Standard Program

What is soil?

Soil is made of organic matter, minerals, air, water, soil organisms (macro, micro, microbes). There are different kinds of soil and each has different needs to help plants grow.

What type of soil do we have here?

There are 3 kinds of soil: sandy, clay and loamy.

How can we determine what type of soil we have?

We can do the Ball test. Grab a handful of moist soil and squeeze it. Clay soil is slippery and oozes between your fingers; it holds its shape when you release it. Loam holds together but falls apart when you poke it. Sandy soil feels gritty and falls apart easily.

How can we know what kind of texture the soil has?

We can check how fast water drains through it.

• Dig a hole 1 foot deep by 1 foot wide

• Fill the hole with water and record how long it takes for the water to completely drain

The ideal time is between 10 and 30 minutes. If it drains in less than 10 minutes, the soil is drought-prone and most suitable for plants that need dry or well-drained soil. If it takes 3 to 4 hours, your soil is poorly drained, due either to a large percentage of clay or an impermeable layer of minerals below the surface that blocks water movement.