At-Home Soil Texture Tests

Soil texture can range from sandy, to clay-heavy, to that coveted loam. Knowing your soil texture can tell you what plants will grow best in your garden, or it can give you an idea of how to amend your soil for your desired gardening results. Testing the texture of your soil does not have to involve shipping a sample to a lab; it can be done at home with only yourself and a few household items! This post describes how to collect a soil sample, and how to perform the Mason Jar Method and Texture-by-Feel Method.

First, a little background information. It is important to know that different layers of your soil will have different textures. Typically, topsoil (or the A layer) will have more silt than any of the other layers of your soil. There is also sometimes an O layer on top of the topsoil. This stands for “organic matter,” and is mostly made up of partially decomposed plant material. Below the topsoil, there is the subsoil (or the B layer), which is usually clay heavy. 

But in this post, we will be focusing on the texture of topsoil – since this is where a lot of plant roots stay. Most plants do best in loamy soil, as it is very fertile and easy for roots to push through. Loam is made up of 40% silt, 40% sand, and 20% clay. Of course, you do not have to have loamy soil to grow a beautiful garden, but it is important to know your soil texture so that you know what will grow best in your garden (or how to amend it). Let’s get into it!

The first step is to collect your soil sample. This can simply be done by digging six inches into the area you’d like to test, such as your garden bed, and collecting the soil from the small area you have dug. If the area you are testing is large, I would suggest collecting a composite sample; but small areas, like flower beds, only need a grab sample to be collected.

The Mason Jar Method is the first method I’ll describe. This method is based on the difference in the particle sizes of sand, silt, and clay. Your soil sample is added to a mason jar with water, then the different particles separate out. Sand is the largest, so it sinks to the bottom of the mason jar. While clay, the finest, rises to the top. The size of the layers of sand, silt, and clay can be turned into percentages. These percentages can then be used with the Soil Texture Triangle to determine the texture of your soil!

The second at-home method for testing soil texture is called the Texture-by-Feel Method. This method is explained by its name, as it is based on how the soil feels and moves in your hands. You simply add a tablespoon of soil to your hand, add water until it reaches a putty consistency, and follow the steps on the Texture-by-Feel flow chart to determine the texture of your soil. This method can be a bit difficult to figure out at first, but once you’ve got it down, testing soil texture will be a piece of cake!

Texture by Feel - Soil texture - Wikipedia

If you’re having issues setting up your new garden or flower beds, testing the texture of your soil could give you the answers you’ve been looking for!