The document discusses factors to consider when choosing a location for a garden bed, including soil type and structure. It describes how to determine soil type by texture using a ball test, and soil structure using a shatter test. Ideal garden soil is a loam, which forms a ball that deforms without breaking when squeezed, and breaks up around the edges in a shatter test. Sandy soils drain quickly while clay soils flood or dry out easily.

1. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
What’s under your feet?
Determining your section’s
soil profile

2. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Soil Types
Your raised bed will sit
on whatever type of
soil is in your section.
Most soils are loams,
which are a mixture of
sand, silt and clays,
plus organic matter
and air.

3. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Loams
Loams are named according to
the main textural class present.
The 3 broad groups are:
• loams
• sandy loams
• clay loams
A simple way to check soil texture is to moisten the
soil and form it into a ball or worm shape and then
press it with your thumb.
The way the soil deforms tells you its texture.

4. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Loams
Loams are the best soils
for gardening. They are
made up of …
silt
40% clay
15%
organic
matter
sand 5% When you roll and
40% squeeze them they
deform but don’t break.

5. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Sandy Loams
Sandy loams don’t
hold together well
and won’t easily form
a ball.
They break up when
you try to roll them
into a worm shape.
They don’t hold water well and are normally low in
nutrients.

6. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Clay Loams
These soils are yellow to
brown in colour. They
form a ball or worm
well, and when you
press them you leave a
clear imprint of your
thumb
Clays are high in
nutrients, but these
soils bake dry in summer
and flood in winter.

7. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Soil Structure
The soil structure is the way your soil holds together.
An ideal soil structure for growing vegetables is one
that is friable. This means it breaks up easily into a
crumbly form.
A simple shatter test will tell you what sort of
structure your soil has, because different types of
soil behave differently.
To do the shatter test: Take a spade-full of soil and
drop the back of the spade onto the ground.

8. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Shatter Test: Loam
Due to its friable
nature, a block of loam
will break up around the
edges when dropped.
Loams form a crumby
soil which drains well but
still holds sufficient air
and water.

9. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Shatter Test: Sandy Loam
A block of sandy loam
will break up and
collapse when dropped.
Sands are loose soils
that collapse when you
try to cultivate them.

10. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Shatter Test: Clay Loam
A block of clay loam
will keep its shape and
hardly break up when
dropped.
Clays are tight and
blocky, and are hard to
dig and cultivate.

11. Topic one: Choosing a location for your garden bed
Evaluating Your Soil
As well as the deformation (ball/worm) test and the
shatter test, you can also use a feel test.
• sands feel gritty
• clays feel smooth and slippery
• loams sit in between