Understanding your soil

The type of soil is extremely important in determining how quickly and often plants need water.

Ground type

The way in which soil absorbs and retains water is similar to how a sponge does this. Depending on the texture, the soil will hold a certain amount of water. The precipitation ratio and the type of sprinklers influence how much water ends up on the ground. The appearance of the soil greatly influences how the irrigation system should work best.

Soil consists of three different types of particles: sand, clay and silt. The soil texture is determined by the percentage of each particle that is in the soil. Because the amount varies with each soil, there are numerous possibilities of soil types.

There is a simple way to determine the type of soil. Suppose you want to water up to 6 inches: dig to 6 inches deep and take a piece of soil. Since the soil can vary throughout the terrain: try to get a piece of land that is representative of the terrain. To determine the soil type, take the piece of soil in your hand and squeeze it.

The Jar Test

A jar test is a more accurate way to determine what type of soil your garden and park has. The test can zoom in more sharply on how much sand, clay and silt there is in the soil.

1. Go to the area where you want to irrigate and take one or two cups of soil from there.
2. Place the removed piece of soil in a glass jar.
3. Fill the pot with water until it is half full. Shake it vigorously and let it sit for two hours to allow the particles to disperse. Most of the particles will move to the bottom where the heaviest pieces are at the bottom (heavy sand), then the silt and the top of the clay.
4. Measure the total height of all layers combined and then the height of each individual low. Divide the height of an individual layer by the total height of all layers and multiply by 100. The answer is the percentage of particles that are in the ground in your garden and park.
5. Then you can go to the look at data to classify soil type.

The way in which water is absorbed or retained determines the type of soil. This is also the biggest difference with soil types throughout the country. The primary pressure that moves water horizontally through the soil is capillary action. Both capillary action and gravity play a role in the vertical movement of water. Water will move vertically faster on coarse soils and less likely to move horizontally. For soil types with finer particles, this is exactly the other way around.

The generic characteristics of the three main types of soil can be seen in the table:

If you look at the last three columns of the table, you can see that the amount of water that can handle a type of soil determines how fast the irrigation system can pass water. When the soil contains a lot of sand, water will be absorbed quickly, while it will be much slower when the soil contains a lot of clay. It is important that water is added at such a rate that the soil can handle it. When this is not done properly, unwanted water drainage will occur, soil will become liquid and this will cause water wastage and damage.

Adjusting the sprinklers to the ideal ratio of your soil will be more difficult when the garden and park have a lot of height difference. This increases the risk of poor water drainage. This will also increase or decrease the absorption of water in the soil.