1. Mix one gram of soil sample into 9 ml of diluent (which may be normal saline, phosphate buffer, peptone water etc).
2. Agitate thoroughly to disperse the sample.
3. Collect the liquid portion and carry out serial dilutions with it.
4. Depending on the target species for isolation, you can plate out the diluted sample into a general purpose medium, selective or differential medium.
5. After incubation, distinct colonies are sub-cultured in order to further purify them. They can then be used for further studies.