle size restriction in EN 12580 and where the declared nominal particle size is greater than 60 mm.

This document specifies methods for the determination of a quantity of soil improvers and growing media in bulk and in packages. This method is designed with an appropriate precision level so that it can be used to validate any quantity determination made.
This document is applicable to material in any form, reconstituted if necessary, but not to plugs, blocks and slabs sold as such by dimension; for these, see EN 15761.
This document is not applicable for material with more than 10 % (V/V) of particles greater than 60 mm in size; for these, see EN 15238.
The requirements of this document might differ from the national legal requirements for the determination of the products concerned.
Material which has become excessively wet and which cannot be easily broken down into a flowable material will not be suitable for the determination of quantity and might not give a representative result. However, because of the diverse nature and bulk density of these materials, it is not possible to quantify what is ‘excessive’.
This document is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products.

This document specifies terminology for soil improvers and growing media.
Annex A contains an overview of all terms defined in this document in alphabetical order.

This European Standard describes a method of determination of length, width, height, volume and bulk density of rectangular pre-shaped growing media.
In this standard "pre-shaped growing media":
-   includes solid, regular shaped, stable growing media sold, which are ready for use as a growing media, where the dimensions and corners are stable, and the surfaces and edges are perpendicular to each other – including mineral wool and polyurethane products;
-   does not include solid growing media that has to be hydrated for it to form, varies in dimension with varying water content – for example coir or peat slabs or growing bags.
The minimum linear dimension (length, width or height) for blocks to which this standard applies is 40 mm, and the maximum dimension is 2 000 mm.

This document describes a method for the determination of and the dimensions measured of the bulk density of pre-shaped growing media.
In this document, "pre-shaped growing media":
-   includes solid, regular shaped, stable growing media sold, which are ready for use as a growing media, where the dimensions and any corners are stable;
-   does not include plugs;
-   does not include solid growing media that has to be hydrated for it to form, varies in dimension with varying water content - for example, coir or peat slabs or growing bags.

This European Standard specifies methods for sampling soil improvers and growing media (excluding liming materials) for subsequent determination of quality and quantity. It outlines the principles to be taken into consideration when taking the sample and ensuring an adequate quantity is available for testing.
This standard only applies to material in solid form, including pre-shaped media.
This standard is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control.
The requirements of this standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the product concerned.

This European Standard specifies methods for the determination of a quantity of soil improvers and growing media in bulk and in packages. This is a reference method, which is designed with an appropriate precision level so that it can be used to validate any quantity declaration made.
This standard is applicable to material that is in solid form, reconstituted if necessary, but not to blocks sold as such by dimension; for these, see EN 15761. This method is not applicable for material with more than 10 % (V/V) of particles greater than 60 mm in size; for these, see EN 15238.
The requirements of this standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the products concerned.
Where there is no legal requirement to use this method, for example in quantity control of packaged product, then it is permissible for any other methods to be used so long as these other methods can be demonstrated to be comparable with this standard method in giving the same quantity with the same precision.
Material which has become excessively wet and which cannot be easily broken down into a flowable material will not be suitable for the determination of quantity and may not give a representative result. However, because of the diverse nature and bulk density of these materials, it is not possible to quantify what is ‘excessive’.
This standard is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control.

This standard specifies a method for the determination of a quantity of growing media and soil improvers in bulk and in packages. This standard is applicable to material that is in solid form reconstitued if necessary, but not to blocks sold as such by dimension. This method may not be applicable for material with particles greater than 60 mm in size. Note: The requirements of the standard may differ from the national legal requirements for the declaration of the products concerned.

This European standard specifies methods for sampling growing media and soil improvers (excluding liming materials) for subsequent determination of quality and quantity. It outlines the principles to be taken into consideration when taking the sample and ensuring an adequate quantity is available for testing. This standard applies only to material that is in solid form. Note 1: This standard is intended to be used by manufacturers, buyers and enforcement agencies in verifying claims made for these products. It is not intended that it should necessarily be used for the purpose of manufacturing control.