This document provides information about testing soil and understanding soil composition. It discusses the importance of testing the pH and nutrient levels of soil and describes different types of soil tests that can be done, including pH, nutrient, percolation, and soil composition tests. The document explains that soil composition and drainage are important to understand because they impact what can be grown and how to fertilize. It provides details on different soil types (sandy, clay, and silt) and how to identify soil type through simple tests like the ribbon, squeeze, and soil wash tests. The goal is to help gardeners better understand and care for the soil in their gardens.

1. Lets talk soil…
An old gardeners Joke goes that “Soil” is what plants
grow in, and “dirt” is what’s found under our
fingernails.

2. Guide to Soil and Soil
Testing
 Importance of testing
 Ph for optimal nutrient uptake
 Soil Composition
 Home soil tests

3. Soil Testing
 Testing
- Local Nurseries, State Extension Office, testing companies
- Store bought test
 Types
- Ph test
- Nutrient test - Nitrogen, phosphorous, Potassium (NPK)
 Both are recommended yearly
- I recommend PH testing yearly and Nutrient every 3-5years

4. PH for Dahlias
 Slightly Acidic – 6.2 to 6.8
Below 6.2 add Lime
Optimal Nutrient
uptake 6.3
Above 6.8 add sulfur

5. Nutrients - NPK
 Nitrogen (N)
Stimulates Vegetative development. Necessary in production of leaves
and stems.
 Phosphorus (P)
Especially important in germination of seeds, metabolism of seedlings,
ripening of seeds and fruits and general development of roots
 Potassium (K)
Promotes general vigor. Contributes to disease resistance. Important to
sturdy root formation and development

6. My Fertilization
 1-2 lbs 20-20-20 to each 150 sq/ft bed prior
to tilling
 At planting: each hole 1-2 tbsp. of a
20-20-20, bone meal and alfalfa meal mixture.
Why Because that’s what we were taught by our club!
 General monthly fertilizing, after blooms
begin reduce the nitrogen
• To much Nitrogen can adversely effect the overall health of your
plants, leaves may look like the plant has a virus.

7. Soil Composition
 Soil composition is the mixture of silt, clay, sand,
and organic matter found in your soil.
 It’s important to know what the mix is within your
garden because it will affect the type and amount
of fertilizer you use, how well your soil drains, how
well it holds what you plant in it, and how likely it is
to wash away in heavy rains or blow away in high
winds.
 Soil composition indicates how alive your soil is—
and the more alive it is, the better it is for growing
things!

8. Healthy soil starts with the right
proportion of sand, silt, and clay
 Sandy Soil allows for water and oxygen to
penetrate easily because sand particles are large.
However, water drains away too quickly, taking with it
any fertilizer you may apply. On the positive side, it
holds plenty of oxygen, plant roots have no problem
traveling through it, and it’s easy to dig.
 Amend Sphagnum Peat, Compost, Composted
manures…retain moisture, prevent leaching

9. Healthy soil starts with the right
proportion of sand, silt, and clay cont.
 Clay Soil opposite problem: because clay particles are
so small, they make it hard for oxygen to get in, and
whatever water gets in will have a hard time getting out,
resulting in poor drainage. This type of soil is difficult for plant
roots—as well as spades and hoes—to penetrate. But don’t
despair: this type of soil is generally richer in nutrients than
other types of soil, so once you break it up, you won’t need to
fertilize as much.
 Amend Gypsum, Sphagnum Peat, Compost, Composted
manures..…prevent compaction of the soil
Note: Do Not add Sand to Clay Soil or Clay to Sandy Soil……this can
create a natural cement-like soil structure!

10. Healthy soil starts with the right
proportion of sand, silt, and clay cont.
 Silt Soil silt predominating in your soil is good news;
such soil is ideal for gardening because silt particles are
medium sized and usually result in good soil drainage and
aeration. All you have to do is make sure your silty soil
contains ample organic matter.

