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Post by Skandi on May 21, 2015 6:48:30 GMT
 I gave this test a try, I can see a lovely fining up sequence.. but not nice neat layers! is that thin grey band at the top the clay? or is that just something random. How would you classify this soil. It holds together if you squeeze a handfull but will break apart if you drop the lump. What you can't see in the jar is it's totaly full of stones and chalk. but somehow dispite the chalk still manages to be nearly black when wet. |
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Post by spacecase0 on May 21, 2015 7:12:49 GMT
looks like nice neat layers to me
I bet that thin line between the bottom layer and the water layer is clay
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Post by Cabin Fever on May 21, 2015 13:59:33 GMT
The grainy bottom layer is sand. On top of the sand is either very fine sand or silt. The clay is still in suspension.
What you want to do is take some of your soil - about a tablespoon - in your hand, moisten it slightly with a few drops of water....do NOT saturate it or keep it too dry either. Now, mold amd mix the soil in your hand breaking down any clumps or aggregates and try to form a ball. Will it form a ball? No: add a bit more water. Will the soil now form a ball? NO?-then it is sand.
If it does form a ball in your hand, then squeeze a ribbon out between your thumb and index finger.
Let me know the following:
1. Can you feel grains of sand or gritty-ness when you ribbon it out? Or does the soil feel smooth when you ribbon it out?
2. How long of a ribbon can you make before it breaks off.
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Post by claytonpiano on May 22, 2015 0:14:37 GMT
Wow! Cabin Fever you are amazing! I can't wait to find out what all of that means.
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Post by Skandi on May 29, 2015 1:35:55 GMT
The grainy bottom layer is sand. On top of the sand is either very fine sand or silt. The clay is still in suspension. What you want to do is take some of your soil - about a tablespoon - in your hand, moisten it slightly with a few drops of water....do NOT saturate it or keep it too dry either. Now, mold amd mix the soil in your hand breaking down any clumps or aggregates and try to form a ball. Will it form a ball? No: add a bit more water. Will the soil now form a ball? NO?-then it is sand. If it does form a ball in your hand, then squeeze a ribbon out between your thumb and index finger. Let me know the following: 1. Can you feel grains of sand or gritty-ness when you ribbon it out? Or does the soil feel smooth when you ribbon it out? 2. How long of a ribbon can you make before it breaks off. Sorry it took so long, I've been at my mothers all week. So a bit hard to look at my own soil! That's all the clay there is, water is now clear and that line is just as thin. It forms a ball easily very finely gritty, feels almost smooth. I could get it about 1.5" before it broke. |
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Post by paquebot on May 29, 2015 3:17:08 GMT
That thin line was your clay. Means that what you are working with is mostly silt and sand. I saw that in gardens in Kolding and on Funen. Saw some gardens around Svendborg which were almost black. Those near Aarhus were more sand. Without the sand, it's little better than clay for gardening. Where I live is prairie silt and I have the most terrible time trying to explain that it is not black clay. Tested 26 of our community garden plots which one of the "experts" had proclaimed as from heavy to moderate clay. Maximum was 2%!
Martin
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Post by Cabin Fever on May 29, 2015 21:51:17 GMT
The grainy bottom layer is sand. On top of the sand is either very fine sand or silt. The clay is still in suspension. What you want to do is take some of your soil - about a tablespoon - in your hand, moisten it slightly with a few drops of water....do NOT saturate it or keep it too dry either. Now, mold amd mix the soil in your hand breaking down any clumps or aggregates and try to form a ball. Will it form a ball? No: add a bit more water. Will the soil now form a ball? NO?-then it is sand. If it does form a ball in your hand, then squeeze a ribbon out between your thumb and index finger. Let me know the following: 1. Can you feel grains of sand or gritty-ness when you ribbon it out? Or does the soil feel smooth when you ribbon it out? 2. How long of a ribbon can you make before it breaks off. Sorry it took so long, I've been at my mothers all week. So a bit hard to look at my own soil! That's all the clay there is, water is now clear and that line is just as thin. It forms a ball easily very finely gritty, feels almost smooth. I could get it about 1.5" before it broke. Looks like your soil texture is a clay loam.
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Jun 1, 2015 4:44:12 GMT
That's a great chart, CF - thanks for posting it.  |
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