What can we learn from a house soil structure analysis?
The soil and its mysteries
If you've ever wondered what the soil in your garden is like, now's your chance to find out with a simple home test!
How to do the jug test? Simply take a one litre glass container, fill it half full with soil from the root zone (avoiding surface plant material), then pour up to 90% with water and add a few drops of liquid soap. Shake and let stand for a day. The result? You will see the structure of the soil! But what are we looking for?
What will we experience? The solid particles of the soil settle to the bottom of the water, where the sand forms the bottom layer, with silt above and clay on top. From this simple test we can determine the main characteristics of our soil.
Video of the test (in English) ⬇️
Soil types:
- Sandy soil: Large sand particles that cover a larger area. These soils dry quickly and store less nutrients.
- Muddy soil: The three main components (sand, silt, clay) are present in balanced proportions.
- Clayey soil: Clay particles predominate, which are small and can hold a lot of water. But beware! Too much clay makes it difficult to cultivate the soil and can make it airless.
Soils are often analysed in laboratories, but this home test can be a good starting point for understanding your garden soil.
Soil "crumb cakes": clay colloids You probably never thought of it, but clay colloids in soils look like a bun cake or a book. In between are the different molecules that play a role in the nutrient content and pH of the soil. It is important to understand these processes so that we can optimise the fertilisation and nutrient supply to the soil.
The challenges of sandy soil Although sandy soils have a number of advantages (e.g. good drainage), their nutrient retention capacity is lower than that of clay soils. Therefore, when fertilising, it is advisable to use lower doses to avoid leaching of nutrients.
Concluding thoughts You can increase the humus content of your soil, improving its nutrient-holding capacity. For interested gardeners, home soil structure analysis can be not only exciting but also very useful!
Also, remember: "1 gram of clay colloid has a surface area of more than 10 nm2". Soil is a wonderful and complex ecosystem, and to create a thriving garden, it is worth getting to know and understand it.
