What Is Soil Texture?

Sand

• Sandy soil texture is familiar to anyone who has spent time on an ocean beach. Sand comprises gritty particles of rock, with very little organic matter in it. Soil with a sandy texture drains exceedingly well, which is beneficial for many crops but might leave others overly dry. Fast drainage can also mean that soil amendments like compost or fertilizer wash out quickly. If you moisten sand and squeeze it together into a ball, it quickly falls apart, advises the Cornell Cooperative Extension in a fact sheet published by Rutgers University.

Silt

• Silty soil has a very fine, dusty texture when dry, resembling flour. When wet, silt tends to stick together in a ball, but break apart rather than flatten out when squeezed. Silt can hold on to water and organic soil amendments longer than sand, but has a tendency to blow away when left to dry out without sufficient crop cover to hold it down.

Clay

• Soil with a clay texture is slippery when wet, and forms a solid ball when squeezed and becomes bendable, sticky ribbons between your fingers. The longer those ribbons can be extended without breaking, the more clay your soil contains, advises the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Clay can become over-saturated with water in heavy rains, and bakes into a brick-like texture in hot dry conditions, often forming deep cracks like a concrete sidewalk. Adding organic matter and using a heavy layer of mulch to even out soil temperature can help boost plant growth in clay-textured soils.

Loam

• Loam is the ideal soil texture for planting crops, representing a healthy mix of sand, silt and clay. Loam soil feels slightly gritty to the touch, forms into a ball that holds together when moist but that crumbles apart much like chocolate cake when squeezed. Loam soils often hold a considerable amount of organic matter, making nutrients readily available to plant roots. Because roots can easily penetrate the crumbly, open texture, plants grow well and help prevent loam soil from eroding.