Understanding Types of Soil: For Organic Gardening

It's important to understand types of soil when you plan your organic garden. The best soil (in terms of richness and nutrients) will produce the best produce from your organic garden.

Different types of soil will suit different types of plants and how well they grow.

Here is a summary of the main soil types:

Sandy Soils

Sandy Soils are gritty in texture as they are made up of large particles of weathered rocks such as granite, limestone and quartz. Due to these large particles and the space formed between them it can lose water and become dry.

This can mean nutrients being flushed through and lost. The addition of organic matter will help the retention of water and make sandy soils easier to cultivate.

Silty Soils

Silty soil is known for its high level of fertility. Containing an abundance of organic matter and minerals, it holds more nutrients than the sandy soil. Drainage is also more controlled and moisture retained. The texture of silty soil is easier to work with.

Clay Soils

Clay soils can be difficult to manage. Made up of very fine particles, clay soils tend to be more compact. This results in poor aeration and drainage. Both of these problems can be dealt with by adding organic matter.

Although it can take a while to see any improvement it is a worthwhile task as clay soils already excel in nutrients. With the addition of organic matter the nutritional quality will be even better.

Loamy Soils

If you have loamy soil you have a great head start. Loamy soils are made up of sand, silt and clay with good organic content, and excel in drainage, moisture retention, aeration and nutrition. These are great soils for working with.

Peaty Soils

Peaty soil is more acidic than the others and consequently organic matter often takes far longer to decompose. This means low levels in nutrients and poor drainage. These problems can be overcome by the use of good organic fertilizers and in some cases artificial drainage.

Chalky Soils and limestone soils

These soils are highly alkaline and usually very shallow soils. This can mean low availability of nutrients and a limit to the types of plants that can be grown. Although the use of fertilizers can improve these soils it can be an uphill struggle. Time, patience and sweat are needed to improve the quality of chalk and limestone soils.

If you find it difficult to match these soil type descriptions to the sample in your jar, think about sending your soil for professional analysis. A search online using the keyword 'soil analysis' will bring up several websites of organisations that can test your soil for composition as well as pH level.

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There is another way you can test soil easily and accurately. A Test for Soil pH is key to understanding your soil and getting the best organic garden growing.

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