How to determine soil texturea

Soil texture

Determine Soil TextureImage credit: Sustainable Sites Initiative

How coarse or fine soil feels depends on the size of the mineral particles. Sand, silt and clay, the major mineral particles, are responsible for the size and number of the soil’s pore spaces. Soil pore space determines the amount of air and oxygen, the drainage rate and capacity to hold nutrients. Sand grains are the largest particles and create large pores. Sandy soils drain quickly and do not hold water and nutrients well. While sand can be seen by the naked eye, silt particles are microscopic and feel velvety and smooth. Silt creates smaller pores in the soil and results in better water retention. Clay particles are the tiniest of all. When moist, they cling together and feel sticky. Clay soils have a tremendous capacity to hold water and nutrients, and soils rich in clay tend to suffer from poor air circulation and slow drainage.

Image credit: Microsoft images

Soils are rarely pure sand, silt or clay but rather a mixture of all three. They’re often grouped into one of 12 textural classes based on the relative proportions of these particles. Sands and loamy sands, for example, are more than 70 percent sand and share the characteristics of sand. Clays, sandy clays and silty clays are more than 40 percent clay and exhibit the characteristics of clay. Loams, the ideal soils celebrated in so much gardening literature, share the attributes of both—good aeration, drainage and moisture and nutrient retention. Most vegetables do best in loamy soil. It is possible to grow a beautiful ornamental garden in any soil type, as long as the plants are adapted to the particular soil conditions.