soil composition
If you form a ribbon that
breaks off less than one inch
after it has formed and:
1. It feels gritty, you probably have
sandy loam.
2. It feels smooth, you probably have silty loam.
3. It is equally gritty and smooth, you probably
have loam.
If you form a ribbon that extends more than one inch
but less than two inches before breaking off and:
1. It feels gritty, you probably have sandy clay loam.
2. It feels smooth, you probably have
silty clay loam.
3. It feels equally gritty and smooth, you
probably have clay loam.
Finally, if your ribbon is longer than two inches
before it breaks off and:
1. It feels gritty, you probably have sandy clay.
2. It feels smooth, you probably have silty clay.
3. It feels equally gritty and smooth, you probably
have straight up clay.
THE JAR TEST
WATER
CLAY
SILT
If squeezing wet soil doesn’t sound very appealing,
another do-it-yourself method for analyzing soil
texture is the jar test. For this to work, you need a
clean, clear jar. A quart jar works well. Fill the jar
SAND
approximately two-thirds full with your soil sample
and the remainder with water. Close it up, shake the
jar, and allow to sit for a couple of hours so that the
components can settle out.
Any organic matter will float to the top; disregard
this as it’s not part of the measurement anyway. The
larger sand particles, however, will settle to the
bottom. The next strata will be silt particles, with
clay or colloids on the top. Using a ruler, measure
the height of each of the strata to determine the
percentage of each in your sample. (Again, do not
components of soil, such as the
measure the organic matter or any water that may
and nutrients, affect the quality
be above the clay/colloid level.) So, for example,
let’s say a sample jar is about eight inches high.
Inside, the sand level is three inches thick, the silt
layer is another one inch thick, and the clay is another 0.5 inches, making for a total
of 4.5 inches of sediment/strata height. When figuring out the percentage of the soil
components, you would use the 4.5 inch height in your calculations, not the eight
inches of the sample jar. So, in this example, the soil is 67 per cent sand, 22 per cent
silt, and 11 per cent clay.
OIL TEXTURE IS NOT NECESSARILY
“ S CORRELATED
TO SOIL QUALITY.
When interpreted correctly, the soil pyramid chart will help you to understand the
physical nature of your soil type. For a more detailed analysis of your soil, for a
fee, your local co-operative extension office can either test your soil or direct you
to a lab that will test your soil and can help you to identify your soil texture. The
lab, extension service, or professionals at your local garden center can then help
you to interpret your results, if needed, and offer guidance relating to watering and
fertilizing frequencies for your particular site.
84
grow cycle
The other
organic matter
of the soil.”