Testing your soil...

Where do you start?

We have to determine what sort of soil you have in your garden. We can do this by watering an area of soil with a watering can. If the water disappears quickly, then you have probably got sandy or gravely soil, but if the water remains longer on the top of the soil then it is probably a clay soil.

Clay Soil is heavy to dig; it is sticky and retains water. In summer the soil becomes rock hard. This sort of soil requires a bulky organic matter to be added.  Compost or manure can be added to aid the drainage and the soil becomes more manageable.

Sandy Soil is quite dry.  Because of the high proportion of sand in the soil, drainage is rapid and therefore we need to add a binding agent to the soil. Sandy soil may lack nutrients and will need feeding with fertiliser. 

Silty soil is a well-drained soil that is smooth and “soapy” to the touch, it retains more moisture than sandy soil, but less than clay soil.  Nutrients are better preserved, and the soil is easier to cultivate.  It does need a little TLC, and is a very good soil if treated well.

Loamy Soil is the perfect soil.  It has good structure, is full of nutrients and drains well, but retains enough water so that it doesn’t dry out in Summer.

Chalky Soil has a pH of 7.5 or above, which means it is Alkaline.  It is usually quite stony and free draining.  Chalky soil usually has a chalk or limestone bedrock and some minerals like magnesium and iron may be missing from its structure.  These can be replaced by adding fertilisers.

Soil can be Acid or Alkaline. Simple testing kits are available to test the pH of the soil. Some plants such as rhododendrons and heathers hate alkaline soil, but thrive well in an acidic soil.  If your soil has a lower pH than 5, then this is classed as being very acid.  Vegetables are not best suited to very acidic soil, so lime has to be added to counteract the acidity.  The ideal growing soil should be slightly acid and have a pH of between 6.0 and 6.5.