What is the secret to a flourishing garden? Many factors contribute but none so much as garden soil for it is the foundation from which your plants thrive or die. Just like a building foundation holds a structure steady and upright enabling stories to build upon it, so does soil uphold your plants to blossom and bear fruit. In addition to anchoring roots, soil plays a role in gas exchange, water retention and filtration, as well as temperature moderation. It also holds important minerals that provide nutrients to the plant as well as many macro and microorganisms that live in the soil which help plants thrive. The simple truth is that a healthy garden begins with healthy soil. Plants in poor soils will struggle to grow, even if optimal water and light are available. In contrast, plants in good soils will grow stronger and experience fewer problems with insects and disease. The better your soil, the better your growing season will be.
Six Soil Types
Knowing what type of soil you have in your garden is very useful for determining what plants will naturally thrive there or what amendments you might want to add. Simply put, soil is made up of clay, sand, and silt particles. Most soils have a percentage of all three components, but the ratio of each is what determines your soil type. Soil types range from sand to clay, and the soil that falls somewhere in the middle between these extremes is known as silt or loam. Soil type determines what plant varieties will grow best, and can provide clues to how to successfully manage your garden. Sand is a very large particle that water moves very quickly through. While this helps prevent flooding after a heavy rain, it also means a gardener may need to water plants more often as water travels out of plants’ root zones too quickly for plants to adequately absorb all of the moisture they need. On the other hand, clay soils are composed of very small particles which generally means that drainage is poor and water remains too long for most plants to thrive. Small pores also provide less space for air in the soil, which makes these soils easily compacted.
Sandy Soils Sandy soils are free draining, with the largest, but fine and hard particles. It has a gritty feel. It does not bind very well. It is poor in holding water and easily warms up in the spring season. Sandy soils are very low in nutrients as they are usually washed away. Its degree of aeration depends on the sizes of the particles which vary a lot in size. It is usually formed from the weathering or disintegration of bedrock such as shale, limestone, granite and quartz.
Silty Soils This kind of soil is finer, smoother in texture and holds water better than sandy soils. It also holds up nutrients and makes it better for crop cultivation. Silty soils are heavier than sandy soils, and almost midway between the properties of sandy and clay soils. It is formed when fine sediments (dust, organic matter and debris) are carried by water or ice and deposited. When silt is deposited and cemented with time, it forms siltstone. Silt particles are so small and not easily seen by the eyes. It leaves a bit of residue after you touch them.
Clay The particles that make up clay are the finest and they bind very well. It has very little air spaces. Clay is very sticky when wet, and can be molded into any shape and form. When clay dries, it is rock hard. Clay soils do not drain very well. Clay is believed to form in places where the rock is in contact with water, air or steam. Sediments on sea or lake bottoms may become clay soils with time.
Loamy This soil is a mixture of sand, clay and silt particles and has the ability to retain water. It is high in calcium, aeration, and ideal for most crops, vegetables, and flowers. It is the soil all farmers dream of as it is full of nutrients from decomposed organic material. It is soft and easy to cultivate.
Peaty Peaty soils are acidic and does not support decomposition very well. It is dark in color, rich in organic material, although it contains less nutrients than loamy soils. It retains water very well.
Chalky Chalky soils are alkaline with a pH of about 7.5. It is not acidic and often stony with chalk or limestone bedrock. It is free draining because of its coarse and stony nature. Not the best for crops to grow in as they lack manganese and iron.
Luckily, in South Central Minnesota, we have been blessed with an abundance of loamy soil. Healthy, black soil rich in nutrients, teeming with life, and easy to cultivate. Plants flourish in loamy soil, including weeds, but that's a basic gardening topic for another post. Below is a test to help determine your type of soil through ribbon and water tests.
Ribbon Test for Soil
This video from the University of Nebraska demonstrates how to perform the soil ribbon test. Fill your palm with soil. If dry, add a little water to moisten it. Roll the moistened soil into a ball. If the soil won't roll into a ball, you have sandy soil. Next, press or squeeze soil between thumb and forefinger while pushing outward from your palm to form a ribbon. (See video above.) If the soil easily forms a ribbon longer than one inch before breaking, you have clay soil or a clay/loam soil mixture. The longer the ribbon, the more clay is in your soil. Loamy soil will form a ribbon less than an inch which is the perfect foundation for your garden to flourish!
More soil posts to come including adding organic matter, testing for PH and nutrients/minerals, and plants specifically for soil types such as clay and sand.
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