Why do a soil test for Clay, Silt and Sand / Rock? Without soil there would be nothing. Your soil is the key to success with your garden, therefore, taking care of it will take care of you in the end. The quantity of available nutrients in the soil test determines the amount of fertilizer that is recommended. It also will help you set up a watering schedule. Whether you need to add more compost and other helpful additives. Layers or Bands: 1.Organic Matter is first 2.Clay being the smaller size of particles settles on top of the other two. 3.Silt, being moderate in size comes next. 4.Sand, being the larger size of particles settles to the bottom. Tools needed: 1. Glass quart jar with lid 2. 3/4 full of tap water 3. Teaspoon of dish soap “non-foaming type is prefer” I've tried it both ways. I didn't see any evidence to support the dish soap but it couldn't hurt. The dish soap is suppose to allow the soil to mix easier. 4. A digger of some sort. Spoon, small garden shovel anything that is comfortable for you to use. 5. Ruler 6. Paper, pencil and some math skills 7. Black marker. Steps: 1. Gather from 5 locations a small amount of soil. Make sure all twigs, rocks, debris and trash is removed. Try not to get clumps. Loose soil is best. 2. Place the 5 samples in a quart jar. 3. Add water until the jar is 3/4 full. You can add the water either before or after you have your dirt it doesn't matter. 4. Add a teaspoon of non-foaming dishwasher detergent. “Optional” 5. Put on a lid and shake. Shake until the soil is broken down. It could take a few minutes up to 20 minutes depending on your individual sample. The more shaken the better the results. In my opinion. 6. Place the jar on a flat surface and let set. I left mine overnight but I've know others that have left theirs up to two weeks. 7. With the black marker mark on the jar where the layers are divided. The first layer should be a murky looking water – Organic Matter. Place a mark where this layers starts and stops. The next layer should be Clay, than Silt and finally Sand. 8. If you don't have three bands/layers that's fine just divide by two instead of three. Now we are going to measure the individual thickness of all three layers of clay, silt and sand with the ruler. It should add up to the total of all three layers. 1. Thickness of clay .25 2. Thickness of silt .75 3. Thickness of sand 2.00 4. Thickness of total 3” Now we need to find the percentage of clay, silt, and sand. Take the thickness of the layer or band divide by the total thickness and that equals the percent of the band. For instance take the clay layer. You would take the clay thickness / total thickness = percent clay Mine is: 1. .25 / 3.00 = .083 = Clay 2. .75 / 3.00 = .250 = Silt 3. 2.00 / 3.00 = .667 = Sand The ideal is suppose to be: 20% Clay – add large amounts of organic matter to your soil such as grass clippings, compost and even your kitchen food scraps, stable manure mixed with straw, and a good grade of peat each year. 40% Silt - Silt usually has a floury feel when dry, and a slippery feel when wet. It is fine enough to be carried long distances by air in the form of dust. Add more compost and organic matter if you need more silt. 40% Sand – to much sand and rock and your plants won't get the water and nutrients they need to survive. Adding more compost to your growing area will help greatly. Equals 100 % This experiment tells me what I had thought. Our soil is in need of a lot of help. It's in bad shape. However, the joy in gardening for me is in the process. The decisions, the work, the joy of seeing the results in the harvest. After our test results we decided on several things. 1. We will have several above ground garden beds. 2. We will also have an area that I will ground work. I want the challenge of taking the soil here in it's present state and turning it into fantastic soil. It may take me a few years but that's okay. I have the time. ***This is not a 100% full proof test. If you need a 100% full proof test you'll need to send off your soil sample to the professionals. This is just a "Do It Yourself" fun test to get a rough idea of your soil If you've enjoyed this video and want to know more about gardening / fermentation we would feel honored if you'd subscribe. Thank you from A Bucket and Shovel. Gmail: abucketandashovel@gmail.com Blogspot: http://abucketandashovel.blogspot.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bucketandshovel Twitter: https://twitter.com/bucketandshovel

• published: 24 Feb 2015
• views: 3