Maximum Yield USA May 2018 | Page 81

Enter the soil pyramid chart, also known as the soil texture triangle or, by some, as the tertiary soil diagram. Knowing it by any of those terms will not get you a date on a Friday night, but the chart will help you to figure out what you are working with in your garden. The ubiquitous soil devised by agronomists and soil scientists pyramid chart is a tool devised by and used around the world to identify agronomists and soil scientists and soils by their constituent parts.” used around the world to classify soils by their constituent parts. Soil health, when viewed holistically, is at the intersection of its biological components, such as the living or organic matter in it; the chemical components, which refer to the nutrients within the soil; and the physical properties of the soil, which refer to the particles. The soil pyramid chart helps to identify soil types by using the physical properties. Sand particles are larger than silt particles, which are larger than clay particles. Colloidal particles are those suspended in water, and they are even smaller than clay particles. The relative percentages of clay, sand, and silt in tandem reveal a soil texture on the chart. Soils may be sand, loamy sand, sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loam, silty loam, silt, silty clay loam, clay loam, sandy clay, silty clay, or clay. HE UBIQUITOUS SOIL “ T PYRAMID CHART IS A TOOL grow cycle 81