1. Properties of Soil TSW – Examine properties of soil including color and texture, capacity to retain water, and ability to support the growth of plants. 4.7A

2. What is soil? Soil is sometimes referred to as dirt. Soil is made up of tiny pieces of broken rock and other minerals. It also has decaying plant and animal matter mixed in. Different types of soil have different colors and texture.

3. Layers Soil is layered in the Earth. Each layer has a different look and feel to it and different places have different types of soil.

4. Soil Column

5. Particle Size

6. Sand Sand is gritty to the touch and the individual particles or pieces can be seen with the naked eye. Sand does not retain water for very long so only a few types of plants can grow in sand.

7. Silt Silt is made up of sediment. The small particles of silt are between the sizes of sand and clay. Silt may sink to the bottom of water or be suspended in water.

8. Dry Silt Dry silt has a powdery feel or texture When silt is dry it can clump together, but these clumps can be easily broken.

9. Wet Silt Wet silt feels smooth or slippery Wet silt is not sticky, but feels slick

10. Silt and Plants Silt can hold a lot of water Silt also has a lot of nutrients Silt is often added to help plants grow better

11. Clay Dry clay feels hard, but wet clay has a sticky, plastic feel to it. Clay has the smallest particle size. You cannot see the particles in clay without a microscope.

12. Clay and plant growth Clay has a lot of nutrients in it so you might think it would be good for plants to grow in. Clay also holds a lot of water, but clay sticks together so well that air and water can’t move through it very easily. Plant roots can’t grow well in it either. For these reasons, not many plants can grow in clay soil.

13. Topsoil Topsoil with lots of nutrients is known as loam. Topsoil is made up of sand, silt, and clay and contains organic matter. The texture of topsoil will vary depending on how much of each type of soil is in the mixture.

14. Not too wet, not too dry. Topsoil is just right! Topsoil is a gardeners delight. It holds the right amount of water and plants grow very well in topsoil.