Soil type help needed.

I am trying to assertain the type of soil I have. i.e. sandy or clay!

My mother-in-law, who I have always considered to know what she was talking about when it comes to garden but rarely on other subjects, has always complained that our soil is clay. Too much so infact. I have done the soil in a jar test and decided that it is mostly sand.

What I did was this: I used a large jar (approx 1kg size) and half filled it with soil after removing as many of the stones as I could. Filled the jar with water to approx 3/4 full and gave it a really good shake to mix.

After ten minutes I measure the settled soil level and found it to be 5.5cm.

Approx 24 hours later it was 6.5cm. Today almost a week later, the water level is as clear as it is going to be (I can see through it) and the level is still 6.5cm.

From this I conclude that it is about 85% sand. My MIL still insists it is clay and I am wrong. So, I dug a whole, as suggested by another friend, about 30cm square and about 30 cm deep and filled it with water. My friend says that if it drains very quickly I am right but if it takes a while then she is right. It drained within about 3 minutes!

She still insists that I am wrong. Assuming that I am, what am I doing wrong?

 

I am not disputing your comments Marley ... hense why I am asking. But I don't understand why two tests that is supposed to tell me my soil is clay says its sand!

It is a new build home (5 years old) and the ground was very much a building site with turf laid on top, and very poorly at that.

I first dug over the ground to a depth of a spade a few weeks ago. The ground wasn't very hard but extremely stoney and dried out to a reasonable crumble over a couple of days. I have applied horse manure and forked it in but that still hasn't broken down so not really doing much yet.

If it were clay, would it drain so easily? I could get out there with the buckets of water now and it wouldn't pool for more than a few minutes.

Like I said, I am not arguing your point, just trying to understand how and why it all works. I hate being a novice and hate not knowing even more!

 

Hi Littleweed,

Clay shrinks when it dries, sand doesn't.

Is the house built in a river valley ? As that would give you a sand/silty soil.

Other thing is, as its new build, the soil could have been imported from somewhere else.

 

Wiseoldowl ... thanks for that ... interesting to reasd through.

Ziggy ... lol there is no top soil of any quality at all. Imaging the building site, bricks and all: House built, turf chucked down and a few slabs to get to the front door.

It is housing association so there were a number of short cuts taken.

 

Aah, bit like my home plot then.

Clay particles are like little platelets, they are sticky and slide over each other. Porous(they hold water) but semi impermeable (don't let much water through.

Sand particles can be rounded, sub angular to angular, they don't hold together and are permeable.

Dry a lump of clay and cook it, it will become pottery.

Dry a lump of sandy soil and it will fall apart.

 

The Bristol Channel area tends to be clay soil, which, nutrient wise, is the best soil to have. May I ask what the concern is regarding the soil type? Also, any chance of some pics of a spadeful of said soil?

 

daitheplant ... I am not sure that there is necessarily a 'concern' about my soil but I feel that I just want to be able to understand it better. When I am asked what type of soil I have I don't want to reply like my wife does ... 'it's brown dirt!'

I will post a pic or two tomorrow. Surface and a spade depth down.

p.s I am North Bristol if that makes a difference. Horfield area.

 

I would still err on it being clayey, BUT, if your garden is where the mixer was, then you COULD have a lot of sand there.