|
|
Measuring Soil Health
In the Puget Sound region, sand or clay forms the basis for most soils, and the soil is likely a thin layer of glacial till, not very rich in organics. Knowing what type of soil you have will help you to determine how to care for your lawn and garden.
- Sandy soil: Water flows right through the large particles carrying nutrients with it.
- Clayey soil: Water and nutrients have a hard time moving through the tightly packed particles and become stuck.
A quick way to test soil is to dig up a small sample of moist soil from where it has been least disturbed.
- Clayey soil will form a ribbon up to two inches long.
- Sandy soil will not form a ribbon, but will fall apart easily.
- Loamy soil, which is considered the ideal soil condition, will form a ribbon about one inch long.
You can also take a "plug" of your soil. Use a soil core sampler to pull a four to six inch plug or use a shovel to cut a thin section of soil (you can replace it like a divot), and examine the soil yourself. From the sample, you can observe how your soil and plants interact, how deep roots grow, and how dark brown, moist and crumbly the topsoil is.
For a list of local laboratories that can test the amount of sand, silt and clay in your soil, call the Washington State University/King County Extension at 206-205-3100 and ask for fact sheet No. 508.
top of page
|
