Soil Jar Test - Can you see where sand ends and silt starts?

I did two soil jar tests. One was from a bunch of dug up soil I dried in the sun, then I took the easiest parts to grumble and press through a mesh strainer before jarring and adding water (1). The other was more of a slice under the looser top soil and represented more of the full profile down to 10-12inches deep from the top of the hole (2). I also didn't let this one dry, but shook, then crumbled and mashed with my hands in water that I put back in the jar. I may also have taken more from the bottom... so not a fair slice...

I also did a small sample from 4inches deep for a soil test kit with the powder you shake to get colors (3). This also was dried first then crushed with a spoon before jarring.

Here are the results:

1)



Lowest marker - 1 minute mark
Highest marker - 2 hour mark

Both layers seem to have settled down lower though than the original marks.

2)



The label has 1 minute and 2 hour marked, with the lowest point is what seems to be more sandy the next day. It seems to have settled more and the sand is lower than the 1m measurement, and the silt is lower than the first 2h measurement indicates...

3)



I seem to have very fine sand that settles down after 1 minute. Then after 2 hours there is lots of silt. In the deepest dug up soil there is more clay, but not in the more shallow parts. I find it hard to see the sand and silt layers separate since the sand is very fine and seems to blend from one layer to the next. I'm not even sure any of that can be even considered sand... In (1) it just looks the same going up to the little clay at the top...

(1)
sand 39%
silt 55%
clay 6%

(2)
sand 33%
silt 42%
clay 23%

(3)
sand 27%
silt 58%
clay 15%

It was hard to distinguish the sand vs silt layers, but that's what I came up with.

Looking at (1) and (3), it seems that my soil is silty loam. In (2) it's loam. At least according to the discernment I did for the layers and the charts to find out of type of soil according to percentage of layers.



I thought I had clay due to the poor drainage, but it looks like it's mostly silt, with little sand or the sand that's there is very fine as well. When I get to 10inches or so, then more clay shows up in the hardpan that doesn't drain.

What are you trying to do with the soil?

John C Daley wrote:What are you trying to do with the soil?

Eat it ;) Just kidding, grow food to eat. Can you see the sand from the silt easily?

I had a very similar issue with the land of my new house that I have been in since 2018. When I put soil in the jar with water like you did, I could only see two layers and couldn't decide if the lower one was silt or clay. The soil was extremely dense and slow-draining, initially.

Also I poured a little vinegar on the soil and it sizzled like crazy, so evidently the soil is very very alkaline, not helped by lots of bits of uncured cement throughout left from construction.

Anyway, I got access to a couple of pickup loads of dry cow dung each year and just buried it in the garden beds as early in spring as I could, watered it, and then mixed it up with a shovel later. After planting I tried to mulch everything heavily and leave the mulch permanently though it wasn't always possible on each bed.

Now after 2 or 3 years of doing that, the soil is great and I'm no longer very concerned about the exact composition and pH of the soil. I got some sulfur to mix in the soil and did mix it in some beds last year, but it seems to be completely undissolved (bright yellow balls float up from the soil) but the soil is so improved by the cow dung and mulch that I'm not concerned. Due to a road problem I couldn't get any cow dung this spring but the garden beds are still very rich in organic matter so I think it'll be fine.

Kris said, "I thought I had clay due to the poor drainage, but it looks like it's mostly silt, with little sand or the sand that's there is very fine as well.

Maybe the poor drainage has something to do with something else?  Maybe your water table?

Here are some threads that you or others might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/63914/Soil

https://permies.com/t/114886/Jar-test-Silt-Clay#937313

https://permies.com/t/70302/reading-soil-lab

Anne Miller wrote:

Maybe the poor drainage has something to do with something else?  Maybe your water table?

Here are some threads that you or others might find interesting:

https://permies.com/t/63914/Soil

https://permies.com/t/114886/Jar-test-Silt-Clay#937313

https://permies.com/t/70302/reading-soil-lab

Yes, my hardpan is at 12 inches.