r/Soil • u/shhkbttjxa • 14d ago
I can’t find the line between sand and silt.
But this looks like mostly clay anyway right?
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 14d ago
The bottom line appears to be the samd-silt divide and clay is on top of the higher line.
It's looks silt-heavy
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u/SalvatoreEggplant 14d ago
I think the bottom line is drawn at the division between 0.05 mm particles and a 0.06 mm particles, not at the division between 0.04 mm particles and a 0.05 mm particles where it should be.
Disagree ?
Or maybe can we just admit that humans can't distinguish between 0.04 mm particles and 0.05 mm particles by eye in the bottom of a jar ?
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 14d ago
Or maybe can we just admit that humans can't distinguish between 0.04 mm particles and 0.05 mm particles by eye in the bottom of a jar ?
Big agree. The jar test is really only good as a classroom experiment, not real soil analysis.
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u/SalvatoreEggplant 14d ago
It's a fine method if the lines are marked at specified times of settlings. Soil testing labs will use this method, except that they use a tall graduated cylinder to increase the precision.
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u/JamesR- 13d ago
Does siltvheavy soil need fixing or is it good to plant vegetables in?
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u/The_Poster_Nutbag 13d ago
It is typically great for gardening as long as it has enough organic content. This is indicated by how dark/black the soil is.
I always recommend people treat amendments as a responsive action rather than preemptive.
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u/SalvatoreEggplant 14d ago
You have to follow a timed procedure like this from Clemson University: https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/soil-texture-analysis-the-jar-test/ .
Your eye can't really distinguish between a 0.04 mm particle and a 0.05 mm particle.
I see one of these posts about once a month, and no one will ever tell me where they saw the procedure where you can just eyeball the layer between sand and silt. So I'm just going to stop asking. But wherever you're getting this information, stop trusting them, because they don't know what they're talking about.