Book 24, Question 133
How can you tell what kind of soil you have just by squeezing it?
Moisten a handful of soil and squeeze. Sandy soil feels gritty and falls apart. Silty soil feels smooth like flour. Clay soil feels sticky and can be rolled into a ribbon.
More fun facts
- To test soil by feel, add a little water and knead it until it is like moist putty.
- Medium soils, like sandy loams and silt loams, stay together in a squeezed ball but change shape easily.
- Squeeze a moist ball of soil. Sandy soil breaks apart with just a little pressure, while clayey soil resists breaking.
- For the ribbon test, push the moist soil out between your thumb and fingers to make a flat ribbon.
- A ribbon longer than 2 inches before it breaks means the soil is fine and clayey.
- A short, gritty ribbon under 1 inch means a sandy soil.
- A ribbon of 1 to 2 inches that does not feel gritty also means a fine textured soil.
Sources: Colostate
Questions kids ask
How much sand does a soil need to act sandy?
It needs about 45 to over 60 percent medium to coarse sand to behave like a sandy soil.