11. Simple Soil Tests #1
 Ribbon Test
Soil-texture test. Dig up a tablespoon or so of soil and
add enough water that you can roll it into a ball If you
can't form a ball, the soil is sandy. Next, squeeze the ball
between your thumb and index finger to make a ribbon.
The longer the ribbon goes before cracking, the more
clay you've got. Less than 2 inches is a pretty good
composition. More than 2 inches means the soil is
clayish. The feel alone can also give you a clue ... sand
feels gritty, clay feels sticky, and silt feels velvety slick.

12. Simple Soil Tests #2
 The Squeeze Test
 To determine your soil type, take a handful of moist (but not
wet) soil from your garden, and give it a firm squeeze. Then,
open your hand. One of three things will happen:
 It will hold its shape, and when you give it a light poke, it
crumbles.
Lucky you—this means you have luxurious loam!
 It will hold its shape, and, when poked, sits stubbornly in
your hand. This means you have clay soil.
 It will fall apart as soon as you open your hand. This means
you have sandy soil.
Now that you know what type of soil you have, you can work
on improving it.

13. Simple Soil Test #3
 The Percolation Test
It is also important to determine whether you have
drainage problems or not. Some plants, such as
certain culinary herbs, will eventually die if their roots stay too
wet. To test your soil’s drainage:
 Dig a hole about six inches wide and one foot deep.
 Fill the hole with water and let it drain completely.
 Fill it with water again.
 Keep track of how long it takes for the water to drain.
 If the water takes more than four hours to drain, you have
poor drainage.

14. Simple Soil Test #4
 The Worm Test
Worms are great indicators of the overall health of your soil,
especially in terms of biological activity. If you have earthworms,
chances are that you also have all of the beneficial microbes and
bacteria that make for healthy soil and strong plants. To do the
worm test:
 Be sure the soil has warmed to at least 55 degrees, and that
it is moist, but not soaking wet.
 Dig a hole one foot across and one foot deep. Place the soil
on a tarp Sift through the soil with your hands as you place it
back into the hole, counting the earthworms as you go.
 If you find at least ten worms, your soil is in pretty good
shape. Less than that indicates that there may not be enough
organic matter in your soil to support a healthy worm
population, or that your soil is too acidic or alkaline.

15. Simple Soil Test #5
 Soil Wash Test
The soil wash is an easy test you can perform that will
tell you the approximate proportion of sand, clay, and
silt in your soil. Of course, you can pay a lot of money
for a laboratory to perform a professional analysis, but
or most gardeners this rough-and-ready test will tell you
everything you need to know.

16. Simple Soil Test #5 cont.
 Dig 2 to 3 cups of soil from 6 to 8 inches deep in your soil. Let it dry
on newspaper for 24 hours. Use a sieve or old metal colander to sift
rocks, roots and other debris out of the soil. Crush lumps of soil to sift
them through. Pour 2 cups of the sifted soil into a quart Mason jar or
clean mayonnaise jar and add 1 tablespoon of powdered detergent.
Then fill the jar with water, seal and shake vigorously for 3 minutes.
 After 1 hour, the biggest sand particles will settle out into a bottom
layer. After 2 hours, the slightly smaller silt particles will settle out
into a second layer. And after 24 hours, the smallest clay particles
will settle out into a third layer.
 Measure the thickness of each layer and the total depth. To figure
the percentage of each layer, divide that layer's thickness by the
total depth. (Example: If all three layers total 3 inches and 2 inches
of that is the clay layer, then about 66 percent of your soil is clay.)
 Ideally, all three layers will be about the same. When any of the
three exceed 60 percent, that type is becoming undesirably
dominant, and amending is advised.

17. Simple Soil Test #5 cont.
 Use results
with chart.
Sand 57%
Silt 29%
Clay 14%
Analyzing the texture of soil is as
important as studying the needs of
the plants in your garden, and
understanding the science behind
soil texture makes that job much
easier.

18. Questions
We hope presentation will help you to
better care for your soil through
understanding its composition.